SCHOOLS RUGBY: LEINSTER JUNIOR CUP QUARTER-FINAL PREVIEW: NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE V BELVEDERE COLLEGE
Newbridge College juniors looking to succeed where seniors failed
By Daire Walsh
NEWBRIDGE College’s Senior Cup campaign may have come to an end at the hands of Belvedere College last month, but the south Kildare outfit will be hoping for better fortune when the two schools clash in the Leinster Junior Cup quarter-final at Donnybrook this Sunday (3pm kick-off).
This encounter was originally scheduled to take place yesterday (21 February), but a replay of the last-eight Senior Cup fixture between Blackrock College and Belvedere meant that it was pushed back a total of six days.
Newbridge coach John Joyce admitted this was initially a nuisance for his squad, but their minds are now entirely focused on the new date.
“I suppose, initially when we heard it, a piece of you was like ‘we had a focus, we had a date, we had a time’, and everything was building towards that. I suppose, momentum, you train to suit the day you’re actually out. The guy were actually really starting to up the physicality stakes, but then the date was changed,” Joyce remarked.
“The good news is, we found out over a week in advance, so we had to curtail our training a bit, and kind of nearly lay off the physicality a small bit. Because, I suppose, you’re hoping to peak nearly a week later than we had initially anticipated.”
“Like I say, initially it was kind of ‘jeez, you know, we would have loved to be out then’, but now that we have our new date, everything is pointing towards that new date.” Joyce acknowledged that being paired with a team like Belvedere (who have won the competition on 17 occasions) is always going to be a difficult proposition, but despite going into the game relatively cold, he feels that his side are capable of progressing to the semi-final stage.
“I suppose, whenever you’re drawn against one of the big six, a little tiny piece of you is always the smallest bit apprehensive, but we’re very happy with the draw. When you actually find out, and you definitely know who you have, it really gives you a good focus.”
“We haven’t seen Belvedere at all actually, but we would have played them in second year. I know a lot changes from second year, but the way we look at it is, we’re not going to worry about them. We’re just kind of worried about ourselves, and we’ve our own game plan, and I suppose if we’re true to ourselves, and true to our own game plan, we feel that we’re good enough to take on any team on any day.”
Indeed, Joyce identified the implementation of the team’s game plan as a potentially decisive factor for Sunday’s game. This is an area that he believes they struggled in during their opening round victory against Gorey CS, but now that they have some game time under their belts, he is confident that they can step up to the mark.
“Being honest, on the day I thought Gorey played extremely well. But on the flip side, I felt that we kind of nearly mirrored Gorey. So, we kind of nearly started playing to their game plan rather than our own. As I said, I feel Gorey played very well on the day, and not to put down anything that they did, but I think that we didn’t implement our own game plan.
“Like I say, I think the guys, if they’re true to their game plan, and they’re true to themselves, the ability and the skill set. We mightn’t have the biggest team, but we’ve a very physical, dynamic skilful team. I’ve massive, massive belief in our team,” Joyce added.