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President’s<br />
Welcome<br />
Welcome to Round 3 of the United Rugby<br />
Championship, and our second home fixture<br />
of the 2021/22 season for the Ulster Senior<br />
Men’s team. I would also like to extend a<br />
warm welcome to our opponents and guests<br />
this evening – <strong>Benetton</strong> Rugby. They come<br />
into this game full of confidence having<br />
won both of their games in the opening two<br />
Rounds. As 2021’s Rainbow Cup champions,<br />
they will prove to be tricky customers<br />
tonight, no doubt, but I know Dan McFarland<br />
and his coaching team will have the squad<br />
well-prepared for this game.<br />
It’s a momentous evening tonight as<br />
we celebrate Rob Herring reaching the<br />
200-appearance milestone. Since joining the<br />
province in the summer of 2012 from London<br />
Irish, Rob has been a constant in match-day<br />
teams and has become an integral leader<br />
within the squad. I hope you will all give him<br />
the rousing reception he deserves as he takes<br />
to the field this evening.<br />
We are delighted to partner once again with<br />
BBC Sport Northern Ireland to broadcast six<br />
of our home games – including this evening’s<br />
fixture – live on BBC NI.<br />
In addition to televising live the home fixtures<br />
against <strong>Benetton</strong>, Emirates Lions, Connacht,<br />
Cardiff, Munster and the Cell C Sharks, every<br />
Ulster <strong>UR</strong>C fixture will be available on BBC<br />
iPlayer 24 hours after each round.<br />
Last week, it was confirmed that the launch of<br />
the United Rugby Championship attracted a<br />
record number of viewers for a single league<br />
round. Round 1 of the <strong>UR</strong>C represented<br />
the first airing for the league’s new hybrid<br />
model of Free-to-Air (FTA), Pay TV and OTT<br />
which is geared towards making the sport as<br />
accessible as possible in its core territories<br />
and in international markets.<br />
FTA is a fundamental component of the<br />
<strong>UR</strong>C’s new broadcast strategy and rooted<br />
in fan feedback projects which identified<br />
increased FTA coverage in domestic markets<br />
as a priority for the new league.<br />
It is fantastic to see the return of the All-Ireland<br />
League for both the men’s and women’s teams,<br />
as well as the Ulster leagues. After a long and<br />
difficult period, it’s been so encouraging to<br />
have clubs return to a hive of activity.<br />
The Ulster Schools’ Committee last week<br />
launched a new cup competition, sponsored<br />
by Danske Bank. This season will see the<br />
Ulster Schools’ U16 Cup feature 25 boys’<br />
teams competing in a new format, divided<br />
into two tiers of eight, and a third tier of nine.<br />
This competition aims to provide a good level<br />
of competitive rugby for the group of players<br />
who missed out on last year’s Medallion<br />
Shield. This also aims to help players transition<br />
into senior rugby.<br />
I hope you enjoy this evening’s game, and<br />
thank you for your support.<br />
SUFTUM<br />
Gary Leslie<br />
President, IRFU Ulster Branch<br />
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