Dungannon set for final promotion push

DUNGANNON RFC’s first XV are going into Saturday’s Energia All-Ireland League 2B/2A Promotion/Relegation Play-off Final at UL Bohemians hopeful of making the step up but their season won’t be defined as a success or a failure on the back of the result.

Since Jonny Gillespie and Jonny Graham came into the club, working alongside Jonny Patton and Tim Smith, they have taken a one week and one game at a time approach during their debut season at Stevenson Park and it has paid dividends so far.

Over the last few seasons, Dungannon have been closer to the bottom than they would have liked but remained close enough to the promotion picture to remain hopeful about the future.

For head coach Gillespie it was about finding overall consistency and by focusing on weekly improvements rather than season-long goals, he has helped turn Dungannon into promotion candidates but he won’t define the campaign as a success based on the outcome of Saturday’s final in Limerick.

“We never really formalised and we never really discussed [our goals this season] as a group,” he explained.

“The first time we met them they said while they had finished seventh or eighth in the previous seasons, the margins were so fine that they could have finished third or fourth, so that was always in the back of my mind.

“So we just took it a week at a time, every session and every game was approached with the idea of trying to do things a little better each time because the lineout was different, the phase play was different, literally everything was different, which you would expect when coaches change.

“And all of that takes time so we never nailed our colours to the mast, saying this is success, this is not.”

And that step by step approach to the season will continue this week in the build-up to the decider against UL Bohemians who Gillespie feels will provide a threat but not one they are overly concerned about.

“They have dangerous players, they have one or two players who will cause us a few problems, but you can expect that because there would be something wrong if they didn’t,” he observed.

“But we’ll have a little plan and with this player group, it’s all about making it about them.

“You don’t want to give our boys 20 things to focus on, you just want to give them three because they aren’t used to that. We said the only real way we’ll beat Corinthians is if we maul them, kick well and defend well and those are the three things we did well.

“I think once you give them a wee bit of belief, show them that there is a plan and if you stick to it you won’t be far away, they respond to that.

“So we will have a little plan for Bohs, but at the same time you can’t go down to Limerick with fear or trepidation you have to go down and let the handbrake off a little bit.

“We have no fear and we have nothing to lose.”

Loss is something the Dungannon club have come all too familiar with in recent weeks following the passing of club stalwarts, Billy Brown and Ken Montgomery.

And it’s putting a smile on those in the club who are hurting following the passing of those two men that is driving Gillespie and his colleagues on ahead of Saturday’s match.

“We’re obviously new into the club so we don’t know these gentlemen but we are cognisant of the connection they have with the club, the members and the players,” he explained.

“It’s been a horrific week but your heart goes out to the families and friends and we’ll try and support them any way we can and if that means we go down and win games for them then we’ll try to do that. But it’s not about us, it’s about them having the privacy to grieve and knowing we are thinking about them.”

In fact, it’s producing a happy environment within the club as a whole that gives Gillespie the greatest pleasure rather than individual plaudits.

“For us, it’s just about putting together a good programme and seeing the boys enjoying it, that’s how we get our kicks and when you see how happy the club men are full-time.

“They travelled all the way to Galway and they almost had a tear in their eye because they were so happy and that’s where the satisfaction comes.”