By 
OMAGH Accies under-16 and under-14 girls teams are hoping to celebrate double delight at Ulster Rugby HQ on Sunday, which coincidentally is International Women’s Day, when they compete in their Ulster Cup finals.
The talented panels have both enjoyed hugely successful campaigns up to this point, suffering just one point apiece and while they are at opposite ends of the experience spectrum, they are both more than capable of achieving the success they crave.
And Wendy Irwin, a coach for the under-16s, believes the fact the club has managed to get two teams to Ravenhill shows their proactivity is paying off.
“It’s brilliant for girls rugby and I think it shows how proactive we’ve been because quite a lot of the other clubs are combined teams – for example the under-16s will play Cooke/Instonians/Ballymena in their final – so it’s good,” she beamed.
“The younger girls, when they see the older girls, the older girls have definitely been a good influence on the younger girls and Darren [McGuigan, Omagh Accies rugby development officer] getting into schools has helped increase our numbers and things like ‘Give it a Try’ that he tries to do to get the girls involved in rugby.
“We’re doing well, we’re excited [about Sunday].”
The under-14 side will visit Affidea Stadium for the first time since coming together and they will face a tough derby clash with Enniskillen, who they have yet to play this season.
Most of the players came through the club’s ‘Give it a Try’ programme and then the under-12s before becoming a force to be reckoned with at under-14 level where, this season, they have only lost once to Banbridge.
Described as a ‘small squad of tightly knit players led by captain and number eight Emily McCance’, the under-14s are coached by Michael Gibson, John Smyth and Rebecca Rainey, who have ‘instilled passion and skill into the team, which has come to fruition recently with the team showing a great ability to play the game to suit the opposition’.
Having developed an impressive level of ‘adaptability’, the under-14s will be able to handle anything Enniskillen throw at them on Sunday, while the under-16s will be out for revenge against the only side to have beaten them this season, the combined forces of Cooke/Instonians/Ballymena.
In their previous meeting, the Accies girls lost narrowly, 19-17, when their opponent’s pack came to the fore, but Irwin and her fellow under-16 coaches, Alan McCaffrey, Andrew Brady, Andrew Ferguson and Neil Hamilton believe the artificial turf at Ravenhill could help their side on Sunday.
“They have good forwards, are strong up front,” Irwin observed. “We have good forwards too, but we like to play it out the back, so the [playing] surface should suit us. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Having won the under-14 Ulster title two years ago, before losing out to Virginia at under-16 level last term, the girls are keen to once again climb the steps of the Affidea to lift some more silverware.
“The girls are up for it, defeat [to Cooke/Instonians/Ballymena] in January was sore but you learn from losing and you can’t win all the time,” Irwin added.
“It could go either way, but if all of our girls play at 100 per cent, yeah, brilliant, but [managing nerves on the day] could be the big thing.
“This is our third appearance [at Ravenhill], although we lost to Virginia last year and the year before we won, so hopefully this is our year again.”
The girls would like to thank their sponsors Hot Tubs Omagh, Plant Lubrication, Farmstrong Agri, Byrne Coaches, Lakeland Dairies, Main Street, Omagh and Mullaghmore Bakery.
The squads
Under-14s: Hollie Gibson, Mia Gililand, Connie Grimes, Jessica Britton, Olivia McAskie, Sophia Melaugh, Jade Ewing, Lynnea Hardy, Emily McCance,Emma Harkness, Jessie Browne, Emilia Stewart, Payton Adams, Megan McMaster, Katie Hamilton, Brooklyn Galbraith, Jessie Lawder, Meghan McGranaghan.
Under-16s: Melanie Rea, Louisa Ferguson, Aoibheann Sally, Jessica Brady, Amber Baxter, Emily Hemphill, Jessica Milligan, Sophie Hamilton, Layla McCaffrey, Olivia Kyle, Sammi Jo Preston, Emily Irwin (captain), Shannon Smyth, Ava Fegan, Sarah McVeigh, Anna SpeeR, Ella Graham, Sophie Scott, Ellie Smyton, Sarah Pinkerton.
