Things are ‘coming together’ for new Strabane coach Magee

NEW Strabane RFC head coach, Neville Magee is enjoying his first pre-season at Bradley Way.

He has already strengthened his squad ahead of the new Championship 3 season, which will begin with a home clash against Belfast High School Former Pupils, with the addition of a few new faces, which he believes can only strengthen Strabane’s promotion push.

After narrowly missing out on a place in Championship 2 last year, under the stewardship of South Aftican Ruan de Beer, who will return to playing duties in 2025/26, Magee has been using the summer to monitor and improve the fitness of his players ahead of their opening friendly, which will take place at Limavady on Saturday, August 16th [kick-off 1pm].

And thus far, he’s been pleased with what he’s seen in terms of effort and application.

“We’ve had a good few training sessions, there’s good numbers there – in and around the 30-plus range – with seniors and a few under-18s have been introduced as well,” the Ardstraw native said.

“We’ve done some fitness testing to get all the fitness levels up and we’ve started doing more rugby-specific stuff in preparation for a pre-season friendly or two.

“There have been a few players have come in from a few clubs.

“They wanted to come to Strabane and join the campaign, if you like, so we got a few guys added in, some good additions and we have some good players coming through and coming back from another season.

“And Ruan should be playing. The main thing for him was his knee last year, so he’s been in the gym, getting strong and he should be in the mix for the season.

“He was coaching last year, so he knows the score, knows the players and he’s a leader, so it’s looking good.

“Everything is looking positive, there’s a good buzz, a good atmosphere and everyone is keen to get mucked in.

“They’re working hard in the gym, on their fitness, so it’s coming together.”