AIB Junior Cup: Focus On Coleraine

Coleraine will be flying the flag for Junior rugby in Ulster in the AIB Junior Cup final on Saturday and hoping to emulate last season’s winners from the north, Rainey Old Boys.

Coleraine have a proud tradition in rugby and in recent seasons have been close to promotion to the AIB League on two occassions. They lost out in the play-offs in 1999/2000 and again in 2003/04 but they did beat Saturday’s opponents Seapoint in the Round Robin series.

They won last season’s Towns Cup in Ulster, beating Clogher Valley along the way. They have won three out of four  in their Ulster Junior League Cup section this season and are scheduled to play Armagh later this month.

Both Nigel Hall and David Lambe have represented Ulster at Junior Interprovincial level.

The club are very much a community-based one with most of the players drawn from the area.

Eleven of the panel are products of Coleraine Academical Institute, while another seven graduated from the youth section of the club to the first panel.

There are only three non Ulstermen in the squad – Benjy Van Der Byl (pictured right), Tommy Van Wyk and Waldo Herbst – all from South Africa.

Road To The Final –

First Round, Saturday, December 16, 2006

Away to Tullamore, Won 25-23

Tries: John Boyd, Tommy Van Wyk; Pens: Peter McNay 4; Drop: Archie Kettyle

Quarter-Final,  Saturday, February 3, 2007

Home to Boyne, Won 45-17

Tries: Nigel Hall, David Lambe, Colin McNay, Benjy Van der Byl, Peter McNay  ; Cons: Peter McNay 4; Pens: Peter McNay 3; Drop: Peter McNay

Semi-Final, Saturday, March 17, 2007

Away to Mallow, Won 29-13

Tries: Gareth Cochrane 2; Cons: David Andrews 2; Pens: David Andrews 4, Peter McNay

Management –

President: Francis Kerr
Captain: John Boyd
Coach: Norman Blair

Squad –

Full Backs/Wings – Nicky Blair, Brian Cochrane, Tommy Van Wyk (SA), Nigel Hall, Colin McNay, Chris Cochrane

Centres – David Lambe, Benjy Van Der Byl (SA), Peter McNay

Out-Halves – David Andrews, Peter McNay, Chrissie Blair

Scrum Halves – Archie Kettyle, Paul Roxborough, Neil Campbell

Props – Sam Bartlett, John Porter, Arnie Hogg, Aaron Ramage, Stephen Jefferson

Hookers – Paul Brown, Neil Hamilton, Sam McAuley

Locks – John Boyd, John W Boyd, Johnny Gault, Waldo Herbst (SA), Trevor Jackson

Flankers – Marty Miller, Gareth Cochrane, Stephen Dickie, Harry Tate

No 8s