Instonians and City of Armagh ready to kick-start new revamped domestic season

City of Armagh won the Ulster Senior League last season beating Dungannon in the final.

However, the format has now changed, meaning the top eight clubs will be in two groups of four teams with the winners of each section meeting in the Senior Cup final to be played at Ravenhill in December.

The other four clubs will form a group with the top two going to decider for the Senior Shield.

Instonians won their 20th Senior Cup in 2024, and coach Paul Pritchard is hoping to make the final again.

“There are a lot of lads there that have had success in the Senior Cup with Queen’s, Armagh and teams that they had been at before coming to Instonians, it is certainly something that we would like to be in,” he said.

“I like the format...it gives you a lot to play for but at the same time you are preparing for the All Ireland League, that is the bigger picture for us and most clubs.

“We just want to make sure we are nailing some of things that we are trying to do in training and performance is probably more important for us than results. At the same time there is that prize of the Senior Cup final and it is something that we would love to be in again.

“It is an interesting layout for us, but ultimately, you want to see the performance build each week and hopefully if our performances are good that equates to three wins and a Senior Cup final.”

Inst have been working hard during pre-season as they prepare to chase another Senior Cup and a fifth consecutive AIL promotion.

Pritchard added: “I think we always try to chance a little bit during pre-season and there is always something that we think we can improve on we don’t change just for the sake of it.

“I tend to find things that I want to improve on from last season and we know that (AIL) 1B will be a big step up for us, a lot of that is around coaching and what we are looking to do, how much we are putting in and taking feedback from players at the end of last season.

“There has been a good bit of change in the more off-field things, but we will still play our brand of rugby and that is not going to change.”

Former Ulster and Ireland winger Craig Gilroy is among the new signings for Instonians this season but will have to wait to make his debut for the club.

After a long pre-season, Armagh coach Chris Parker is just looking forward to a first competitive game.

“Pre-season can drag on and it gets to the stage where the boys just need a hit out against someone other than their team-mates,” he continued.

“I think we now need that competitive fixture to get a truer picture of where we are at and where we need to get to and ultimately build towards the All Ireland League.

“We are very familiar with Instonians and even more so this year. I’m sure they are in a similar boat where this just gives us a good idea of where we are at.

“Their record speaks for itself over the last few years. The fixtures have been competitive between the two, so we’re delighted to have Instonians first up because it is really going to give us a marker of that 1B, where both clubs are at and what needs done over the next month before the AIL.

Neil Faloon is likely to miss the season for Armagh after suffering a training injury.

New signing Noah Bell and Owen O’Kane are still involved with Ulster U19s.