Enniskillen 1st XV coach Stevie Welsh is not expecting his side to have any more games this season.

Skins played only two league games this season, the last of which was the October 3 loss to Clogher Valley, and with the current restrictions in place they are not allowed to even train.

It was believed that plans were in place to play a regional competition but that was based on lockdown restrictions ending at the beginning of February and the competition having a March start date. With those restrictions extended now until March 5, Welsh says that it would appear that any hopes of any kind of competition has been ended.

“We don’t really know where we stand, to be honest, but it’s not Ulster Branch’s fault either, it’s just with the extension of the lockdown.

“We thought we might have got a bit of rugby but, I suppose, as time goes on when you take into consideration having to get players fit again and a few pre-season games to warm them up then competition looks unlikely at this stage.

“We are also tied in with insurance and stuff with the IRFU and it ends up at the end of May so you are talking a lot of money to extend insurances and that there from a central point of view, not even our point of view, so it is unlikely that there will be any more rugby this season, unfortunately,” he commented.

On a broader point, Welsh also is concerned about the affects that lockdown will have on getting kids back out playing the sport when restrictions are lifted.

“At top level you will get those boys back but right down to mini rugby there is kids that were obviously enjoying it and improving but they are now a year without any training. They have maybe got used to sitting in the house and it will be hard to get them back out and chatting to people from other sports it is the same for them as well.

“It is easy to keep kids involved when you have games and that to get them out and get them going but when you have nothing it is hard and it might be a job to get some of them back.

Hopefully, though, we will get them back out when we can get going again and maybe you will actually get new people involved at the club as people will be looking for something to get them out of the rut they are in,” he said.