Rugby League makes its bow in the North

Rugby league breaks new ground later this month when four teams kick off the inaugural Northern Ireland Conference.

Strangford Sharks, East Belfast Bulldogs, Ballinahinch Bulls and Portadown Pumas will play round-robin fixtures culminating in a Grand Final in Portadown on June 20.

They will be joined by Antrim Storm, who hope to join the Conference in 2010, in launching the season with a Nines tournament at Portadown RFC next Saturday.

One of the men behind the pioneering move is former London Broncos full-back Gavin Gordon, who made his debut for Ireland in the 1995 Emerging Nations World Cup at the age of 17 and is now player-coach of Strangford.

“It was incredibly encouraging to see 19 players turn up for the first-ever training session this Wednesday,” he said.

“I initially hoped to attract local rugby union players to our game and provide a platform from which league can grow in Northern Ireland but have already had interest from soccer and Gaelic football players.”