Ulster

The drop-off in Belfast is an issue when it comes to Antrim’s future.

In December 2024, the county launched a new five-year strategic plan, addressing a range of issues including player retention and development.

At present, there are 51 clubs in Antrim, comprising of approximately 20,000 members of which 15,000 are players, but when it’s considered the population of west Belfast alone is over 100,000, there is potential for much more.

Since St Gall’s record-breaking run of of eight county titles in a row ended in 2014, the Padraig MacNamee Cup has been in Belfast just once when Cunningham’s Lamh Dhearg triumphed in 2017.

“There is a question of participation levels, but the standard of underage football in Belfast is quite poor and there’s no point dressing it up,” Cunningham insists.

“Aside from St Brigid’s and St Paul’s who can compete at U16 and minor level because of the numbers they have, the rest – and I include my own club – are scrapping to get teams out on the pitch.”

No school from within the county plays in the Ulster Colleges MacRory Cup and exposure to top-level competition at a young age is one area Cunningham, a teacher at St Mary’s CBGS, feels is vital to raising standards which will feed into county teams.

“There is no school competing at colleges’ ‘A’ football apart from St Louis [Ballymena] in Year Nine.

“If the Gaelfast, Belfast city combined team is harnessed correctly over a number of years, there is something in that, but it requires buy-in.

“They’ve piloted it this year with Year Nine and Year 12, but does that continue into Year 10 next year? It needs to be continued with the same panel or else by the time they get to Year 12, you’re back to square one as it takes time for a squad to gel.

“It needs to be piloted from Year Eight right through to Year 14 to see how it goes.”

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy said his side “were a bit wasteful at times” during their 28-12 United Rugby Championship victory over Zebre in Parma.

Despite the home side being reduced to 14 men after Simone Gesi’s straight red card just before the half-hour mark, it was a tight and tense match.

The bonus-point win moves Murphy’s side up to third position in the URC table as they return to winning ways ahead of their Challenge Cup fixture against Ospreys at the Affidea Stadium.

“We expected it to be really physical over here and that is what we got,” Murphy said.

“I suppose the red card early in the game gave us a bit more of an advantage and I thought from our point of view, we have to look after the ball better as we were a bit wasteful at times.

“But very happy to get four tries. Coming over here is always very difficult.”

Player of the Match Werner Kok, who scored the bonus-point try, believed that the turning point in the game was the start of the second half.

Ulster scored three tries after the restart with Rob Herring, Zac Ward and Kok all able to cross the line.

“We stopped playing when they went down to 14 and we tried to regroup again and the boys stuck together and played as a team,” Kok said.

“I think the energy from the kick-off [in the second half] was the turning point. The boys stuck in there and that was the turning point for me.”