Mr. President and Members,
It is my privilege and pleasure to present to you, this my Twentieth and my last Annual Report as Honorary Secretary of Ballymena Rugby Football Club.
Mr. President, in 1993, I began my third Annual Report by saying that the season just ended would be remembered as when the unthinkable had occurred – Ballymena being relegated to Division Two of the All-Ireland league. Sadly the season just finished will be remembered for the same reason. In a season which stumbled to a close with their last two scheduled games both cancelled, albeit by the opposition, the First XV finished second from the bottom of Division IB of the AIB League and fifth in the Ulster Championship League.
Our position was not helped by the reluctance of Ulster to release to us any contracted players, a fact borne out in the Semi-final of AIB Cup, when Cork Constitution came to Eaton Park with their full quota of 3 contracted players plus three Development Contract players, whereas we had the services of none.
But I first turn, if I may, Mr. President, to a more detailed playing record of all our various teams:
The First XV won only five of their AIB League games, and a shortage of bonus points saw them finish 7th in Division 1B to suffer relegation. In the Ulster Championship League, they won five out of eight games played. They did reach the semi-final of the AIB Cup, but were eliminated from the Ulster Senior Cup in the first round, losing narrowly to Harlequins. In all, they played 27 games, winning 13 and losing 14, with 507 points for and 514 against. In the AIL, Sam McKinney and Tommy Seymour were our top try-scorers, with Davy O’Hara scoring most points.
The Second XV ended joint winners of the Second XV league, but were eliminated from the Towns’ Cup in the first round, and they did not qualify for the knock-out stage of the Junior Cup. They won 18 and lost 7 of their 25 games played, with 654 points for and 317 against. Enjoying a better season than of late, a young Third XV won 11 of their 21 games played, which saw them finish mid-table in Junior League Section 1, but they were knocked out of the Crawford Cup in the second round. They scored 544 points with 549 against. The Fourths had a difficult season in Junior League Section 3, winning only one of their 18 games, which left them second from bottom, and they also made their exit from the Crawford Cup at the first stage. Scoring only 77 points, they conceded 426. They will be relegated, but next season they should feel more comfortable in the lower League.
The Fifth XV however had another successful season. They won 29 and lost only one of their 30 games played, scoring 916 points while conceding only 135. They won North-East Section of the Minor League, and retained the Ravenhill Cup, but were disqualified from the Final of the McCambley Cup.
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