Speaking at a photo-call in Dublin, team captains Frank Cogan and Paul Neville gave their thoughts ahead of this weekend’s AIB League Division One final between Cork Constitution and Garryowen (Musgrave Park, kick-off 2.30pm).
FRANK COGAN (Cork Constitution) –
ON PLAYING THE FINAL IN CORK:
“There should be a good crowd. The fact it’s on in Cork is great. We won’t have to travel that far.
“Garryowen are no strangers to Musgrave Park either so it’s not that much of an advantage. Maybe if it was a team from Belfast or Ulster, it might be but Garryowen are only up the road.”
ON WINNING THE LEAGUE TITLE:
“It would mean an awful lot to us if we won on Saturday. We’ve been close to it now a few years, having finished top of the table, and then failed to win the final.
“I also think it would mean an awful lot to people in the club, who have been there and are not playing any more. The club, in general, would be ecstatic about it.
“For me personally it would mean everything. The last time we got to the final I was injured.”
ON FINISHING TOP OF THE TABLE BUT LOSING FINALS:
“It’s grand finishing top of the league but everyone knows it’s winning the play-offs that counts. We’ve been down this road before. We’ve finished top and then lost in finals to Shannon and Dungannon. It hurts but you have to focus on the next match.”
ON SATURDAY’S GAME:
“We would hope to play as open a game as possible. We have played good rugby all season but, if it comes down to it, we are going to have to scrap with Garryowen at some stage. It will be a war of attrition.”
PAUL NEVILLE (Garryowen) –
ON PLAYING THE FINAL IN CORK:
“I wouldn’t say it’s a disadvantage to us. It’s only and hour and a half down the road.
“We’ve played there plenty of times and faced Dolphin there already this season. The pitch is perfect. It’s a final, irrespective of where it is being played, it is going to be about who wants it more on the day.”
ON WINNING THE LEAGUE TITLE:
“To me, as captain, it would be a huge honour (to win the league title). There’s a lot of history involving the club and the AIB League.
“For the club it would be massive altogether. We’ve won the AIB Cup and to do the double would be magnificent.
“For that matter, we’ve won the Munster Senior Cup and the Munster Junior Cup has also come to Dooradoyle. So, if we were to beat Cork Con, it would be a fantastic way to finish the season.”
ON THE SEMI-FINAL WIN AT CLONTARF:
“It was a semi-final so getting through was the important factor. It didn’t matter whether it was a one-point victory or a ten-point victory. We played with the wind in the second half and we knew we could dog it out and grind them down.”
ON SATURDAY’S GAME:
“The start of any match is very important. We started off really well against Belfast Harlequins in the AIB Cup final, and also against Galwegians in our final league game and it definitely made life a lot easier.
“We played very well in the second half against Clontarf last weekend, that’s the sort of performance we will be looking for over the 80 minutes in the final.”
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