Ophir RFC partners with UUJ in club re-location

Ophir RFC, one of Ulster’s oldest clubs, is partnering with Ulster University to re-locate its training base to the university’s Jordanstown campus in August. Ulster Rugby spoke to Ophir’s Club Secretary, Richard Dunseath, about the move.

“Ophir is a proud and ambitious club preparing to celebrate its centenary year in the 2021-22 season. We have moved around in that period of time, but we’ve been ingrained in the North Belfast community and this is another step in our journey.

“The club has outgrown its facilities at Magowan Park in Mallusk. By relocating to Ulster University Jordanstown, the club can continue to grow and thrive, having access to some of the best facilities in Northern Ireland, and to attract the best players in Ulster.

“Ulster University was hoping to get a club to partner with, and in tandem with that, Ophir was aware the facilities weren’t what we had ambitions for. Over the last two years, the club has gone through a consultation process with Ulster Rugby. The branch helped us design and go through a questionnaire process with all our members about the facilities. The overwhelming message we got was that they would like to see an improvement. This heightened our awareness and focus to develop the club’s facilities and see what the options were.

“The option of moving to Ulster University came to us earlier this year and we met with their representatives. They liked us and we liked them; we believe it is going to be a fantastic partnership. They are keen to have a permanent rugby team there which is representative of the local community; not just the university community. We’re excited at the prospect of bringing rugby in a sustainable format to the Jordanstown area from August 2020.

“Ophir offers rugby at a variety of different levels – minis (P1-P7), youth (U12, U14, U16, U18), and we have a senior men’s 1st and 2nd XV, together with an adult beginners all-inclusive team, the ‘Azlans’.  The club also plans to introduce an U12 girls’ team in the upcoming 20-21 season.

“Ulster University Jordanstown has a rugby team which is very much midweek and they play internally with other universities. Historically, they haven’t been able to sustain teams at weekend, and this is where Ophir can add value to Ulster University with nearly 100 years of rugby history in the North Belfast / Newtownabbey area. We hope to give students somewhere they can train and play at the weekend if they wish.

“Ophir will continue to train on Tuesdays and Thursdays for adults and play on Saturdays. Ulster University will be providing access to their facilities; their world-class indoor gym, sports centre and 3G pitch, as well as multiple outdoor pitches including 4G, and superb grass pitches which are the envy of clubs across the province.

“We have a membership of almost 400 people and the spirit that runs through the club is extraordinary. We encourage the community to support the club in this bold move and we offer a warm welcome to all newcomers – experienced and inexperienced. We have a broad age range from 5 upwards, which we can offer rugby to as well. Ophir is an ambitious club with a youthful committee who want to see the club thrive. We, as a club feel the Ulster University facilities will provide us with the platform we need to fulfil our ambition.”

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