Preview
Ulster Senior Cup S/Final
City of Derry RFC V Ballynahinch
Saturday 16th November 2013 @ Judges Road, Kick-off; 2.30pm
By; Moss Dineen
City of Derry Rugby Club welcomes Ballynahinch to Judges Road for an eagerly awaited Ulster Senior Cup S/Final with the prize a place in the final at Ravenhill on Wednesday 11th December. The other S/Final on Saturday sees Queens at home to 2011 finalists Banbridge. The last time Derry played Banbridge in the Senior Cup was at the Quarter Final stage in the season 2011-2012 when the Judges Road men won away by 40pts to 34pts.
Ballynahinch were promoted to All Ireland League Division 1A last season the highest level they have ever played. The have had a rough journey so far having player five games and lost all, they have been defeated narrowly in four fixtures having accumulated a loosing bonus point each time. City of Derry have had the ideal start to their AIL Division 2A campaign. They remain unbeaten after four games having won three and drew one accumulating seventeen points from a possible twenty which leaves them sitting in second place just a point behind leaders Ballymena.
Ballynahinch defeated Derry in comprehensive fashion in the first Ulster League fixture of the season at the end of August by 56pts to 17pts. Derry came to that fixture without any pre season games and were coming off a prolonged physical training program with their sights set further ahead on the All Ireland League campaign. City of Derry’s only defeat since that fixture was last Saturday against Queens in Belfast when they lost heavily by 50pts to 15pts but with ten changes to their line-up against a strong Queens’s side the result can be binned.
There should a big crowd at Judges Road on Saturday with the Ireland V Australia International from Lansdowne Road on TV afterwards. Ballynahinch come to the fixture after three All Ireland defeats in the last three weeks and with another three AIL games in a row after their Cup fixture this weekend. It will be a balance of priorities for their Coach and Management as to how they approach this visit to Derry with survival at the highest level of the AIL surely the goal.
City of Derry Head Coach Mark Nicholl and his assistant Ashley Blair will be hoping to have some of their rested players back available for selection this weekend. They not only will be striving for a place in the final but also preparing for three fixtures in the All Ireland League on the following weekends. City of Derry Rugby Club Officials are expecting a big crowd for this important fixture that could see the club return again to Ravenhill with another chance to win the Senior Cup for the second time in the Club’s history. There will be a pre match finger buffet for all members and guests starting at 1pm, all are welcome.
City of Derry RFC Team V Ballynahinch: Stephen Jefferson, David Ferguson, Sam Duffy, David Houston(Capt), Stephen Corr, Richard Baird, Stephen Dickey. Stephen Ferguson, Andrew Semple, Richard McCarter, Simon Logue, Adam Bratton, Josh Lewis, Ryan Campbell, William McCleery. Replacements: Sam McAuley, Paul McFeely, Gareth Beatty, Jack Caithness, Neil Burns.
