Now that Armagh first fifteen have played the last game of the 2010-2011 season they have time to take store of just what lies ahead.
There is a certain degree of apprehension hanging about in the Palace grounds. This is, to a degree, like a pupil starting off in a new, bigger, school. Not since Armagh joined All-Ireland Rugby in season 1994-95 have they had a bigger challenge! To be sure the team do need a period of rest and recuperation as the whole squad, and a few of the loyal supporters for that matter are battle weary!
To a man, each and every player showed true dedication throughout the season. And this season demanded a special effort. From the final whistle at Sligo, when Armagh were beaten in the quarter-final of the All-Ireland Junior Cup and the snow started to fall, did the team know what lay ahead?
The snow and severe weather was certainly a dramatic factor in the outcome but, most of all, the boy’s tenacity and skill. Who would have thought that after defeating Cooke at Shaw’s Bridge and then the same team to suffer a resounding defeat at the hands of Coleraine would go on to win the qualifying league? It had to be the team themselves and their own self-belief that carried them through the hard, and difficult times.
To hear the team talks from the club coaches, Andy Hughes and Colin Atkinson, when they asked for that special performance the boys always, to a man, dug especially deep! This repeated asking, unfortunately, took its toll. The idea that hard working young men can be expected to play three games of hard, fast, yet ammateur physical rugby football week in and week out is simply not possible.
To end the season with such a crescendo is, indeed, a great achievement and the team, coaches, field staff, all deserve great praise. One bunch of club members frequently gets neglected. That is the supporters who loyally, week in and week out, trek all over Ulster and, even, all over Ireland to lend support to their team. Their support will be all the more needed next season when the match venues are in the four provinces of Ireland!
To date, perhaps the most sceptical of all are the club officials who are now required to stump up with the means to see the team play in the All-Ireland League. After all they and only they see how much finance it takes to run the club. There have been much and many discussions regarding the whys and wherefores of this matter. In the end the unanimous deal was that if the boys did their part and won promotion the club would do their utmost to provide the finance and organisation to see the team prosper.
Just watch this space next season. If the team can provide just half the excitement and entertainment seen over the past few months there will be a lot of smiles in The Palace Grounds!
