Captain calls for backing for rugby club in promotion bid

The Braidmen have won all three of the opening AIL Division Two matches – the latest of them a 37-23 win at Bective Rangers on Saturday – but they face a crunch Ulster 'derby' with Ballynahinch at the Broughshane Road venue this Saturday.

“If you are winning, people find it much easier to get behind you and we're hoping to build on that level of support,” O'Kane told Times Sport.

“We've had good crowds for the last AIL match against Old Crescent and the Senior Cup game against Dungannon and a lot of what we have been trying to do is to put together the kind of rugby that people want to watch.

“Ballynahinch are a good side and you have to give them credit for what they have done – like ourselves, they were relegated but they have bounced back strongly and made a good start.

“We would like to see a situation where, on the back of three wins, that the level of support could be like something we would have seen in years gone by when we were in the top-flight of the AIL.”

“The table is still taking shape after three games and it's too early for people to make predictions about who will or won't be up there at the end of the season.

“Certainly if we were in and around the position we're in around February time, then we would have given ourselves a very good platform but there is an awful lot of rugby to be played before that.

“In recent seasons our performances and results after Christmas haven't always lived up to what we have done in the first half of the season so no-one will be getting carried away because this is a tough division to get out of.

“We're just trying to take it game by game and trying to make sure we get the small things right,” added Darrell.