Pictured Winger Tony McBride in action in last years final v Grosvenor
This Saturday, Letterkenny Rugby Club will look to land their first ever Gordon West Title when they take on Larne in Ravenhill. This might feel like a familiar story and you would be right. It was this time last year they were taking on Grosvenor in the same final only to be beaten 27-17 on the day. In fact, this will be Letterkennys 5th final since 2003 with a win eluding them on every occasion to date. Not only that but it is Larne who beat them in 2005 which are now the team standing in their way once again.
So far this year Letterkenny have only been defeated once in the league and are unbeaten in the cup. A lot of this has been down to the hard work which the team and coaches have put in all year. Their pre-season training started off in Raphoe boxing club where trainer Danny Ryan put them through their paces. Long summers evenings were spent slogging it out in the gym with Danny pushing them to their limits. A further four weeks were spent in the Glebe going through the more technical side of pre-season while still maintaining the hard work ethic picked up from Raphoe. That would not be the end of Raphoe however, as the players would be back later in the year for “top up” sessions again given by Danny Ryan. Out on the rugby field coach Shay Blaney took charge of the pack while Peter Brookes and Head coach Gordon Curley devised plans of attack for the backs.
The team currently sits top of Kukri Qualifying 3A and will have 2 massive games against the P.S.N.I and Monaghan to come after the final. Should they win these games they will almost certainly gain promotion to Kukri Qualifying 2 where the standard has been hard to keep up with in the past. In the cup, they overcame a fancied Derry YM side in the group stages as well as seeing off the interests of Strabane on two occasions. The quarter final saw them drawn at home to Cavan. This was no easy game as Letterkenny went into half-time, 7-0 down but came back in the second half to send Cavan out of the competition. The semi finals line up was mouth watering also. Letterkenny would travel to Derry to play P.S.N.I while Larne were at home to a strong Monaghan side. Letterkenny won a nervy encounter in Derry 8-3, while Larne came back from 12-0 down at the interval to brake Monaghan hearts running out 26-12 winners. Larne who are currently unbeaten this season have already won their league and will have been preparing well for the final for the past few weeks.
With the experience of last year’s final so fresh in the minds of some of the younger players, they now know what to expect when they cross the white wash at Ulster headquarters on Saturday. Even though this will be the 5th time for the club in this final the players realise it is an 80 minute game of rugby there to be won by the hungrier team. Sport holds no sentiment, so to say that it’s the 5th time and they deserve to win might be the case it doesn’t mean that they will. This is well understood by the players and they realise the responsibility on them come Saturday to achieve what the past players of the club so nearly done before them. A super charged performance is required from all the squad this week if they are to finally win their holy grail.
Best of Luck to all taking part on Saturday, the town will be shouting for you.
Anyone wishing to travel to the game can contact Mark Bundschu on 0868119339 or e-mail him on mark@abcbookshop.ie. A number of buses will be travelling up.
