With the celebrations of securing promotion to Division 2B of the Ulster Bank League still fresh in the mind of Rainey OB supporters, the club will be hoping to round off the season in style as they look forward to the Ulster Carpets U14 Youth Cup Final at Kingspan Stadium this Saturday.
As the club’s Head Coach John Andrews states, for a close-knit club like Rainey, success for the 1st XV sends positive reverberations throughout the club:
“We have so many players coming through the youth setup that support the 1st XV - it means they are very much the flagship team in the club. So it was a great occasion to win the playoff game and to see all the families out there celebrating it with the boys.”
Two men who played a key role in the Rainey promotion success were Ulster Rugby Academy players Tommy O’Hagan and John McCusker.
“Tommy was a bit of a wild card, I suppose, having taken up rugby a bit later than most. He’s one of those boys that will just work and work, and will take on everything that is thrown at him within the Academy, so he will achieve what he wants to.
“From a Rainey point of view, he has just been a class act since he returned from injury for the latter part of the season. He’s a very strong ball carrier and a big character in the changing room as well. A lot of boys look up to him because it’s such a young team.
“John is very young and hasn’t played just as much as Tommy, but nonetheless he’s a big man and a really good prospect. There’s four of the McCusker brothers in our squad so there’s a great family connection and they all want to be out there together. I think there were 3 or 4 games this season where all 4 took the park together.
“It’s great to see players progressing into the Ulster Academy setup and certainly Rainey’s youth setup is as good as there is in the Province. There’s another wave of boys coming through the club’s U18s this year, three of whom, Jack McIntosh (who picked up the Ulster Carpets Youth Player of the Year at last week’s Ulster Rugby awards), Callum Smyth and Michael O’Neill, will all come into the senior setup for the new season.
“For a community-based club like Rainey, it’s critical that we focus on the youth section of the club to support our adult teams in the future, and the quality of players coming through is a credit to the youth setup. Boys like John and Tommy are destined for better things, and I have no doubt that those three younger boys are also well capable of similar, if they get the chance.”
Andrews is quick to note that the success the club has achieved doesn’t happen quickly and it takes a considerable amount of volunteer support:
“There is the likes of Barney Smyth. He’s the Director of Rugby but he’s also barman, manager, he’s everything. My Assistant Coach Damian Campbell plays a big role too. They would’ve coached a lot of these boys in youth rugby that are now coming through to the 1st XV. They’re both local boys, Rainey men, who are very passionate about seeing the club do well. That’s another strength of the club, the willingness of boys to come back in and do things for the club.
“I’ve coached at three clubs now and any success that I’ve seen has been built primarily from having a local team with 1 or 2 others coming in from outside. It makes a massive difference not only from the playing side of things but also to get the support from the local community and I would suggest that Rainey is probably the strongest connection that I’ve ever seen with that.
“Because it’s such a small community, everyone knows each other. You have sons of former players playing now, there are strong links there and people are very passionate about the club doing well.”
On Saturday afternoon, Rainey’s U14s will take on Portadown in the Ulster Carpets Youth Final at the home of Ulster Rugby, and Andrews feels the team are in good shape ahead of the game:
“Getting to play at Kingspan Stadium is an incredible experience for boys of that age. I have been talking to a few of the parents and they are quite confident but obviously they don’t want to let the occasion eclipse getting in the way of the game. I just hope the boys go out there and make the most of the opportunity.”
The U14 Final (11.15am) is the first of the three Ulster Carpets Youth Finals taking place at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday afternoon, and will be proceeded by the U16 (1.15pm) and U18 (3.00pm) finals.
As the club’s Head Coach John Andrews states, for a close-knit club like Rainey, success for the 1st XV sends positive reverberations throughout the club:
“We have so many players coming through the youth setup that support the 1st XV - it means they are very much the flagship team in the club. So it was a great occasion to win the playoff game and to see all the families out there celebrating it with the boys.”
Two men who played a key role in the Rainey promotion success were Ulster Rugby Academy players Tommy O’Hagan and John McCusker.
“Tommy was a bit of a wild card, I suppose, having taken up rugby a bit later than most. He’s one of those boys that will just work and work, and will take on everything that is thrown at him within the Academy, so he will achieve what he wants to.
“From a Rainey point of view, he has just been a class act since he returned from injury for the latter part of the season. He’s a very strong ball carrier and a big character in the changing room as well. A lot of boys look up to him because it’s such a young team.
“John is very young and hasn’t played just as much as Tommy, but nonetheless he’s a big man and a really good prospect. There’s four of the McCusker brothers in our squad so there’s a great family connection and they all want to be out there together. I think there were 3 or 4 games this season where all 4 took the park together.
“It’s great to see players progressing into the Ulster Academy setup and certainly Rainey’s youth setup is as good as there is in the Province. There’s another wave of boys coming through the club’s U18s this year, three of whom, Jack McIntosh (who picked up the Ulster Carpets Youth Player of the Year at last week’s Ulster Rugby awards), Callum Smyth and Michael O’Neill, will all come into the senior setup for the new season.
“For a community-based club like Rainey, it’s critical that we focus on the youth section of the club to support our adult teams in the future, and the quality of players coming through is a credit to the youth setup. Boys like John and Tommy are destined for better things, and I have no doubt that those three younger boys are also well capable of similar, if they get the chance.”
Andrews is quick to note that the success the club has achieved doesn’t happen quickly and it takes a considerable amount of volunteer support:
“There is the likes of Barney Smyth. He’s the Director of Rugby but he’s also barman, manager, he’s everything. My Assistant Coach Damian Campbell plays a big role too. They would’ve coached a lot of these boys in youth rugby that are now coming through to the 1st XV. They’re both local boys, Rainey men, who are very passionate about seeing the club do well. That’s another strength of the club, the willingness of boys to come back in and do things for the club.
“I’ve coached at three clubs now and any success that I’ve seen has been built primarily from having a local team with 1 or 2 others coming in from outside. It makes a massive difference not only from the playing side of things but also to get the support from the local community and I would suggest that Rainey is probably the strongest connection that I’ve ever seen with that.
“Because it’s such a small community, everyone knows each other. You have sons of former players playing now, there are strong links there and people are very passionate about the club doing well.”
On Saturday afternoon, Rainey’s U14s will take on Portadown in the Ulster Carpets Youth Final at the home of Ulster Rugby, and Andrews feels the team are in good shape ahead of the game:
“Getting to play at Kingspan Stadium is an incredible experience for boys of that age. I have been talking to a few of the parents and they are quite confident but obviously they don’t want to let the occasion eclipse getting in the way of the game. I just hope the boys go out there and make the most of the opportunity.”
The U14 Final (11.15am) is the first of the three Ulster Carpets Youth Finals taking place at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday afternoon, and will be proceeded by the U16 (1.15pm) and U18 (3.00pm) finals.