Toon is Club of the Year

The annual Ulster Rugby Awards Ceremony was held last week at the La Mon Hotel in Belfast, sponsored by Magners, Ulster Rugby's Official Drinks Partner.

Guests gathered to celebrate the achievements and development of rugby at all levels, with the ceremony bringing together the cream of the crop in Ulster, and recognising the role that school, youth, club and professional players, as well as their representative teams and clubs, play in the development of the game in the province.

And it was the Toon who scooped the prestigious Club of the Year accolade.

The organisers said: "Ballymoney is a club which appears to be on the up and up in all areas; from the 1st XV to the newly established Women's section.

"The highlight of the year for the club, was winning the Powerade Town's Cup for the first time in their history.

"The 1st, 2nd and 3rd XV's all finished a very respectable 3rd in their respective Leagues, while the 4th XV won Magners Minor League North and reached the finals of both the McCambley and Ravenhill Cups.

"Semi-final appearances were also achieved by 3rd XV in the Forster Cup and the U17's in Youth Cup. The U17 team also finished runners up in the Brewin Dolphin League, with the U15 team 3rd in the Brewin Dolphin U15 League."

The big winner of the night was Ulster No 8 Chris Henry, who scooped three awards; the top accolade of Magners Personality of the Year, the Magners League Rugby Writers' Player of the Year award and the Ulster Rugby Supporters Club Outstanding Player of the Season award.

Rugby legend Dr Jack Kyle was also honoured on the night, becoming the first inductee into the IRFU Ulster Branch Hall of Fame.