What can you say that has not already been written about Instonians. A decade ago they dropped down to the Junior grade, and since winning promotion back in 2022, they have not looked back. 52 games unbeaten from their run in Junior right until they suffered defeat to Sligo last term.
Now holding the record for consecutive wins in the process. In that time they have lifted the Division 2C title, going unbeaten that season with 18 bonus points, a feat that may take some time to equal. Along with that they finished top of the pile in Division 2B last season, now their eyes are on the 2A prize.
This weekend is a different one however. While they still have plenty of league games to worry about, winning the Ulster Senior Cup last season, has earned them the right to compete in the Bateman Cup after a long absence.
For a team who played Junior rugby three years ago, they are 80 minutes from a Bateman Cup Final and once again will test themselves against a team from Division 1A. Head Coach Paul Pritchard echoed how much of an achievement this is for the club, as they look to make this a regular occurrence in the coming years.
“It’s a great achievement for a club that were Junior three years ago to be playing against a 1A team in Limerick. Like, that’s absolutely outstanding. For us, not focusing on this weekend.
“I think the focus is making sure the club’s in a place that this isn’t the last time that we were in the Bateman Cup semi final. Don’t want it to be a flash in the pan, it’s not a couple of years, good momentum, every season if possible, we wanna make sure that we’re able to beat the likes, Ballynahinch, Armagh, Queens to to get to Senior Cup finals and win Senior Cups that puts us into that category of playing in the Bateman Cup.
“And I think that’s the main thing for us is just looking at that, this weekend is a reward for us, to be able to get to play in this competition, and it’s just a chance and just a challenge for us to go out and enjoy it. But as a club, it’s just making sure that we’re here again in the next few seasons, certainly.”
Insontians have one of the oldest associations with the Bateman Cup dating back to 1923 when they lost 6-5 to Bective in the final and winning it in 1927 against one of the other semi finalists – Lansdowne.
Pritchard wore the colours of Rainey as they got promoted to Division 2A at the end of the 2018-19 season and joined Instonians back in 2019. He has been an ever present member ever since, taking on the role of player/coach during that time.
In the head coach role he has Louis Ludik and Jamie Kirk to provide plenty of experience and knowledge, while also having former player Rick McCarthy on board, and Clem Boyd, Director of Rugby, who has been key in the recent success and putting the building blocks in place right down through mini and youth creating a pathway.
The 35 year old has firmly enjoyed his role with Instonians, with over 175 appearances in the All Ireland League, he does hope to add to that but has been out injured since an ACL injury in that loss to Sligo earlier in the year. While he admits he was almost ready for retirement back in 2019, he has a new lease of life with the Shaw’s Bridge faithful, praising the squad for giving him that experience, he has not hung up the boots just yet and is hopeful of making a return early next year.
“I sort of came to the club when we were junior as a player with a look at doing a bit of coaching here and there. I was sort of maybe ready for retirement, if I’m honest, but the lads have given me an absolute new lease of life and I wouldn’t be coaching any other club for this amount of time that I’ve been here.
“I loved it to be honest. I don’t know if that just says a bit about myself, maybe being a bit bossy and stuff on the pitch or whatever. Maybe being a bit of a gobshite to put it politely on the pitch, but it’s stuff like that I really enjoyed. I just I it’s it’s you find you have a real feel for the game when you’re on there.
“Sometimes when you’re on the sidelines, you’re maybe not getting that, especially things around breakdown and what’s slowing down momentum or what’s slowing things down for you. Whereas when you’re on the pitch, you really have your finger on the pulse, I suppose. But it’s something I really enjoyed.
“It’s that attitude that I’ve never experienced in a group before, having that confidence, having that real belief, playing with a real smile on your face, we just want to go, go, go, and they bring that to training. Obviously you can’t just bring that on a Saturday that has to be something that you do all the time.
“And the guys are just brilliant, like as a group, as a coach, you couldn’t ask for any more from them, in terms of the effort they put in and that energy they bring. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here. I’d like to get back playing, but I’ve actually enjoyed only being on the sidelines a lot more than I thought I would.
“And I thought that would be really difficult for me, but I’ve loved every minute of it so far this season, bar the loss to Corinthians. I think it’s just testament to the group of lads and the energy they have.
“I’m not stopped playing yet. I’m just out of the physio. I’m hoping to get back in February of this season. So I think if I can get back towards the tail end of this season, ‘ll be in good stead to play next year, but don’t get any games this season, it might be difficult to sort of come back, hopefully being 1B next season, it’d be hard to come back into 1B at 35 years of age after missing the season. The boots aren’t hung up yet.”
When it comes to talking about belief and confidence, Instonians have that in abundance in recent years. Since coming back up to the Energia All-Ireland League in 2022, they have lost just three games. All three in this calendar year. The belief which came from that winning streak served as the catalyst behind two title winning campaigns, and with the brand of attacking rugby they play, those bonus points followed.
The likes of Neil Saulters has nine tries this year and is dangerous from a lineout maul, add Bevan Prinsloo and Bradley McNamara in their dynamic backs, including Glen Faloon and Hugo Elbery and Josh Eagleson, a young player who is the fourth top scorer in 2A, with a wand of a boot.
In that storied unbeaten run naturally there was pressure, Pritchard saw that first hand as both a player and coach, he explained that will and desire that got them over the line in tough situations, and how Instonians have some real confidence despite that recent loss to Galway Corinthians.
“I think looking back there was pressure, but again I think the lads relished that. There was a real desire, I think with the bonus point run as well, there are conditions, you go down, you could be playing in stinking weather and it’s not easy to get four tries. But I think the lads have that in the back of their mind and it really helped us dig deep. You could be winning a game, but the celebrations after getting that bonus point and keeping that run going really helped in a sense, there was no there was no place for us to hide.
“We want to do that, but at the same time, it doesn’t really matter, does it?. If we didn’t do it, but we still got promoted up to where we are now we’d be equally happy, but like I said I think it just speaks speaks volumes for the group of lads we’ve had, and still have in terms of just their their attitude to be at the best that they can be every week, this is my first coaching role, but I played for a few clubs, and it’s something I certainly didn’t experience in groups as a player until I came to Instonians.
“The confidence is there. This isn’t a group, but you’re gonna be down sort of tails between their legs and just hoping to get through it. There’s no fear really from our lads. And confidence and momentum, I think it’s something that this group seems to have.
“The loss to Corinthians…there’s no dent into that sort of confidence that they have as a group. They still know that we played some good rugby. Few things didn’t go our way, and let’s just put it right, we’re just trying to go down and play our brand, and I think that’s it really. It’s just trying to stick to what we do and what we believe in.”
Pritchard is no stranger to the Bateman Cup. He has played in two finals for two different teams, in both he came out on the losing side. The Ballymena native captained his home club to Ulster success in 2011, scoring a try in the final against Banbridge where they won 17-11.
Getting the better of Old Belvedere in a tight 18-15 win, they would face Saturday’s opponents Garryowen in the final, suffering a 24-6 defeat. A number of years later, after a couple of years with Ballynahinch, Pritchard headed for Dublin to play with Old Belvedere. In April of 2017 they faced Cork Constitution, who prevailed 18-13, a year in which they recorded a five in a row of Bateman crowns.
He will know first hand just how much of a challenge Garryowen can be, and while over the last number of seasons Instonians have been hotly fancied going into games, while Instonians are flying in Division 2A and Garryowen are on a losing streak of late, Pritchard believes they are the underdogs this weekend, as they look to get over the line and make the final of this competition.
“I think it’s a nice challenge to have for us, and I think the idea of getting to that final is a very nice sort of incentive for us. It’s a great challenge with Garryowen, an incredibly well respected and well known club. They’ve been playing in 1A for a decent while now, and it’s a standard above the league we’re in obviously. To win the Senior Cup, we obviously had to beat two 1A teams last season. So it’s a challenge that I think our boys are gonna relish, and we’re certainly looking forward to it.
“Anytime you’re ever going sort of Limerick or Cork, you always know what you’re gonna get. It’s a challenge and it’s something that you get up for and I think maybe as someone that was playing recently. It’s maybe easier for me to sort of recognize that , because I know if I was playing this weekend, if I was the guy that played 2C, 2B, 2A, and then I got to go against Garryowen, I’d be absolutely chomping at the bit here in a sense of what an experience, you’re going against a famous club away from home.
“Nobody expects you to win. Can you ask for a bigger challenge or a bigger opportunity as a young player?. We know we’re going in as underdogs. They’re gonna be favourites no matter what. The form is, you know it’s a 1A team, that gives us a real freedom and licence to play and there’s no pressure on us and I think that suits us best. We’re doing well this season in the league, it’s a new season from last year, but I think in terms of the mentality that the group have, they don’t really fear anyone and going in as underdogs. We’re more than happy to have that.
“Maybe Division 2C, 2B, we were very rarely underdogs until we came up against these teams, it’s also good, it allows us to just go out and be completely free, and there’s not any pressure on us this weekend. We just wanna go down and try and play our brand of rugby, try and have a good time. It’s an experience for us as as a team, as a group, as a club, we wanna go up the up the leagues, and we would certainly like to be having games against the likes of Garryowen every every sort of Saturday, but our focus is obviously massively on the league and trying to make that possible.”
Article by Diarmuid Kearney