Following the recent announcement of the Ulster Women’s Interprovincial Squad we are delighted to confirm that City of Derry stalwart, Ulster and Irish International, Stacey Lea Kennedy, will be Captain for the series and there could be no better candidate in our opinion.
Stacey Lea Kennedy (front centre) leads shows early leadership potential as she leads the pack out!
We said back in 2010 after her call up to Ireland : “[Kennedy] was one of Ulster’s stand out players in the Inter-Provincials with her hard tackling and strong ball carrying skills allowing her to switch seamlessly between hooker and wing forward. Definitely one of the “characters” of the Ulster Squad, Stacey has shown great determination and commitment and the Derry girl will be pushing herself hard to make the final cut for the Six Nations.”
Since then Kennedy has went on to be a regular for Ulster and Ireland, was the Front Row Union Player of the Year in 2011 and this season she added strong leadership skills to her considerable talents as she successfully guided a rebuilding City of Derry through a difficult season in the AIL2 bringing through many new players in the process.
With Ulster Women going through something of a hiatus this season Kennedy will certainly need all her drive and determination to steady a somewhat rocky ship. Ulster’s preparation for the Interpros was thrown into disarray with the shock resignation of one of their coaches mid way through their preparations. There are few enough good coaches in the Women’s game and it’s a pity that choices were forced in this issue.
Difficulties have been compounded with Cooke, so long the mainstay of Ulster Women’s rugby, struggling in AIL1 with the Belfast side losing a lot of experienced players, as indeed have Kennedy’s beloved City of Derry, and support and financial input to the Women’s game in Ulster has continued to fall behind the the other Provinces.
Despite all this there are some some rays of hope, not least the appointment of the exceptionally committed Kennedy and the experienced Grace Davitt as Captain and Vice Captain respectively. In addition Belfast Harlequins pair Nikki Caughey and Ashleigh Baxter have gone from strength to strength following their call up to Ireland last year and the resurgent Queen’s University Ladies have been a revelation as they stormed through AIL2 unbeaten, playing some fantastic rugby on the way.
Queen’s and Quins and Cooke form the backbone of the Ulster side and with the determined Kennedy sure to lead by example there is every possibility that Ulster will improve on their impressive performances last season.
Speaking on her appointment Kennedy told the Front Row Union:
“I am delighted to have been asked to Captain the Ulster Ladies for this year’s Interprovincial series. It will be a very proud moment to lead the ladies onto the pitch for our first game against Munster.
“I must admit I am very nervous as it is a massive role for me, but I feel Captaining City of Derry over the last two years will have helped me prepare for the task ahead. This year as it has been a difficult season for us in AIL 2, loosing experienced players and bringing through new girls, but I am very excited for the girls and their future in the game as the potential has been the best City Of Derry have seen for a long time. (Who knows maybe we will do a Queens next year!)
“Ulster Ladies may have a very young side but I can assure you that we have been working hard and we will go out there and continue to build on our performances from last season.
“Munster and Leinster have a head start with experienced players, at Irish and Provincial level, who have been playing together for a long time, but this is something we are aware of and won’t be letting it put us off our own game.
“The young girls that have come through this season are amazing rugby players and its great to see because there isn’t just 1 or 2 of them. There is a number of girls who have really worked hard and shone through. Queen’s player Jemma Jackson, Malone’s Steffi Clarke (who is out injured at the moment) and Derry’s Hannah Kilgore are just a few that have not been playing the sport for very long but have got a very bright future.
“Although I will admit I was very worried about this coming series as its no secret that our numbers have not been great at training due to injuries and other commitments, but when I take a look around at training and see the potential we have in each player I’m feeling very confident.
“Our forwards are adaptable with each of us having many different skills and experiences – Ilse Van Staden playing South African rugby all her life as a front row player who played most of her season last year in the centre.
“Nikita Armstrong coming through the ranks from mini rugby right through to Senior Ulster Ladies and Gemma McCutcheon, who has the biggest fight for such a small girl, was playing in Australia all summer. Imogen Porter has also had an amazing season this year getting her mojo back and enjoying her rugby again which will be a great benefit to us.
“As for our backs with the experience of Grace Davitt there is no better women to lead the back line. Grace trains the way she plays all the time and she has been a real inspiration for me and I’m just so glad to have her in the Vice Captain position this year.
“Ashley [Baxter] and Nikki’s [Caughey] Irish experience will make a huge difference for us this year, these two girls have really proved to be outstanding players and I look forward to watching the progress even more. Amy Davis is an amazing athlete will also add to the strength of our squad.
“The determination of the girls has been very impressive this year, especially Sorcha Chipperfield, who wasn’t named on the squad last year but continued to work hard and never gave up until she got her first call up for the Connacht game which saw her come on and show us how much she wanted it by scoring her first try. Sorcha has continued to work hard all year round to prepare herself for this year’s series.
“As for myself, well, like most of the girls, I have such a passion for the game that I’m just going to go out and play with everything that I have. Lead the girls from the front and hopefully take them up to the top – an Ulster Girl in Heart and Soul.“
Corrections, comments or questions?