A strong sense of familiarity is expected as Instonians and Queen’s University set to contest May’s Ulster Senior Cup final

Fittingly, the two most successful sides in the competition will meet in the Belfast venue’s centenary final on the first weekend in May.

Queen’s have won the trophy a record 24 times and will contest their 43rd final, while Instonians have lifted the cup on 19 occasions.

The 1924 final was the third consecutive time the sides had met in the final with Inst winning the first two and Queen’s becoming the first side to win the trophy at Ravenhill.

The sides also met a year later in the decider and again it was the students that enjoyed success.

Queen’s were captained in the first Ravenhill final by George Stephenson, the utility back who could play wing or centre, who was one of six internationals in the students team that dominated Irish club rugby in 1924.

The students did a domestic Ulster league and cup double and became the first Ulster club to win the Bateman Cup (All Ireland Cup), beating University College Dublin (UCD) 29-11 and added the All Ireland Universities Cup (Dudley Cup).

Stephenson’s stellar 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.

This year is Queen’s third consecutive final as they won the trophy two years ago, while losing last year.

The students were captained in both finals by David Whitten who moved to Instonians last summer.

There are plenty of connections between the two clubs. Out-half Ritchie McMaster kicked the winning penalty for Queen’s in the 2014 final and was part of the victorious Queen’s side that won in 2022 before moving to Instonians.

It was his penalty that won the semi-final for Inst against Armagh last weekend.

Inst player-coach Paul Pritchard has won three Senior Cups as a player, two in Ulster with Ballymena and Ballynahinch and one in Leinster with Old Belvedere, but injury will rule him out of the upcoming final.

“I think it means a bit more as a coach, Saturday was something which I found hard to express in words, just that level of pride in the boys,” he said.

“Hinch for a while have been the best team in Ulster, then Armagh should be the second-best team in Ulster, it was a very proud moment for me and all the coaching staff and the effort.

“The connection we have with Queen’s and the amount of players we have that have played with Queen’s, means we have experience coming into the final maybe just not as Instonians so it is time to tie it in together.”

Queen’s captain Alexander Clarke is looking forward to going up against some of the Instonians team that were part of Queen’s success two years ago.

He said: “We have a good history in the Senior Cup and we have won a lot – third final in a row and a chance to get some silverware.

“It is a very familiar opposition. I have played six years with a lot of those boys.

"I know them quite well and it will be strange going against them but we always did it in training and I’m sure we’ll be able to do it again come the day.”