Irish Rugby TV: Draw Made For Brendan Johnston Cup
The draw for the IRFU & Student Sport Ireland Third Level Colleges cup competitions was made at the Aviva Stadium last week. We hear from IRFU Junior Vice-President Nicky Comyn and Chair of SSI Carmel Lynch about the importance of third level rugby.
Twenty-nine college rugby teams will participate in three cup competitions coordinated by the IRFU and Student Sport Ireland, the governing body for third level sport on the island of Ireland.
Last year’s Brendan Johnston Cup champions IT Carlow will open their defence of the title away to Dublin City University, Dublin IT and Athlone IT is a very tasty pairing also at the quarter-final stage, with the third quarter-final pairing of Ulster University v Mary Immaculate giving the winners a chance to progress to the semi-finals for the first time ever.
Division 1 league champions before Christmas, Garda College, will meet the winners of the Ulster University and Mary Immaculate in the semi-final. The quarter finals will take place on Wednesday, February 14.
Guest of honour at the event was Brendan Johnston after whom the senior cup competition is named. During his 35 years as sports officer and lecturer at Dundalk Institute of Technology, Brendan was an advocate for third level sport with a passion for rugby, serving as Honorary Secretary to the Irish Colleges Rugby Union for many years.
Players, coaches and representatives of third level colleges attended the launch which was addressed by Carmel Lynch, Student Sport Ireland Domestic Chairperson, and Nicky Comyn, Junior Vice-President and Chair of the Third Level Committee of the Irish Rugby Football Union.
The draw for Brendan Johnston Cup Tier 2 and Tier 3 cups are as follows. Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cup games will be played on Wednesday, February 7 with the Brendan Johnston Cup kicking off a week later. Kick-off times will be confirmed in the coming days with the cups culminating with the finals on Thursday, March 22 at Buccaneers RFC.
BRENDAN JOHNSTON CUP DRAW:
– First named team at home
Game 1: Dublin IT v Athlone IT ‘A’
Game 2: Dublin City University ‘A’ v IT Carlow ‘A’
Game 3: Ulster University v Mary Immaculate
Game 4: Garda College v Bye
Semi-Finals – First named team at home
Game 5: Dublin IT or Athlone IT ‘A’ v Dublin City University ‘A’ or IT Carlow ‘A’
Game 6: Ulster University or Mary Immaculate v Garda College
TIER 2 CUP DRAW:
– First named team at home
Group A:
Game 1: Limerick IT v University of Limerick
Game 2: University of Limerick v Galway Mayo IT
Game 3: Galway Mayo IT v Limerick IT
Group B:
Game 1: Belfast Met v Waterford IT
Game 2: Waterford IT v IT Carlow ‘B’
Game 3: IT Carlow B v Belfast Met
TIER 3 CUP DRAW:
– First named team at home
Game 1: National College of Ireland v IT Tallaght
Game 2: Dundalk IT v IT Blanchardstown
Game 3: IT Tralee v Cork IT
Game 4: University College Cork v Dublin City University ‘B’
Game 5: Ulster University Coleraine v Stranmillis College
Game 6: Queens University Belfast v UU Jordanstown
Game 7: IT Sligo v NUI Galway
Game 8: Athlone IT ‘B’ v UU Magee
Quarter-Finals:
– First named team at home
Winners of Game 1 v Winners of Game 2
Winners of Game 3 v Winners of Game 4
Winners of Game 5 v Winners of Game 6
Winners of Game 7 v Winners of Game 8