Enniskillen’s experienced prop Gavin Warrington has seen the club take some big steps forward during his playing career and he is hoping that they take another one this Saturday night by landing the All-Ireland Junior Cup for the first time when they face local rivals, Clogher Valley, at Kingspan Stadium.

Warrington admits though that when he started out that playing in games like this was not even on the radar.

“I was saying to the boys not that long ago that when I was younger I didn’t even know that the competition existed, because we were never anywhere near it.

“There is though a desire and want to succeed and create that community within the club,” he said.

And he points to the contribution of Head Coach Stevie Welsh in instilling that ethos within the side, with Welsh having been at the fore as Skins landed the Towns’ Cup and the Ulster Junior Cup in recent years.

“Stevie has a real passion for it. Me and Stevie would have played together and went to school together, and through injury he has ended up taking the coaching role, but he has an absolute passion for rugby and it shows through in his coaching.

“He has a real drive to succeed and have the boys succeed. He is a great club man,” said Warrington.

The prop has been a key figure in Skins’ cup wins and he is determined to complete that cup haul by doing everything he can to secure the win on Saturday night against Clogher.

“It is not an opportunity that I’m willing to let pass me lightly. I turned 39 last week, so there is a good chance that I’m not going to get to another All-Ireland final, so I’m definitely not going to let it pass me by easily.

“You have to take these opportunities when you can. We were fortunate enough to win the Towns’ Cup and the Junior Cup in the past few seasons, so I’m hoping to be able to lift the All Ireland Cup and finish off the three of them,” he said.

Those previous two cup successes were big days for the club, explains Warrington.

“They were special occasions. It was 82 years since we won the Towns’ Cup and the first time ever that we won the Ulster Junior Cup, so they were big occasions for the club.

‘A credit to people’

“Occasions like these keep people interested in the club and keeps the club moving on. 82 years was a long time [waiting] for silverware, and it is a credit to people who did stick it about the club with no silverware.”

He is though not content with his medal haul yet.

“Once you get one, you keep pushing for the next. You don’t want to stand still, you want to push on and push on.

“When Stevie started out on this quest it was about making top four, and now we are not happy with that, we want to be in cup finals and we want to win cups and succeed and all the players have bought into that ethos now. We want to push on into that next level.”

He knows that they face a big task on Saturday against a Clogher side riding high in the league and who come into the game as current All-Ireland champions.

But he stresses that it all comes down to who performs on the day.

“You can’t take anything away from them, they are the in-form side and they have been playing well this few seasons now, but it is 80 minutes and it is whoever wants it [the most will get it].

“Without a doubt we are the underdogs, but I wouldn’t have it any other way, and we love cup rugby.

“That’s the beauty of cup rugby – it doesn’t always have to be the form side, we know that from watching all sorts of sports.

“It doesn’t matter what happened the week before or the week after, it is all about being there in the moment for that 80 minutes and staying focused.

“You have to be willing to work harder and be more committed than your opposite number.”

And he says that the thought of lifting the cup is what will drive them on when the going gets tough on Saturday night.

“That’s what you are aiming for, that’s what you want, and when you are feeling a bit tired or a bit sore, you just put it to the back of your mind and just tell yourself to push on and get that trophy.”