By Daniel Noble
ARDS Rugby will return to Ulster Championship 1 after their first team clinched promotion with a dominant playoff victory at the expense of CIYMS.
They were afforded the opportunity to climb a division after Enniskillen advanced to the All- Ireland League, opening up an extra space in Championship 1.
With Limavady already claiming the automatic promotion place, and Randalstown relegated from the league above, that left Ards and second-from-bottom Championship 1 side CI to battle it out in a winner- takes-all promotion-relegation decider.
Despite there being so much on the line in a one-off match, Ards showed no sign of nerves, storming to a comfortable 41-14 triumph.
They got off to a fast start when Matthew Bell scored the opening try, before Joel DePledge converted, and although CI soon levelled, scores via Angus Christie and Aaron May, with the extras of DePledge, put the Black Knights back on top at 19-7.
The second half was one-way traffic and while their opponents did manage another seven-point try, Ards blew them away courtesy of tries from May, Christie and skipper Robbie Johnston, as well the kicks of DePledge and Ethan Bell.
It was a landmark moment for the Hamilton Park side, considering how far they have come since head coach Palmer Eccles’ arrival two years ago.
Eccles joined Ards with the team sitting in the bottom two in Championship 2 and while he should be apportioned a significant chunk of the plaudits, he believes the prise should land elsewhere.
“This is my second year with the club and when I arrived, they were second bottom in the league. So, we had an uphill battle, but the lads kept their heads down and worked hard to get where we are now,” he said. “It’s been a great transformation over these two years and that’s down to the lads and everyone at the club buying into what we set out to achieve.”
The Ards boss could not have been more pleased with the performance on the day and believes his team are capable of making the step up in Ulster’s top division.
“We made no secret that promotion was our objective at the start of the season, and it came down to the playoff in the end, with Limavady beating us to the automatic spot.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. CI are a good side, but we went there full of confidence, coming off the back of eight or nine wins, and we backed ourselves.
“I think we fully deserved our promotion. Championship 1 is a very competitive league and we’re looking to bring in new players and develop our current players, but if we keep improving the way we have done, I don’t see why we can’t compete.”
Ards Director of Rugby Stephen Nutt, largely echoed the head coach’s ambitions, but perhaps with a bit more reservation, adding: “I’m elated with the result. This is what we set out to achieve at the beginning of the season.
“Obviously, moving up to Championship 1, it’s a hard, competitive league. But I hope we keep the players we have, add strength in depth and keep improving like we have been doing.
“Ultimately, the goal for next season, in the new league, is to compete and consolidate, we don’t want to become a yo-yo club.”
