Banbridge RFC

Last updated

Banbridge
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Full nameBanbridge Rugby Football Club
Union IRFU flag.svg IRFU
Branch Ulster
Founded1926;99 years ago (1926)
Region Down
Ground(s)Rifle Park, Banbridge
ChairmanJohn Ewart
PresidentCliff Harris
Director of RugbyMarc Eadie
Coach(es)Head Coach- Rob Logan, Assistant Coaches- Paddy McAllister, Ricky Andrew & Rob Lyttle
Captain(s)Alexander Thompson
League(s) All-Ireland Div. 2A
2024–25 6th. [1]
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Banbridge Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland, in the province of Ulster. It plays in Division 2A of the Energia All-Ireland League since gaining promotion in 2017, and Division 1 of the Ulster Rugby Premiership. In addition to the senior team, the club fields another 4 adult junior-standard teams, a Women's Team, an U21, youth U18, U16, U14 and U12 teams (boys & girls), as well as a large mini rugby section and a Mixed Ability Rugby Team named The Barbarians.

Contents

Formation

Late in 1925, a group of former Banbridge Academy 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.

Honours

Senior status

At the end of the 1997–98 season, Banbridge won the round-robin play-offs against the other provincial qualifying champions Naas, 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. In the 2016–2017 season Banbridge gained promotion to AIL 1B.

Touring team

Notable current players

Notable past players

References