Banbridge RFC
| Full name | Banbridge Rugby Football Club |
|---|---|
| Union |
IRFU Ulster |
| Nickname(s) | Bann |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Ground(s) | Rifle Park, Banbridge |
| President | John Ewart |
| Coach(es) |
 Daniel Soper |
| Captain(s) | Adam Ervine |
Banbridge RFC (Banbridge Rugby Football Club) is a rugby union club based in Banbridge, County Down, in the province of Ulster. It currently plays in Division 2A of the All-Ireland League. In addition to the senior team, the club fields another three adult junior-standard teams, and youth U18, U16 and U14 teams, as well as a large mini rugby section and a Ladies Committee which is the envy of the country.
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
- Ulster Towns Cup: 3
- 1932-33, 1988–89, 1992–93
- Ulster Junior Cup: 1
- 1989-90
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.
Touring team
- The Club also have a touring team called the Bluesox that have travelled to Oldham, Newcastle, Cardiff, Edinburgh, The Netherlands, Isle of Man, Czech Republic, Uxbridge, Estonia, Blackpool. Germany, Devon, Germany, Portugal, Irvine, Italy, Leeds, Cardiff, Aylesbury and Bristol since 1997. In 2016 the team are going back to Newcastle.
Notable current players
Notable past players
External links
- Banbridge RFC
- Ulster Rugby Irish Rugby Football Union