17th December 2007

Armagh travel to Stevenson Park, Dungannon on Saturday when they meet Dungannon 2nd fifteen in the Past Player’s Cup. This cup is played between the winners of the Qualifying League and the winners of the Second Fifteen League.

Armagh were the comfortable winners of the Qualifying League last year. In fact by this stage of the season they had set a pattern through the country that they were not only going to win the league but were going to make a determined attempt at gaining promotion and making a long awaited return into All-Ireland rugby. Alas it wasn’t to be.

The narrow defeat in Derry robbed them of the chance of promotion and that narrow defeat in Naas saw them out of the AIB All-Ireland Junior Cup. But all in all it was a profitable character-building season for the club as well as the team!

After defeating Dungannon in the Junior Cup, last March, Armagh returned to the Palace Grounds with a much valued trophy.

They were presented with the Ashes by Dungannon stalwart, Stanley Turkington.

Like the test cricket ashes there is a story behind the trophy. The previous season saw Dungannon travel to Armagh to play also in the Junior Cup preliminary rounds.

After the game Stanley was presented with an Armagh club tie.

Unfortunately, Stanley managed to get a few too many stouts and after travelling home the Armagh tie managed, somehow, to end up in the Turkington fire-place.

Next morning the polyester tie had melted and degraded into a molten ash. As a memento Stanley mounted the ash in a silver presentation case and made the wise proposal that it should be played for when the clubs meet in future years.

The clubs are both well aware of the significance of Friday evening’s game. They will play all the harder for the game when a trophy is at stake also.