Rugby captain wary of underdogs’ threat

BALLYMENA Rugby Club captain Darrell O’Kane insists his side will not take opponents Banbridge lightly in Wednesday night’s First Trust Senior Cup final.

The veteran forward is potentially just 80 minutes away from becoming the first Ballymena captain to lift the trophy since Irish international Bryan Young in 2006.

But O’Kane believes his side will face a huge test against their surprise final opponents, who will be appearing in the Ravenhill final for the first time in the club’s history.

“It’s nice to be back in a position of having a chance to win silverware – it’s been too long in coming for a club like Ballymena.

“We have had sides in past years who have had the potential to get a good run going in the Senior Cup, without ever actually pulling it off.

“It’s certainly not written in stone that we will win the trophy – it’s not cut-and-dried the way same people seem to think.

“Old stagers like me who’ve been around for a while have experienced occasions like this before but there are a good lot of our young players who will be playing their first Senior Cup final, just the same as Banbridge.

“The difference in history between the two clubs in terms of the Senior Cup is clear but in terms of the two groups of players, the gap might be quite a bit closer, so we realise there will be pressure on us on the night.

“I have been telling the players that winning silverware is what will define their rugby careers and it is up to us to impose ourselves on the game.

“I fully expect Banbridge to come out and give it shedloads and throw everything at us so we have to be ready for that and also ready to turn up our own game at whatever stage of the match we need to.”

O’Kane believes that the authorities could have done more to promote what was always one of the flagship occasions in the provincial club rugby calendar.

“I’m not sure a Wednesday night close to Christmas is the best time to play the final – I would imagine the bulk of the attendance will be made up by diehard supporters of both club, whereas playing it at a different time might have attracted more neutrals.

“It would have been nice to have seen it played at Ravenhill on a Friday night when Ulster weren’t in action and to have made the final more of an occasion and a spectacle, in my opinion.”

Victory in Wednesday’s final would provide the perfect springboard for the second half of the season for a Ballymena side which sits top of Division 1B of the Ulster Bank All-ireland League and is gearing itself for a tilt at regaining its place at Irish club rugby’s top table.

“It sounds like like a cliché but we have been literally taking each game as it comes this season, trying to make progress on two fronts – the Senior Cup and the All-Ireland League.

“It’s been a case of making small improvements each week. In past years we might have done well in the opening half of the season only for our form to dip in the new year.

“Our aim is to push on after Christmas this time around and if we were to win the Senior Cup, it would be a tremendous boost for everyone at the club,” added Darrell.

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