Instonians’ Bateman Cup History An Inspiration For Pritchard

This weekend brings about another special fixture in the storied run of Instonians, since their promotion back to the Energia All-.Ireland League two years ago. They head to Limerick to face Garryowen in Saturday’s Energia Bateman Cup semi-final (kick-off 1.30pm).

What can you say that has not already been written about Instonians? A decade ago they dropped down to the junior ranks, and since winning promotion back in 2022, they have not looked back.

Inst put together an incredible 52-match unbeaten streak from their time in junior rugby in Ulster right until they suffered a 25-24 defeat to Sligo in Strandhill last March. It was a record 32 successive wins between Divisions 2C and 2B.

They registered 18 bonus point victories to storm their way to the Division 2C title, and added the 2B crown last spring. They have also made an encouraging start to their time in the third tier, winning six of their first seven games to sit level at the summit with Galway Corinthians.

While they still have almost two-thirds of the All-Ireland League season ahead of them, winning the Bank of Ireland Ulster Senior Cup last May has earned them the right to compete in the prestigious Bateman Cup after a long absence.

For a team that was playing junior rugby just three short years ago, Inst are now only 80 minutes from reaching a Bateman Cup final. They are relishing another chance to test themselves against Division 1A opposition.

Head coach Paul Pritchard echoed how much of an achievement this is for the Belfast side, 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 Division 1A team in Limerick,” he told IrishRugby.ie. “Like, that’s absolutely outstanding.

“For us, not focusing on this weekend, I think the focus is making sure the club is in a place that this isn’t the last time that we are 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 want to make sure that we’re able to beat the likes of Ballynahinch, (City of) Armagh, Queen’s to get to Senior Cup finals and win Senior Cups, putting 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.

“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 Rangers in the final. They lifted the national trophy in 1927 against one of this season’s 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 after that. He has been an ever-present figure in the Shaw’s Bridge set-up since then, taking on the role of player/coach during that time.

In the head coach position, he has Louis Ludik and Jamie Kirk to provide plenty of experience and knowledge alongside him, while also having former player Rick McCarthy on board.

Inst director of rugby Clem Boyd has been key to their recent success, putting the building blocks in place right from mini and youth rugby upwards to create a clear pathway to the senior squad.

Pritchard is really savouring his tenure at Instonians. With over 175 appearances in the All-Ireland League, he does hope to add to that but has been on the sidelines since suffering an ACL injury during that loss to Sligo last season.

While he admits he was almost ready for retirement back in 2019, the 35-year-old back rower has a new lease of life with Inst, praising the squad for giving him that feeling. He is hopeful of making a return to the pitch early next year.

“I 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,” he explained.

“I wouldn’t be coaching any other club for this amount of time that I’ve been here. I’ve 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. It’s just, 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’ve 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.”

He continued: “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, I’ll be in good stead to play next year.

“But if I don’t get any games this season, it might be difficult to sort of come back, hopefully being (Division) 1B next season.

“It’d be hard to come back into Division 1B rugby at 35 years of age after missing the season. The boots aren’t hung up yet, though.”

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 superb winning streak served as the catalyst behind two title-winning campaigns, and with the brand of attacking rugby they play, those try-scoring bonus points followed.

The likes of Neil Saulters (pictured above) has nine tries already this year and is especially dangerous from mauls. Add in Bevan Prinsloo and Bradley McNamara in their dynamic back-line, which also includes Glen Faloon, Hugo Ellerby, and Josh Eagleson, a young player who is the fourth top scorer in Division 2A with a wand of a boot.

When they were maintaining that unbeaten form in the lower divisions, naturally there was pressure. Pritchard saw that first hand as both a player and coach.

He explained that sheer will and desire got them over the line in tough situations, and how Instonians will approach their Bateman Cup bid with a good deal of confidence despite their recent loss to 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 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 volumes for the group of lads we’ve had, and still have in terms of just 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 that you’re going to 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.

“(A) 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, and 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 Bateman Cup semi-final win, they met Garryowen in the decider, suffering an eventual 24-6 defeat.

A number of years later, and following a couple of years with Ballynahinch, Pritchard headed to Dublin to play with Old Belvedere (pictured below). He helped the club to reach the 2017 final which saw Cork Constitution survive a frantic finish to win their fifth Bateman Cup in a row.

He knows first hand just how much of a challenge Garryowen will be, and while Instonians are often hotly fancied going into games – Inst are motoring along very well in Division 2A, with Garryowen on a losing streak of late – he acknowledges that the Light Blues are very much the favourites.

“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,” he noted.

“To win the (Ulster) Senior Cup, we obviously had to beat two 1A teams last season. So it’s a challenge that I think our boys are going to relish, and we’re certainly looking forward to it.

Anytime you’re ever going to Limerick or Cork, you always know what you’re going to 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 recognise 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 champing 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 going 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 want to 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 want to go up and up the leagues, and we would certainly like to be having games against the likes of Garryowen every Saturday, but our focus is obviously massively on the league and trying to make that possible.”

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