Instonians put proud home record on line in Division 1B Ulster derby clash against Armagh at Shaw's Bridge

Armagh were victorious last weekend when the sides met at the Palace Grounds, when the win lifted Chris Parker’s side up to fourth and three points behind their Belfast rivals.

Instonians are second, five points adrift of leaders Old Wesley, and coach Paul Pritchard wants to right the wrongs of last week.

“I think last week there was a lot of the mental side of things for us as well coming off a very tough Christmas period, when we trained with reduced numbers,” he said. “We had a good performance against Hinch but were disappointed by the result.

“We probably didn’t bounce back from that as well as we would have liked. Conditions were pretty dire last Saturday in terms of the cold and a bit of frost on the pitch.

“We came out of the game thinking we had a lot more to give, especially the first half. Second half we were a lot better, but it took us a while to get going – there’s many factors which we think contributed to that.”

Pritchard is expecting another tough battle this weekend.

He added: “I don’t think Armagh are going to change the way they play. They didn't surprise us with how they played last week, so maybe it's good that we've had it first-hand the week before and that you can practice and speak about things once you get into it, but I think what it does do is it gives us a real sense of urgency and a real motivator for us going into this weekend.”

Instonians put their proud home record on the line, with the club winning all 31 games at Shaw’s Bridge – 29 with try bonus points – since returning to AIL rugby.

Bradley McNamara is on Ulster duty, but Schalke van der Merwe returns to the squad.

Armagh coach Chris Parker knows how difficult it is for visiting teams at Shaw’s Bridge.

“I think it’s definitely the hardest place to go to in all-Ireland rugby at the minute, as we know across all divisions, there's some pretty hard and difficult places to go to get victories, but their record is hugely impressive,” he said.

“They're a really good rugby side, but to do what they've done over the last three and a half years of being undefeated at home is very, very impressive, so we do not underestimate in any way the size of the task we have this weekend.

"But it's another Ulster derby and those Ulster derbies always bring a better atmosphere.

“I don't think either side played to their potential last week, so I'm thinking that this weekend will be a bit of a cracker.”

Parker would obviously be delighted with the same result as last week.

“It’s [Armagh approach] repeat a lot of the good stuff we did last week. I felt first half the boys stuck to the plan quite well and got their rewards out of it. Second half when we went away from it we gave Inst a lot of opportunities and they looked very dangerous.

“We've tried to tidy up a couple of things at training this week, but certainly we feel as long as we can consistently stick to that game plan, we'll give ourselves a good shot again this weekend.

“It’s important we keep ourselves in the mix and stay in and around those playoff positions, so the three wins on the bounce is huge and we just know every week you've got to pick up points and especially when you're away from home. If you're going to lose, make sure you're losing within seven points.”

Parker has to make two enforced changes in the from row, with hooker James McCormick in and Ulster Johnny Morton deputising.

Paul Mullan is injured, Griffin Phillipson starts while centre Cameron Cummings makes his debut.

Queen’s travel to Trinity while in 1A Ballynahinch host Clontarf.