Adam Craig clear 'it's always been about being a good Hinch man' as six-year tenure comes to an end

In his six years at the helm at Ballymacarn Park, Craig has guided Hinch to four Ulster Senior League titles and three Senior Cups.

“Very enjoyable, it's obviously had its ups and downs, like any club does, but I've really enjoyed it,” reminisced Craig. “The club have been brilliant to me and for me, and the family have had a great time there.

"Hopefully I’ve left in a good place for someone to come in.

“It’s very difficult (to leave), there's a great group of boys there at the minute who are really trying to push on and try and get that top four for the first time as an Ulster club in a long time, it's a really difficult decision, but one I thought I had to make.

“The squad's hopefully in a good place for someone else to come in and do a good job.”

Craig recalled the highlights of his tenure.

“Loads of success over the years and I probably enjoyed the season that we played in the relegation play-off as much,” he added. “Probably some of the highlights would be the Towns Cup the second XV won against Dromore – that was a great game, and the week before, the first XV had won the Senior Cup too.

“I think we've done ourselves proud as a club in Ulster, representing Ulster in the All-Ireland League.

“Unfortunately, we just couldn't crack that top four, but three fifth-placed finishes in a row definitely showed that the club deserved to be there.”

Success wasn’t just measured in trophies for Craig, it was also about developing players for representative honours.

“I love that side of coaching,” he said. “I'm obviously a teacher by trade and was a youth supporter in a past life, so trying to help these guys along the way in their journey, I've seen some great successes.

“Conor Rankin and George Pringle being Ulster Club Players of the Year was a fantastic achievement for those lads who maybe just missed out on professional rugby.

“We've had a good few play Irish clubs as well, which has been great, Bradley Luney has certainly been a consistent performer in the AIL.

“We've had plenty of players come out of the pro game and into the club game, which is a really difficult transition, but I think we've tried to create an environment that they're really going to enjoy and thrive in.

“There's loads of stories of guys who have had success personally and collectively...I suppose it's always been about really trying to leave that jersey in a better place and being a good Hinch man.”

Craig won his last game at Ballymacarn Park against Old Belvedere and wants to go out on another victory in Limerick.

“We had a really good performance last week and sort of challenged the lads to try and finish well,” he added. “It's obviously a difficult enough scenario having nothing really to play for, but we pride ourselves on our performance and how we apply ourselves in each game.

“We'll try and finish well this week down in Young Munster.

"Ironically, my first AIL game coaching was down there, so it'll be nice to go back and hopefully right the wrong that day where we just got nipped at the post.

“It's been a great run and certainly I've really enjoyed my time.”

Craig will stay in the game by continuing to coach at Sullivan Upper.

“I'm looking forward to concentrating on Sullivan now and pushing on rugby in there,” he said. “It's been really good for me over the last eight or nine years and I feel like the school is in a good place now to push on.

“We've never won the Schools’ Cup there, so hopefully that'll be something we can target in the next couple of years.

“I'm just thankful for what's happened in the past with Ballynahinch, it's obviously a club I've played for, so I was really proud to be head coach.”