The Ulster Senior Cup means there is some club action on Saturday with two Quarter-Finals to be decided, and the pick of the pair is at Shaw’s Bridge where holders Instonians host City of Armagh (12.30pm).
In-form Instonians are currently riding high as they are top of Division 2A in the AIL and already have a shot at silverware in the Bateman All-Ireland Cup Final when they face Lansdowne on January 4.
Coach Paul Pritchard has urged his squad to “dig deep” on Saturday if they are to progress against Division 1A opposition in Armagh.
“We had Armagh in the Semis last year and they will be the favourites again, and we’ll have to dig deep and bring the mentality we have shown over the last couple of years,” said Pritchard.
“It’s been a really good 2024 for the club, and it would be really positive for us to finish on a high.”
The Bateman Cup run has meant some fixture congestion, but Pritchard remains upbeat and sees this as valuable for momentum.
“With the Bateman Cup Semi, we’ve only had one week off, and AIL rugby is very tough, there are a lot of boys carrying knocks and there are a few lads coming back in this week,” he added.
“Sometimes the best thing is to have a lot of games rather than weeks off, we’re just trying to keep building momentum and I’m hoping this weekend shows the amount of rugby that we have played is a positive.”
Armagh coach Chris Parker admitted: “It’s probably the draw you didn’t want, especially with how well they are going in the League this year.
“Beating Garryowen away in the Bateman gives them a lot of confidence, and they deservedly beat us last year (in the Senior Cup Semis), so it is difficult, but you are going to have to beat the likes of Instonians if you are going to win the competition. You just got to pitch up and get after it.”
The other Quarter-Final sees Malone and Ballynahinch face off at Gibson Park (1.30pm). Hinch expect to have Mark Best, Bradley Luney, Matt Burke and Conor Rankin available.
As for the other parts of the draw, Banbridge were awarded a walkover against Rainey, while the remaining tie has yet to be determined with Dungannon awaiting the winners of Premiership Division Two.