Banbridge RFC
Encyclopedia
Banbridge RFC is a rugby union
club based in Banbridge
, County Down
, in the province of Ulster
. It currently plays in Division 2B of the Ulster Bank All Ireland League. In addition to the senior team, the club fields another four adult junior-standard teams, and youth U19, U17, U15 and U13 teams, as well as a large mini rugby section. This season the 3rds team won their league and are promoted to Junior League 1 and they also won the Harding cup, last won by Heslips Heros 20 years ago.
pupils interested in the game of rugby, got together to form a team to play Newry
. The date of that historic first game was 2 January 1926. One of the players in that first game was F. E. McWilliam
; later the well known Irish surrealist sculptor.
Banbridge spent the next 72 years in the ranks of Ulster junior rugby, with mixed fortunes.
, Monivea
and Midleton
. Their victory secured promotion to Division Four of the All Ireland League
for the 1998-99 season. They have remained as an AIL
senior club since then.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club based in Banbridge
Banbridge
Banbridge is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road. It was named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. The town grew as a coaching stop on the road from Belfast to Dublin and thrived from Irish linen manufacturing...
, County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
, in the province of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
. It currently plays in Division 2B of the Ulster Bank All Ireland League. In addition to the senior team, the club fields another four adult junior-standard teams, and youth U19, U17, U15 and U13 teams, as well as a large mini rugby section. This season the 3rds team won their league and are promoted to Junior League 1 and they also won the Harding cup, last won by Heslips Heros 20 years ago.
Formation
Late in 1925, a group of former Banbridge AcademyBanbridge Academy
Banbridge Academy is a grammar school located in Banbridge, Northern Ireland. The school was founded in 1786.The current Principal is Mr Raymond Pollock OBE, who was previously a Vice Principal at Friends' School, Lisburn. Mr. Pollock was preceded by Mr. Charles Winston Breen , a graduate of...
pupils interested in the game of rugby, got together to form a team to play Newry
Newry RFC
Newry RFC is an Irish amateur rugby union club, founded in 1925 and based Newry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of the Irish Rugby Football Union Ulster Branch...
. The date of that historic first game was 2 January 1926. One of the players in that first game was F. E. McWilliam
F. E. McWilliam
F.E. McWilliam , was a British surrealist sculptor, born in Banbridge, County Down. He worked in stone, wood and bronze chiefly.-Biography:...
; later the well known Irish surrealist sculptor.
Banbridge spent the next 72 years in the ranks of Ulster junior rugby, with mixed fortunes.
Senior status
At the end of the 1997-98 season, Banbridge won the round-robin play-offs against the other provincial qualifying champions NaasNaas RFC
Naas RFC is an Irish rugby team based in Naas, Leinster. They play in division 2B of the All-Ireland League. The club colours are green and white hoops with black shorts and green socks. The Club is the biggest club in Kildare with one of the biggest underage structures in Leinster...
, Monivea
Monivea RFC
Monivea RFC was founded on October 8 1972 by Padraic McGann, since that day the club has grown and progressed to have teams at all levels from the kids playing mini rugby right through to the Junior side who have pushed hard for AIL and qualified in a bid to bring senior rugby to Monivea.The club's...
and Midleton
Midleton RFC
Midleton RFC is an Irish rugby union club that currently plays in Division 2 of the All-Ireland League.-History:The club was originally founded in the 1927/28 season, but disbanded in 1934. Midleton RFC was reformed on 4 March 1967.more famous ex players include Tom Mulcahy, Gary Johnson, Ian...
. Their victory secured promotion to Division Four of the All Ireland League
AIB League
The Ulster Bank All-Ireland League is the national league system for the 48 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is not, however, the highest level of rugby union in Ireland, as teams representing the four provinces of Ireland play...
for the 1998-99 season. They have remained as an AIL
AIB League
The Ulster Bank All-Ireland League is the national league system for the 48 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is not, however, the highest level of rugby union in Ireland, as teams representing the four provinces of Ireland play...
senior club since then.
Touring Team
- The Club also have a touring team called the Bluesox that have travelled to Oldham, Newcastle, Cardiff, Edinburgh, The Netherlands, Isle of Man, Czech Republic, Uxbridge, Estonia, Blackpool. Germany, Devon, Germany, Portugal, Irvine & Italy since 1997. In 2012 the team are going to Leeds.
Notable Past players
- Tyrone HoweTyrone HoweTyrone Gyle Howe is a former rugby union footballer who played on the wing for University of St Andrews RFC, Ulster, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions....
, IrelandIreland national rugby union teamThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
and British and Irish LionsBritish and Irish LionsThe British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales... - Simon BestSimon BestSimon Best is a former Irish rugby union footballer. He played for Ulster and was club captain in Ulster's 2005/06 Magners League winning season...
, IrelandIreland national rugby union teamThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...