John Cooney and Dragons RFC Named As First-Ever Winners of United Rugby Championship Unity Awards

Ulster’s John Cooney and Dragons RFC can today be revealed as the first winners of the new URC Unity Awards.

Ulster Rugby scrum-half Cooney picks up the The Difference Maker Award, while Dragons RFC from Wales take the Community Impact Award.

The awards have been introduced to recognise the great work done by players and teams from the BKT URC within their communities and for charitable causes.

The winners will receive £5,000 from CVC to donate to their cause of choice (player) or to invest in their community programme (team). They were both chosen from a short-list of six.

In the Difference Maker category, the other contenders were Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi, of the Cell C Sharks, Emirates Lions forwards Travis Gordon and Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Leinster flanker Alex Soroka and jointly Cardiff Rugby duo Max Llewellyn and Teddy Williams.

Then with the Community Impact Award, you also had the Cell C Sharks, Edinburgh, Ospreys, Vodacom Bulls and Cardiff Rugby for various programmes they have undertaken in their areas.

The judging panel featured World Cup final referee Nigel Owens, CVC's CSR Manager Jane Howard, Sports Broadcaster Emma Dodds and URC Head of Operations Amy Monaghan.

John Cooney was nominated by the club for The Difference Maker award to recognise the impact he has made over the past five years through his volunteering with Belfast Central Mission’s befriending service.

Through this charity work, John has made a real difference to the local community, and in particular on the life of Raymond who he met through the scheme. John and Raymond quickly became friends, and continue to meet regularly for coffees, lunches, and a chat. A combination of a shared love of Ulster Rugby, good sense of humour - and birthdays that are only a couple of days apart - have created a true and lasting friendship between John and Raymond.