Underdogs Armagh aiming to spring upset against Ballynahinch and clinch Stevenson Shield at Ballymacarn Park

Hinch are chasing a third consecutive title and will have home advantage in the play-off final as they accumulated more points after topping their group in the round robin stage than Armagh.

Armagh booked their place in the final by beating Malone last weekend to top Group B and coach Chris Parker was pleased with the response after losing at Ballymena the previous week.

“I think the heads had been a lot more focused during the week and certainly during the warm-up it was pretty clear to see we were in a different head space than we had been the week before against Ballymena,” Parker said.

“It was very encouraging and really pleasing that we produced a better performance than what we had done the week before.”

Parker, though, knows going to Hinch is probably the most challenging venue to go to in Ulster club rugby.

“It is something for us to try and get after, it is a huge task to go to the current Senior Cup and senior league holders and get a win,” he said. “We don’t feel there is any pressure on us, we just have to worry about our performance and see where that takes us.”

“They have held it [Stevenson Shield] for a good while now and we held it for a short period of time as well. They have been the top club in Ulster for well over a decade now and rightly so, and they have all the accolades to show it.

"I think every club tries to aspire to get to that level and now that we are in the same league as them, we are just really glad that we get to test ourselves against them before the AIL comes.

“It is what we need at this stage of the season to give us a really good idea of where we are at,” Parker added.

“When we saw the new format, we obviously wanted to top our group and that extra game to try and get us prepared for the All Ireland League, and we had a rough idea it would be against Hinch or Queen’s; we knew that would be our test of where we are at and where we’re up to.”

Parker said the clash also offers a final opportunity for Armagh to prepare for their AIL Division 1A clash against Cork Con.

“I’d like to think there will be no issues with where our heads are at this week, it is a huge test, they have a fantastic home record, and they take a lot of pride in it,” he said.

“We have a few games under our belt and now we get a real idea of what that 1A quality is like against Hinch; they are a top top side and that is what we are going to face for 18 games this year. This will give us a benchmark and give us an idea of what we need to do in the coming weeks before Cork Con.”

Timmy McNiece, Glen Falon, Matthew Hooks and Paul Mullan are return to the starting line-up and there is a debut for scrum-half Will Hazelton.

Ballymena host Banbridge at Eaton Park, when the winner will go into the Senior Cup quarter-finals while the loser drops into the new shield competition.

In Division 2, Belfast Harlequins host Bangor, while Clogher Valley make the short trip to Omagh.