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Domestic Rugby preview for Sat 29 Dec 2018 by George Millar
SONI ULSTER RUGBY PREMIERSHIP
There will be a new name on the Stevenson Shield this weekend with Malone and Ballynahinch meeting at Ballymacarn Park with the Cregagh Road side having a three point advantage. Ulster releases could determine the winners of this match. Last Saturday Malone had no Ulster players in their side for the win over Queens University with Ballynahinch including Ulster front row players Tommy O’Hagan and Tom O’Toole for their win at Banbridge. Winners of the Stevenson Shield for the last two seasons – City of Armagh suffered conceding a last minute try to lose 24 – 21 at home to Ballymena to confirm their relegation to Div 2 next season. They will be replaced by Rainey OB who won Div 2 with one match remaining after defeating Belfast Harlequins 28 – 19 at Hatrick Park.
Ballynahinch last won the Stevenson Shield in 2014/15 on the back of three consecutive wins. The Club will be looking to re establish themselves as the number one club in Ulster. It is a busy two weeks for Ballynahinch with the second xv playing Dromore 1st xv in the Final of the Junior Cup at the Kingspan stadium on Wednesday the 2nd January. The Ballynahinch 1st xv follow up their match this weekend with a First Trust Senior Cup semi final away to Ballymena at Eaton Park on Saturday 5th January 2019. Busy time coming up for the Ballynahinch coaches Brian McLaughlin , Tom Rock and Mark McDowell.
Malone last won the Stevenson Shield in the season 1992/93. Can coaches Paddy Armstrong, Josh Pentland, Mark Taylor and the players go to Ballymacarn Park and return with the Stevenson Shield this weekend.
City of Armagh will be disappointed to lose their place in Div 1. Their focus for them is on their First Trust Senior Cup semi final with Rainey OB at the Palace Grounds on Saturday 5thJanuary followed by their AIL Senior Cup (Bateman Cup) semi final on the 12th January again at the Palace Grounds. Busy time for coaches Willy Faloon and Chris Parker.
Ballymena coaches Andy Graham, Alex McCloy and Rab Gregg will be delighted with the turnaround in the performances of the 1st xv that has seen the team win their last four matches. Winger Jack Lewis was the hero scoring the decisive last minute try to keep Ballymena in Div 1 at the expense of City of Armagh. The coaches and the players will want to keep this winning run going when Banbridge are the visitors to Eaton Park this week before they play Ballynahinch in the First Trust Senior Cup semi final.
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
In the only league game played last Saturday Limavady made their intentions clear by picking up a bonus point in their 25 – 3 win over Clogher Valley at the John Hunter Playing Fields to open up a four point advantage over the Fivemiletown side in Div 2. Academy can close the gap this weekend by picking up a win over Ballymoney at the Roughfort Playing Fields on Saturday. A win for Academy this week would see them pick up the Conference league two title.
In Div 1 every match is crucial for the 8 teams playing league games this weekend. A win for Ballyclare at Dromore would see them win the Conference league 2 title. Defeat for Ballyclare and a win for City of Armagh seconds would see them retain the Conference league 1 title they won last season.
Donaghadee can consolidate their position at the top of the league with a win over second place Monaghan at Donaldson Park on Saturday
Weekend Results/ Team Lists Saturday 22nd December 2018
SONI ULSTER RUGBY PREMIERSHIP ROUND 4
DIV 1
Banbridge 10 Ballynahinch 21
Banbridge team: 1. Michael Cromie (Capt), 2. Jonny Murphy, 3. Stuart Cromie, 4. Chris Allen, 5. Mike Bentley, 6. Dale Carson, 7. Ethan Harbinson, 8. Ryan Hughes, 9. Jonny Stewart, 10. Niall Armstrong, 11. John Porter, 12. Hugo Harbinson, 13. Adam Doherty, 14. Conor Field, 15. Rob Lyttle, 16. Peter Cromie, 17. Corrie Barratt, 18. Ross Haughey, 19. Neil Kilpatrick, 20. Ben Thompson.
Points scorers: Chris Allen 1 x try, Adam Doherty 1 x con and 1 x pen
Ballynahinch team: 1. Tommy O’Hagan, 2. Clayton Milligan, 3. Tom O’Toole, 4. John Donnan, 5. Thomas Donnan, 6. Keith Dickson, 7. Tom Martin, 8. Conall Boomer, 9. Rhys O’Donnell, 10. Hilton Gibbons, 11. Connor Phillips, 12. Robin Harte, 13. Ross Adair, 14. Richard Reaney, 15. Paddy Wright, 16. Conor Piper, 17. Ben Cullen, 18. Brian Howard, 19. Ryan Wilson, 20. Aaron Cairns.
Points scorers: Conall Boomer 2 x tries, Hilton Gibbons 3 x pens and 1 x con
City of Armagh 21 Ballymena 24
City of Armagh team: 1. Oisin Kiernan, 2. Andrew Smyth, 3. Philip Fletcher, 4. James Hanna, 5. Stephen Morton, 6. Ollie Millar, 7. James Morton, 8. Neil Faloon, 9. Gerard Treanor, 10. Cormac Fox, 11. Shea O’Brien, 12. Johnny Pollock, 13. Evin Crummie, 14. Tim McNiece, 15. Chris Cousins, 16. Jack Treanor, 17. John Clarke, 18. Ryan Morton, 19. Luke Crozier, 20. Kyle Faloon.
Points scorers: Shea O’Brien, Ollie Millar, Neil Faloon 1 x try each, Cormac Fox 3 x cons.
Ballymena team: 1. Nacho Clandero Crespo, 2. Jonathan Spence, 3. Houston Bonnar, 4. David Whann, 5. Connor White, 6. Ryan Mattison, 7. Willy McKay, 8. Connor Smyth, 9. Michael Stronge, 10. Bruce Houston, 11. Jack Lewis, 12. Timothy Small, 13. Darrell Montgomery, 14. Johnny McMullan, 15. Eoin Ritson, 16. Andrew Ferguson, 17. Griffin Phillipson, 18. Donovan Woulhan, 19. Louis McGuickan, 20. Chris Smith.
Points scorers: Jack Lewis, Connor Smyth, Louis McGuickan 1 x try each, Timmmy Small 1 x pen and 3 x cons.
Malone 24 Queens University 5
Malone team: 1. Ben Halliday, 2. Scott Finlay, 3. Ricky Greenwood, 4. Josh Davvidson, 5. Lee Barlow, 6. Dan Kerr (Capt), 7. Tiarnan Dillon, 8. Jonatahan Davis, 9. Connor Spence, 10. Shane Kelly, 11. Andy McConnell, 12. Josh Pentland, 13. David McMaster, 14. Mark O’Connor, 15. Gareth Millar, 16. Gary Crawford, 17. Seif El Deen, 18. Andy Bailey, 19. Rory Campbell, 20. Rory Henry.
Points scorers: Connor Spence, Jonathan Davis, Ben Halliday, Josh Davidson 1 x try each, Mark O’Connor 2 x cons
Queens University team: 1. Jonny Black, 2. David Swann, 3. Andy Weir, 4. Stuart Evans, 5. James Longwell, 6. David Whitten (Capt), 7. Curtis Pollock, 8. Gary Dillon, 9. Matthew Keane, 10. Robbie Johnston, 11. Jonny Hunter, 12. Michael Orr, 13. Rory Bell, 14. Fal El Valve, 15. Simon McMaster, 16. Matthew Millar, 17. Anton Lupari, 18. Conor McCormack, 19. Daniel Keane, 20. Conor McAuley.
Points scorers: Matthew Keane 1 x try.
SONI ULSTER RUGBY PREMIERSHIP ROUND 4
DIV 2
Bangor 17 Dungannon 22
Bangor team: 1. Charlie Clegg, 2. Andrew Jackson, 3. Philip Whyte, 4. Dave Caughey, 5. Matthew Nesbitt, 6. David Bradford (Capt), 7. James Henley, 8. Ethan Nurray, 9. Shaun Fair, 10. Oscar Yandell, 11. Mark Widdowson, 12. Adam Alexander, 13. Phil Broderick, 14. Lewis Brett. 15. Declan Maguire, 16. Thomas Boyd, 17. Orran McIImurray, 18. Lewis Stevenson, 19. 20. Liam Preston.
Points scorers: David Bradford 2 x tries, Philip Whyte 1 x try, Oscar Yandell 1 x con.
Dungannon team: 1. Glenn Sinnamon, 2. Jamie McNeill, 3. Jonathan Gamble, 4. Guilhem Lopez, 5. Stephen Todd(Capt), 6. David Leyburn, 7. Adam Milligan, 8. Peter Doran, 9. Adam Evans, 10. John Buckley, 11. Caolan Mulgrew, 12. Andrew Weir, 13. Andrew McPhillips, 14. Peter Cashel, 15. Matthew Montgomery, 16. Sean O’Hagan, 17. Daniel Mikolayczyk, 18. Ross Stewart, 19. Jonah Mau’u, 20. John Russell.
Points scorers: Jonah Mau’u, Guilhem Lopez, Caolan Mulgrew 1 x try each, John Buckley 1 xpen and 2 x cons.
City of Derry 17 Omagh 18
City of Derry team: 1. James Hamilton, 2. David Ferguson, 3. Paddy Owens, 4. Jack Townley, 5. Gerard Doherty, 6. Jonathan Lyons, 7. Chris Lamberton, 8. Stephen Corr (Capt), 9. Philp Duffy, 10. Alex McDonnell, 11. Colin Campbell, 12. Thomas Cole, 13. David Lapsley, 14. Callum O’Hagan, 15. James Perry, 16. Sam Duffy, 17. J Toland, 18. A Deery, 19. David Graham 20. M Rankin.
Points scorers: Alex McDonnell, Thomas Cole 1 x try each, Callum O’Hagan 1 x try and 1 x con
Omagh team: 1. Nathan Kilfedder, 2. Richard Hemphill, 3. Peter Todd, 4.James Sproule, 5. Mervyn Edgar (Capt), 6. Michael Gibson, 7. Jack Mitchell, 8. Kaine Holden, 9. Adam Beattie, 10. Kyle Beattie, 11. Ryan Mitchell, 12. Taine Lagan, 13. Dean Kane, 14. Stephen MacLaine, 15. Eoin Murnaghan, 16. Mark Hopton Brown, 17. Glenn McKinley. 18. Richard Smyth, 19. Alan Heaney, 20. Peter Scott.
Points scorers: Dean Kane, Adam Beattie 1 x try each, Kyle Beattie 1 x try and 1 x pen
Rainey OB 28 Belfast Harlequins 19
Rainey OB team: 1. Jack McIntosh, 2. George Fritz, 3. Finatn Quinn, 4. John McCusker, 5. Ronan McCusker, 6. Andrew Harbinson, 7. Charlie Clarke (Capt), 8. Michael McCusker, 9. Lorcan Quinn, 10. Andrew Magrath, 11. Scott McLean, 12. Damien Mcmurray, 13. Andrew Browne, 14. Andrew Donaghy, 15. Michael O’Neill, 16. Stephen Rutledge, 17. Aidan McSwiggan, 18. Michael Caithness, 19. Cameron Stewart, 20. Caolan Devlin.
Points scorers: Charlie Clarke, John McCusker, Damien McMurray 1 x try each, Andrew Magrath 1 x try and 4 x cons.
Belfast Harlequins: 1. Mark McGrath, 2. Saul Herdman, 3. Charlie Sargaison, 4. Danny Annett (Capt), 5. Troy Webber, 6. Toby Mannus, 7. Zac Jordan, 8. Daryl Marshall, 9. Malcolm Corry, 10. Timmy Emerson, 11. Peter Dunlop, 12. Mark Kettyle, 13. Kyle Adams, 14. Christian Bennison, 15. Jordan McIIwrath, 16. Morgan Ellis, 17. Ben Alexander, 18. Charlie Campalani, 19. James Bovill, 20. Peter James.
Points scorers: Peter Dunlop, Christian Bennison, Toby Mannus 1 x try each, James Bovill 2 x cons.
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
DIV 2
Limavady 25 Clogher Valley 3
Limavady team: 1. Clive Scott, 2. Luke Montgomery, 3. John McCollum, 4. Daniel Irvine, 5. John Purcell, 6. Stuart Simpson, 7. Ben Riley, 8. Jonny Lees, 9. Peter Wilson, 10. Gavin Martin, 11. Stewart Roddy, 12. Jody McMurray, 13. Robert Lamberton, 14. Jim McCartney, 15. Matthew Haslett, 16. Perry Semple. 17. Jamie Millar.
Points scorers: John Purcell, John McCollum, Matthew Haslett, Stewart Roddy 1 x try each, Peter Wilson 1 x con, Jim McCartney 1 x con.
Clogher Valley: 1. Philip Hopper, 2. Kyle Cobane, 3. Neil Henderson, 4. Mark McKenna, 5. Michael Treanor (Capt), 6. Eugene McKenna, 7. David Sharkey, 8. Ryan Wilson, 9. Neil Trotter, 10. Reece Smyton, 11. Dylan Eakin, 12. Andrew Johnston, 13. Fleming Agnew, 14. Josh Coulter, 15. Ewan Adair, 16. Aaron Dunwoody, 17. Josh Fegan.
Points scorers; Reece Smyton 1 x pen
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP/CONFERENCE
DIV 1
CIYMS 25 Ballynahinch seconds 27
CIYMS Team: 1. Raduua FreddieKaylo Joe, 2. Scott McNarry, 3. Timothy Acheson, 4. Paddy Aiken, 5. Cory Tipping, 6. Scott Dowle, 7. Jason Gilliland, 8. Shane Moffat, 9. Cameron Stewart, 10. Matthew Kilgore, 11. Josh Newell, 12. Nathan Burns, 13. Gareth Paden, 14. Michael Fry, 15. Peter raine, 16. Michael Lilly, 17. Patrick Butler.
Points scorers: 1. Josh Newell, Jason Gilliland, 3. Nathan Burns 1 x try each, Matthew Kilgore 2 x cons and 2 x pens
Ballynahinch seconds team: Campbell Classon, 2. David Cooper, 3. Jonny Blair, 4. Daniel Dawson, 5. Matthew McKelvey, 6. Max Troughton, 7. Stuart Elwood, 8. Graeme Mckitterick, 9. Lewis Finlay, 10. Matthew Norton (Capt), 11. Johnny McCoubrey, 12. Ralph Mealiff, 13. Eamon McAnulty, 14. Aaron Ferris, 15. James McBriar, 16. Kelvin Hamilton, 17. Ronan Patterson.
Points scorers: Aaron Ferris 3 x tries, Johnny McCoubrey 1 x try, Matthew Norton 2 x cons and 1 x pen.
FIXTURES SATURDAY 29TH DECEMBER 2018
SONI ULSTER RUGBY PREMIERSHIP ROUND 5
DIV 1
Ballymena (5) v Banbridge (4)
Ballynahinch (2) v Malone (1)
Queens University (3) v City of Armagh (6)
SONI ULSTER RUGBY PREMIERSHIP ROUND 5
DIV 2
Belfast Harlequins (3) v City of Derry (5)
Dungannon (2) v Rainey OB (10
Omagh (4) v Bangor (6)
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
DIV1
Coleraine (10) v Carrickfergus (7)
Dromore (2) v Ballyclare (1)
Enniskillen (6) v Portadown (8)
Instonians (3) v Cooke (5)
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP/CONFERENCE
DIV 1
City of Armagh seconds (2) v Grosvenor (6)
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
DIV 2
Academy (3) v Ballymoney(5)
Ards (6) v UUC (10)
Larne (8) v Lisburn (9)
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP/CONFERENCE
DIV 2
Ballymena seconds (5) v Lurgan(120
Clogher Valley (6) v Banbridge seconds (9)
Omagh seconds (10) v Limavady (2)
Randalstown (3) v Malone seconds (7)
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
DIV 3
Cavan (11) v PSNI (3)
Civil Service (8) v Holywood (4)
Donaghadee (1) v Monaghan (2)
Letterkenny (9) v Virginia (5)
Ophir (12) v Newry (7)
Strabane (6) v BHSFP (10)
MILLAR McCALL WYLIE JUNIOR CUP FINAL
Holders Ballynahinch seconds play Dromore at the Kingspan stadium on Wednesday the 2ndJanuary 2019 with a 7.30PM Kick Off. Information on the purchase of tickets is available through the Ulster Rugby website.
To all the followers of the Domestic game I hadn’t planned to publish a preview this week. With the Stevenson Shield up for grabs this weekend it was only right we keep the momentum going that is in the Domestic game this season. The weekend games in the SONI Ulster Rugby Premiership witnessed many players being given the opportunity to make their Senior debut for their 1st xv.
Please encourage your friends and all followers of club rugby in the province to get behind their local community club this weekend. Clubs need your support.
Enjoy your Xmas and I will catch up with you all next week.
Cheers
George
