Twenty years since Banbridge earned promotion to the All Ireland League, the club are now one game away from securing their place at the top tier of Ireland's premier club competition.
Having finished the Division 1B regular season in second place, two points behind league winners Shannon, Banbridge were left facing an all-Ulster derby versus County Down neighbours Ballynahinch in the semi-final, where Bann dramatically recovered from a 14-0 deficit to win 28-24.
With a playoff final against UCC on Saturday to come, once again at Rifle Park, 1st XV Head Coach Daniel Soper admits there is a great buzz around the club.
“It’s been a big couple of weeks. The league was so tight for the last four or five rounds with Shannon, Ballynahinch and ourselves all being pretty close and all having opportunities to actually win the league so every one of our last games over the past five or six have been of a real intensity, and as that intensity grows on the pitch it carries over into the atmosphere at the club. Fortunately for us things have gone our way in terms of having our last league game at home and getting the home semi-final last weekend and that momentum from being at home in front of big crowds and most importantly winning has created quite an atmosphere about the place.”
Having won Division 2A last year, Soper admits the team have surpassed some of their early season objectives, but also acknowledges that these same objectives were replaced by more ambitious ones during the course of the year.
“We had goals that were centred around league points and we’ve gone well past those in terms of the 18 games. We also had goals in terms of our fixtures with the other Ulster clubs and we’ve went past those as well. Once we got up and running and we got half way through the league when we had played everyone, we realised that there was nothing to be afraid of and if we continued to improve and continued to play well then we had as good a chance as anyone of finishing at the top of the league. So, looking back at where we were this time last year we’ve probably achieved more in terms of what we were expecting would happen, but from where we were at Christmas, if we hadn’t have ended up in this position we would’ve been disappointed.”
For New Zealand native Soper, who played in the Banbridge team that took on Ballina in that first All Ireland League game back in 1998, there is a great deal of satisfaction taken from watching the progression of the club over that period.
“It’s really satisfying and there’s a number of things with it. I think we were 52nd in Ireland when I came back as a coach in 2010 and we’ve obviously moved up now with a chance of being in the top 10. Probably the most satisfying thing is that it hasn’t been a really rapid climb, it’s been slow and steady with never going backwards and never being relegated in 20 years. I guess in the last 8 years, or particularly in the last 5 or 6, we’ve a group of guys who have become the real core of the team, and seeing those guys driving the team forward and seeing the progression they have made themselves is very satisfying. The bulk of the team are from the Banbridge area. Admittedly this year it’s been a benefit to have the Ulster Academy guys come in, and without them it would be quite a struggle at this level, but it’s been great to see the progression our own guys have made to take us to this position.”
While the club stand on the cusp of a historic promotion, the Banbridge coach is not looking beyond the immediate challenge of UCC on Saturday afternoon.
“From a team’s point of view we’re not talking about promotion. We’re just talking about winning this game. I think that’s very important. In the past we’ve been in similar positions where we’ve been distracted by the talk about promotion and how good it would be to get up and that sort of thing but if you lose sight of actually just going and winning the game on Saturday you can become undone.
“But certainly from an Ulster Rugby point of view, and I’ve said this all season, for Ulster to get a club up into 1A is important for the profile of the club game and it’s important for the players to get exposure to 1A, to play a level that’s a step closer to the professional game. So whether that was going to be ourselves or Ballynahinch or Ballymena this year, it was always going to be important for one of us to put ourselves in a position to get up. Fortunately for ourselves it’s us – what that means to Banbridge, we’ll worry about that after Saturday afternoon if we’re in a position to worry about it. But until we win that game of rugby, it’s not something that I’m going to let distract me.”
Kick-off between Banbridge and UCC is 2.30pm on Saturday afternoon at Rifle Park, Banbridge. The game is one of four Ulster Bank League playoff finals involving Ulster teams this weekend.
ULSTER BANK LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Saturday 28th April
All games 2.30pm unless stated
Div 1B Promotion Playoff Final
Banbridge v U.C.C. at Rifle Park
Div 2A Promotion Playoff Final
City of Armagh v Nenagh Ormond at Palace Grounds (1.30pm)
Div 2B Promotion Playoff Final
Rainey OB v Navan RFC at Hatrick Park
Div 2B/C Promotion/Relegation Playoff
Belfast Harlequins v Omagh at Deramore Park
Round Robin Qualifying
Bandon v Instonians at Bandon (1.30pm)
Having finished the Division 1B regular season in second place, two points behind league winners Shannon, Banbridge were left facing an all-Ulster derby versus County Down neighbours Ballynahinch in the semi-final, where Bann dramatically recovered from a 14-0 deficit to win 28-24.
With a playoff final against UCC on Saturday to come, once again at Rifle Park, 1st XV Head Coach Daniel Soper admits there is a great buzz around the club.
“It’s been a big couple of weeks. The league was so tight for the last four or five rounds with Shannon, Ballynahinch and ourselves all being pretty close and all having opportunities to actually win the league so every one of our last games over the past five or six have been of a real intensity, and as that intensity grows on the pitch it carries over into the atmosphere at the club. Fortunately for us things have gone our way in terms of having our last league game at home and getting the home semi-final last weekend and that momentum from being at home in front of big crowds and most importantly winning has created quite an atmosphere about the place.”
Having won Division 2A last year, Soper admits the team have surpassed some of their early season objectives, but also acknowledges that these same objectives were replaced by more ambitious ones during the course of the year.
“We had goals that were centred around league points and we’ve gone well past those in terms of the 18 games. We also had goals in terms of our fixtures with the other Ulster clubs and we’ve went past those as well. Once we got up and running and we got half way through the league when we had played everyone, we realised that there was nothing to be afraid of and if we continued to improve and continued to play well then we had as good a chance as anyone of finishing at the top of the league. So, looking back at where we were this time last year we’ve probably achieved more in terms of what we were expecting would happen, but from where we were at Christmas, if we hadn’t have ended up in this position we would’ve been disappointed.”
For New Zealand native Soper, who played in the Banbridge team that took on Ballina in that first All Ireland League game back in 1998, there is a great deal of satisfaction taken from watching the progression of the club over that period.
“It’s really satisfying and there’s a number of things with it. I think we were 52nd in Ireland when I came back as a coach in 2010 and we’ve obviously moved up now with a chance of being in the top 10. Probably the most satisfying thing is that it hasn’t been a really rapid climb, it’s been slow and steady with never going backwards and never being relegated in 20 years. I guess in the last 8 years, or particularly in the last 5 or 6, we’ve a group of guys who have become the real core of the team, and seeing those guys driving the team forward and seeing the progression they have made themselves is very satisfying. The bulk of the team are from the Banbridge area. Admittedly this year it’s been a benefit to have the Ulster Academy guys come in, and without them it would be quite a struggle at this level, but it’s been great to see the progression our own guys have made to take us to this position.”
While the club stand on the cusp of a historic promotion, the Banbridge coach is not looking beyond the immediate challenge of UCC on Saturday afternoon.
“From a team’s point of view we’re not talking about promotion. We’re just talking about winning this game. I think that’s very important. In the past we’ve been in similar positions where we’ve been distracted by the talk about promotion and how good it would be to get up and that sort of thing but if you lose sight of actually just going and winning the game on Saturday you can become undone.
“But certainly from an Ulster Rugby point of view, and I’ve said this all season, for Ulster to get a club up into 1A is important for the profile of the club game and it’s important for the players to get exposure to 1A, to play a level that’s a step closer to the professional game. So whether that was going to be ourselves or Ballynahinch or Ballymena this year, it was always going to be important for one of us to put ourselves in a position to get up. Fortunately for ourselves it’s us – what that means to Banbridge, we’ll worry about that after Saturday afternoon if we’re in a position to worry about it. But until we win that game of rugby, it’s not something that I’m going to let distract me.”
Kick-off between Banbridge and UCC is 2.30pm on Saturday afternoon at Rifle Park, Banbridge. The game is one of four Ulster Bank League playoff finals involving Ulster teams this weekend.
ULSTER BANK LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Saturday 28th April
All games 2.30pm unless stated
Div 1B Promotion Playoff Final
Banbridge v U.C.C. at Rifle Park
Div 2A Promotion Playoff Final
City of Armagh v Nenagh Ormond at Palace Grounds (1.30pm)
Div 2B Promotion Playoff Final
Rainey OB v Navan RFC at Hatrick Park
Div 2B/C Promotion/Relegation Playoff
Belfast Harlequins v Omagh at Deramore Park
Round Robin Qualifying
Bandon v Instonians at Bandon (1.30pm)