This weekend the playing action will include five rearranged AIL matches in Division 2A and B of the Ulster Bank All Ireland League, Sion Ulster Championship League, Kukri Qualifying League, Powerade Towns Cup along with three rearranged Gordon West Cup matches and Second xv League fixtures.

Unfortunately the inclement weather continues to impact on fixtures in Ulster. This weekend we are seeing how postponed AIL matches are forcing the postponement of league matches in the newly sponsored Sion Ulster Championship league. The fixture schedule in Ulster allows for few free weekends with postponements causing a backlog of outstanding fixtures to be rearranged and played.

No where is the congestion in the demanding fixture schedule more evident than the Kukri Qualifying league One. With ten weekends left there are 8/9 matches to be completed by the teams in Q 1 by Saturday the 26th March 2016. There are also three rounds of Towns Cup matches that will force teams into playing mid week league games. If Bangor and Instonians finish level in Q 1 there will have to be a playoff. If Bangor make the Final Of the Towns Cup on Easter Monday 28th March and Instonians the Final of the McCrea Cup on Wednesday 30th March when will these two teams play a playoff match. The winners of Q 1 are listed to play their Round Robin matches against the other Provincial winners on the 2nd/9th/and 16th April with the runners up in the Round Robin due to play their playoff match with the 9th place team in Division 2C on Sat 23rd April.
With the introduction of playoffs in the AIL these playoff games are scheduled to take place on the 16th and 30th April.
The playoffs involving the teams in Q1/2 will take place on the 16th April and Q2/3 on Sat 23rd April.
With these dates set there are once again going to be undue demands placed on the players during the remaining months.

Delighted to hear that the IRFU led by Scott Walker and Gordon Black are undertaking discussions with clubs on the way forward for the AIL league. Similar discussions need to be undertaken within the provinces most notably in Ulster to reduce the ever increasing demands on players and teams. The fact that a number of teams and their players have already played over twenty matches with the possibility of playing up to thirty five matches in a season for an amateur sport is totally unacceptable.

Ulster Bank All Ireland League

Division 2A
Thomond v UCC
Galway Corinthians v Cashel RFC

Division 2B
Rainey OB (9th) v City of Derry ( 1st)
When these two sides met at Judges Road in December City of Derry ran out 32 - 21 winners. Rainey Head coach John Andrews has taken over the reins at the club this season assisted by Ulster centre Luke Marshall. He brings considerable experience from his 16 years coaching at Rainey, Dungannon and Ballymena before his return to the Magherfelt club. Over the last two seasons he had been helping former Head coach Richard Boyd at Rainey with the backs before taking charge at Hatrick Park. In his 21 years coaching at Ballymena Academy John Andrews has become a familiar name responsible for developing future Ulster and Irish Internationals through the Schools system. He has lost none of his appetite for the game with the young kids at the School providing that energy and motivation to coach the game he enjoys. When offered the opportunity to coach again at Rainey it was an opportunity he could not turn down. He is really enjoying his time back at the club. One area he has focused on this season is to build in a culture of training alongside preparation for games. He felt his players were caught cold in last week's game against Greystones following three weeks without a match. Prior to the defeat against City of Derry the team had built momentum before the absence of games over the Xmas/New Year had slowed their progress. The coaches and players face consecutive matches against City of Derry, Dungannon and Armagh in the AIL as they push for a mid table placing.
The coach is aware that the game at home to City of Derry will be tough. They are the inform team in the league. He believes his players gave Derry too much respect in the first twenty minutes of their meeting at Judges Road. His players are in a good place and ready to play on Sat. They need to put together a 3/4 match winning run with the coach having set his players targets for the next block of games. There is competition for starting places with the players putting in a good night at training on Tuesday night. The coach feels his team on their day can compete with any team in the league.
Rainey will be missing their number 8 Darren Corrigan who fractured his hand for several weeks. He is a player the coach sees having a big future in the game. The experienced Timothy Barker returned to play against Greystones last Sat and his presence will be invaluable in developing the clubs young forwards. The team to play City of Derry includes front row Kieran Donaghy, Andrew Shaw and Ronan McCusker with Ronan McCusker and Peter Stewart in the second row. Rory Winters and Jonny Lees are joined by Jody McMurray in the back row. Michael Wilson and Gavin Martin continue at 9 and 10 with Simon Derby and Damien McMurray in the centre. Nicholas Stirling and Josh McIIroy are on the wings with Scott McLean at full back. The bench includes Neil O'Kane, Joe Roe, Bernard Mullen, Caolan Moran and Aiden Pitman. Both Timothy Barker and Michael Pyper are unavailable with injury ruling out Stephen Rutledge.
City of Derry coach Terry McMaster is taking nothing for granted with seven matches remaining as his team opened up a 13 point lead on nearest rivals Sunday's Well at Judges Road last Sat. He continues to take it one game at a time with Ulster derbies coming up against Rainey, Dungannon and Armagh in the next five weeks. He acknowledges these are potential banana skins for his team and players.

Armagh (5th) v Seapoint (10th)
Rearranged games always bring their own selection problems for the coaches. Players make arrangements on free weekends to go skiing etc at this time of the year. This is the third time of asking that Armagh will hope to fulfil the away game with Seapoint. When the two teams met at the Palace Grounds at the beginning of December - Armagh found it difficult to break down the Seapoint defence winning by the narrow margin of 9 - 0. There is a widely held view that this is a season of consolidation for this young Armagh squad. Both back row forwards Neil Faloon and James Hanna are unavailable this weekend with James Morton an injury doubt. Phil Matthews is expected to return to the squad after being unavailable last weekend. Matty Wright who provides vocal and strong leadership at scrum half remains on the injured list with a shoulder injury. Execution and Accuracy with the ball in hand has been an issue the coaches are working hard on to finish of the opportunities the players have been creating each week.
Once again Armagh - like Dungannon the previous week ended up playing uncontested scrums for the final twenty five minutes against Bective Rangers last sat in their 8 - 0 win on the 3G pitch at Donnybrook.
There is optimism with turnouts of 40 players at training the new coaching team of Alex McCloy, Brian McLaughlin and Willy Faloon can continue to develop and make progress with the playing squad at Armagh.

Highfield v MU Barnhall
Rainey OB v City of Derry
Seapoint v Armagh

Ulster Championship League
Section One
City of Derry v Ballynahinch - Postponed
Malone (5th) v Ballymena (1st)
Ballymena Head coach Andy Graham has selected a strong squad for the UCL game with Malone at Gibson Park. Front row Bryan Young, Adam McBurney and Chris Cundell with Davy Whann and debutant Ciaran Thompson in the second row. Andrew Knox debutant along with Dominic Gallagher and Connor Smyth make up the back row. John Creighton and Richie McMaster are at 9 and 10 with Marty Irwin and Kieran Joyce in the centre. Jordan Foster returns on the wing along with Jonny Rossborough with James Beattie moving to full back. The Ballymena bench includes Rodney Hall, Andrew Cundell, Ben O'Ryan, David O'Hara and Rodger McBurney subject to game time with Ulster A.

Section Two
Belfast Harlequins (3rd) v Banbridge (1st). Played Thursday 21.1.16. Kick off 7.30pm

Quins have selected a strong playing squad with the focus on their next AIL game at Shannon on Saturday week. Front row Mark McGrath, Stephen Weir and Paul Greenaway. Captain Neil McComb is partnered in the second row alongside Matthew McKelvey with Johnny Sire, Olly Loughead and and Matthew Fisher starting in the back row. Jonny McConnell and Timmy Emerson start at 9 and 10. Adam White and Jack Newman are in the centre with Andrew McPhillips and Mark Glover on the wings with Dave McMaster at full back. The bench includes Olly McCollum, Neil Montgomery, Callum Leckey, Brendan Monahan and Rory Blake Knox.

Banbridge Head coach Daniel Soper is mindful of players carrying knocks with another crucial AIL game coming up on Sat week. From last Saturday's 20 he is resting Colin Bickerstaff, Stu Cromie, Kallan Martin, Josh Cromie and Miles O'Hagan. He is giving several young players the opportunity to play on the 1st xv. The club 2nd xv are also involved in a Towns Cup match with neighbours Portadown this weekend.

Powerade Towns Cup. 2nd Round
Armagh seconds v Clogher Valley
Interesting match this at the Palace Grounds. Last season Armagh seconds made it to the quarter finals after defeating Bangor in the second round. Armagh 1st xv have to play a rearranged AIL game at Seapoint on Sat. How will that impact on Armagh second xv for this weekend. Clogher Valley were defeated in the final last season by Ballynahinch seconds. The Fivemiletown team are celebrating their 25th Anniversary this season and would like to celebrate it with another Cup Final appearance at the Kingspan stadium.

The Clogher Valley team for this weekend is front row Philip Moore, Kyle Cobain and Richard Primrose with Michael Treanor and Eugene McKenna in the second row. Captain David Sharkey is joined by Barry Jon Wilson and number 8 Ryan Wilson in the back row. Neil Trotter and Aaron Best continue at 9 and 10 with the centre pairing of David Speers and Allister Trenier. Clive Donaldson and Andy Breen are on the wings with Fleming Agnew at full back. Philip Hopper and Keith Todd are on the bench. Both PC Falconer and Philip Holmes remain on the injured list.

Ballymoney v Dromore
These are difficult times for the coaches, players and supporters at Ballymoney rugby club. Head coach James Carson is hoping the Towns Cup game with Dromore will help to get their season back on track. They have lost their last three league games and find themselves in the bottom three of Q 2. The 31 - 0 defeat at Randalstown last weekend was particularly galling for the coach. He felt his players lacked enough fight to front up against Randalstown. That is what really hurt the Head coach. He is expected to make a number of changes to reverse the teams fortunes. The clubs second xv have been performing well this season and there is an opportunity for some of the players to step up and push for a starting place on the 1st xv. It is a Cup match and he expects his team to go all out and cause an upset.

Dromore Head coach Jonny Cullen was again disappointed his team let slip a 10 - 0 lead against Ballyclare at home last Sat after missing three penalties. He felt his team made too many mistakes and allowed a hard working Ballyclare team back into the game to draw the match 10 -10. Three Dromore players had to leave the pitch during the match and will undergo late fitness tests on Thursday night. When Dromore played Coleraine in the Junior Cup it required a team effort to get over the winning line 18 - 17 at rugby Avenue.

Ballynahinch seconds v Ards
Cup holders Ballynahinch seconds impressed in their 34 - 17 win over Q 2 league leaders Carrickfergus in the 1st round at Ballymacarn Park. With Ballynahinch 1st xv having no game due to the postponement of their UCL game at Judges Road against City of Derry expect the holders to be able to field a very strong team this weekend.

Banbridge seconds v Portadown
Local derby at Rifle Park this weekend. The Bann 1st xv have an UCL league game against Belfast Harlequins at Deramore Park on Thursday night with Head coach Daniel Soper focusing on his team securing promotion to Div 1B of the AIL. He is trying to rest key players and select two teams for the matches involving the 1st xv and the seconds Towns Cup match at home to Portadown. His second xv will be a mixture of young players including Robin Sinton who has stepped up from the under 18s and AIL stalwart Andy Brown. Much will depend on out half Robin Thompson who has played several games for the 1st xv this season.

Portadown Head coach Richard Hedley was pleased with the performance of his team in their 22 - 6 win at CIYMS last Sat. They were forced into making several changes due to the late withdrawal of backs Chris Cousens and Johnny McClure. Ryan Purvis , Daniel Tully and James Carleton were the teams try scorers with Purvis kicking two conversions and a penalty. Influential second row James Carleton is unavailable this weekend and will be replaced by Danny Alexander. Both Malcolm Allister and Johnny Holden are available for inclusion in the squad this week. Chris Cousens and Johnny McClure will face late fitness tests on Thursday night. Portadown have won five of their last six games in an impressive run this squad is putting together.

Bangor v Ballymena seconds
Both these teams met in the Junior Cup second round at Eaton Park with the North Down side coming out 33 - 29 winners in a tightly contested match. Spectators can expect another high scoring match at Upritchard Park this weekend between two teams that will want to run the ball.

There was disappointment Bangor let slip a halftime lead at Shaws bridge last Sat to lose their top of the table clash with league champions Instonians 23 - 17. The North Down side have already won the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup and are looking to return and contest another Cup Final at the Kingspan stadium on Easter Monday.

Bangor 1st xv Manager Ricky Armstrong is expecting another big game against a strong Ballymena team. He knows his players will have to be at their best to beat Ballymena seconds. He pointed out his team have not had it easy in the Cup draws this season.
For the match this weekend Orran McIImurray returns at loose head with Philip Whyte restored at tight head. Irish Schools Hooker Conor McEvoy makes his debut for the 1st xv. Michael Ferguson returns to the second row to partner Darren Kelly. David Bradford continues at 7 with Craig Burton moving to 6 and Captain Jamie Clegg steeping into the number 8 jersey. Jason Guthrie and Jason Morgan are at 9 and 10 with Mike Weir partnering Ross McCloskey in the centre. Regular winger Davy Charles is unavailable and is replaced by Neil Cuthbertson . Mark Widdowson is on the other wing with Adam McCusker at full back. Rob Gamble and Andrew Jackson take their place on the bench.

Ballymena seconds have selected a strong starting xv. Front row of Chris Allen, James Taggart and Andrew Ferguson with Chris Smyth and Ian Caldwell in the second row. Matthew Dick, Oliver Millar and Paddy McGowan make up the back row. The experienced Glen Baillie is at scrum half alongside Paul Campbell. John Nicholl and Paddy James are in the centre with Dean Reynolds and Richard McCrudden on the wings and Rory Drysdale at full back. Bench cover is provided by Alan Campbell and Ryan Mathison.

Coleraine v Omagh
Head coach Richard Boyd and his players are looking forward to this Cup tie with visitors Omagh at Rugby ave. The match enables the coach to rotate the squad and give some players who have been training hard an opportunity. His teams main focus is on the league and securing a top two finish but another good Cup performance will help to maintain our momentum and confidence.
The team had a solid win over Larne last week to continue our unbeaten home record which was pleasing. The players were disappointed not to secure a bonus point which is a sign of how far we have come this year and the standards we have set ourselves.
The squad have been training hard with gym sessions on Tuesday's and pitch sessions on a Thursday over the last couple of months and thankfully we are in a good place in terms of injuries.
This should be a good game between two sides who like to play rugby and we go into the game with no pressure and nothing to lose which is an added bonus.

Omagh Head coach Phil Marshall was pleased to see his players playing again after their 25 - 5 win at home to Ards last Sat. His players are looking forward to the Towns Cup tie at Coleraine. It will be a tough game with several players unavailable including James Catterson, Ryan Mitchell, Lee Murphy and Alan Heaney. With the club fielding four teams this weekend the playing resources at the club will be stretched. The coach welcomes back Steven Lyons to the front row with Mervyn Edgar taking his place on the bench. Jamie Sproule will replace the unavailable James Catterson. Young Adam Beatty and Stewart McCain continue at 9 and 10. Tonga Taleni replaces Alan Heaney in the centre with Davy Ward restored at full back. Scott Elliott replaces Kyle Mitchell on the wing. Club Captain Andrew Ferguson returns after six weeks to take his place on the bench. Injuries and unavailabilities are providing opportunities for more young players to be exposed to Qualifying One rugby. As the coach says it is hard to balance player progress with the pragmatism of needing league points.
The goal for the team this season is to make the top half and challenge for a top four finish in Q 1. They made the semi finals of the Junior Cup and are looking another good run in the Towns Cup. The coach was concerned by the loss of their two three quarters Ali Beckett and Neil Brown to City of Derry at the beginning of the season. He has found two replacements in the McLaine brothers Stephen and Neil. Both are excellent footballers.

Larne v Donaghadee
Head coach Ryan Mulligan is looking forward to his Larne team progressing to the next round of the Towns Cup and play another Q 1 side after losing narrowly to Clogher Valley in the Junior Cup. Both these teams have already met in the league at the Glynn in October with the east Antrim side running out 32 - 15 winners. At the minute he is missing Rhys Thomas and Craig Gibson with long term injuries. The coach is hoping both Ian McIheron and Jonny Hall will be available to play in the centre along with Scott Montgomery on the wing. The coach is aware how these injuries impact on his small playing squad. He will also welcome back to Larne Matthew Agnew and Colin McKinty who have resigned for Larne from CIYMS.

Donaghadee Head coach John West felt his team will have learned lessons from their 29 - 6 home defeat to Q 2 league leaders Carrickfergus at Donaldson Park last weekend. He thought Carrick were very well organised and looked like a team who had played together for a while. His players competed with Carrick for sixty minutes and put in the effort they had put into their previous two matches. He felt his team were beaten by this season's Q 2 champions . His team and players now know what they have to aim for. Like his Larne counterpart Ryan Milligan - Donaghadee do not have the biggest playing squad to select from. He is expecting few changes from last week's team. Matthew Johnston is available this week and along with the returning Paul Hamilton will add strength to the playing squad. The coach also mentions the outstanding consistency being shown by Ulster Junior back row forward Chris Hamilton this season.
His players are working hard and are looking to overturning their defeat at Larne earlier in the season.

Lurgan v Enniskillen
Enniskillen Head coach Norman Richmond is taking a strong side to play Lurgan at Pollack Park this weekend. Matty Maguire and James Ferguson are the only two players unavailable for selection. The target for the Skins players is a big performance and progress to the next round of the Towns Cup. Jamie Johnston returns to the team and his presence gives the Enniskillen pack that go forward play with his strong carries.
There is a good buzz around the Club and players with the coach targeting a run in the Towns Cup and a top two finish in Q 2 with the aim of keeping the pressure on Carrick and Coleraine.

Armagh seconds v Clogher Valley
Ballymoney v Dromore
Ballynahinch seconds v Ards
Banbridge seconds v Portadown
Bangor v Ballymena seconds
Coleraine v Omagh
Larne v Donaghadee
Lurgan v Enniskillen

Kukri Qualifying League

Qualifying One
Instonians (1st) v Cooke (8th). Played Friday 22.1.16. Kick off 7.30pm

After their 23 - 17 home win over league leaders Bangor last weekend a win along with a bonus point on Friday night against Cooke at Shaws bridge will see Instonians draw level on points with Bangor with eight matches remaining.
Instonians Head coach William Leacock was delighted with his players commitment as they turned around a halftime loss to win the second half battle with Bangor. He felt Bangor were the best team in the first half with his Inst team dominating the second half. His team played poorly in the 1st half although his players upped their tempo and accuracy in the second half to run out worthy winners. The back row of Rory McCurry, Robert Whitten and Lewis McNamara were outstanding along with young centre Joe Fryers.
The coach is expecting a tough game on Friday night. Cooke have been playing well lately and will offer a huge challenge at Shaws bridge. Back row forward Rory McCurry will face a late fitness test . Mark Mairs is added to the squad after playing well for the seconds against Portadown.

Cooke Head coach Colin Atkinson felt his team missed a great opportunity to win at Clogher Valley last Sat after going down 24 - 22. A couple of errors and calls at crucial times went against his players. He is confident his players will learn from the experience.
He agrees it is a big game on Friday night. He expects his team to go in as huge underdogs with his players relishing that tag. He believes his players are good enough to compete with any team in the league when they perform. Kyle Mitchell returns to the centre with Ryan Flavelle pushing Matthew Elliott for the 9 jersey otherwise there will be no other changes from the team that started against Clogher Valley. Andy Nelson, Philip Cartmill and Alex Gourley scored their teams try's at the Cran with Gourley converting two and kicking one penalty.

Gordon West Cup. 1st Round
BHSFP v UUC

Qualifying Three
Letterkenny v UUC. Postponed

Second xv League
Malone seconds v Queens seconds. Played Wednesday 20.1.16. Kick off 8pm. Malone won 48 - 5.
Belfast Harlequins seconds v Banbridge seconds

Cheers
George