Queen's captain David Whitten urges Belfast side to create own history in Bateman Cup

The students have won the trophy – which is contested between the four provincial senior cup winners – three times, but the last success came 86 years ago in 1937, although the tournament was only contested once between 1939 and 2006.

Queen’s travel to Buccaneers in semi-final on Saturday (12.30pm) hoping to avenge last season’s playoff final defeat by the Connacht side, which denied Queen’s promotion.

Buccs are currently top of Division 1B with Queen’s leading Division 2A.

Whitten said: “It is a good record to have for the club, but I think it is a tough competition for the Ulster teams. You usually get a couple of Division 1A sides in it and that makes it a lot harder. I’m not saying you can’t win it the but the whole process is a lot harder.

“I think it would be a great achievement to go away to Buccaneers and win and even get to the final.

“There is some history in it all and to get to add our own history to it would be brilliant. We have been trying to do as much of that as we can, so if we get a chance to get to the final in the Bateman anything can happen. It would be lovely to add another piece of history to it all.”

Dubarry Park will hold no fears for Queen’s as they went to the Athlone ground in 2019 and beat Buccs in the Division 2A playoff semi-final.

“Buccs have done really well and have got that promotion bounce, it has been tough enough to watch as a Queen’s player to see them do so well after what happened but all credit to them,” Whitten added.

“Dubarry Park is tough place to go but it is a nice place to try and play rugby and it suits us.

“It would be nice to go down and beat them and get a wee bit of revenge for last year but that has been and gone, we’ll just go down try our best and see what happens on the day.

“They are a good side and they have strengthened well this season with getting a few more Connacht boys in.

“We’ll rightly be the underdogs but it hasn’t stopped us before and we’ll go down and give it our best shot.”

Queen’s first won the trophy in 1924 beating UCD 29-11 in the third year of the competition.

Medical student George V Stephenson captained Queen’s to their triumph in1924 .

In April 1920 the utility back won his first international cap in a 15-7 defeat by France at Lansdowne Road, making him the sixth youngest player to play for Ireland at 18 years and 103 days.

Stephenson’s Ireland career spanned a decade and when he retired in 1930 his 42 international caps (12 as captain) was a world record.

That landmark would stand for 27 years before another medical student from Queen’s, Jack Kyle, broke it in 1957.

Stephenson also held the Irish try-scoring record with 14 touchdowns, a feat which was finally surpassed by Brendan Mullins 62 years later.

He was one of six Irish internationals in the 1924 Queen’s side that swept all before them; as well as winning the Bateman Cup, the students achieved an Ulster Senior League and Cup double and added the All Ireland Universities Cup (Dudley Cup).

In 1924 Stevenson also captained Ulster in their first ever game at Ravenhill in a victory over Leinster.

It would be another eight years before the Belfast university tasted success in the Bateman Cup.

Flanker Robert Alexander was part of the Queen’s side that beat Cork Constitution 19-0 in the 1932 final.

Alexander would go on to be a dual Irish international.

He was capped once for his country at cricket in a victory over Scotland, but it was on the rugby pitch that he gained fame.

Alexander was part of the Ulster team that drew 3-3 with the All Blacks at Ravenhill in November 1935.

Three months later the flanker won his first Ireland cap against England at Lansdowne Road.

He won 11 Ireland cap, scoring one try and in 1938 he was selected for the British Lions tour to South Africa.

Alexander got one of the tries as the Lions fought back from a 13-3 deficit at half-time to beat the Springboks 21-16 in the third test at Newlands.

Alexander was the only Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) player to ever represent the Lions.

At the start of the second world war, Alexander enlisted in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. He rose to the rank of captain but was killed in action leading an assault on Simeto River, south of Catania in Sicily on July 19 1943 aged 32.

Queen’s third victory in the Bateman Cup came with their star-studded 1937 team.

The side – containing Blair Mayne in the second row, George Cromey at out half and Harry McKibbin in the centre – beat Blackrock 39-5 in the semi-final.

In the decider played the next day at Lansdowne Road UCC tried to stifle Queen’s but with Mayne to the fore in the pack the Belfast side won 8-0.

Mayne, Cromey and McKibbin all toured South Africa with the Lions a year later, all three playing in the last test victory.