Paul Armstrong is looking forward to his return to the All-Ireland League 2B after playing in it with Dungannon.
It’ll be Clogher Valley’s first game in the division as they hope to draw on their captain’s experience after playing for Dungannon for three years.
The 30-year-old is heading into his sixth year as captain since re-joining the club.
“Yeah super excited to get back playing, it seems a long time, it’s probably the longest off-season we’ve had since I started playing senior rugby, the difference from junior rugby is the off-season is a lot longer,” Armstong said.
“I think everyone is excited to get back playing and the thought of playing in 2B. I played in 2B before, with Dungannon, and it was always my target to get back there with Clogher, so yeah I can't wait.
"It's nice to be the captain of the team, it’s a bit of a privilege. This is now coming into the sixth year as captain which is a strange one, at any club sticking it out as long, I don’t know whether I’m doing alright or they just can't get anyone else, but I don’t feel it, we have loads of leaders and people who voice their opinion on a Saturday and have loads of experience who had tough days.
"As far as captaining I feel I’m not on my own, my biggest role is getting people to turn up for training and getting people to turn up for matches and keeping the thing ticking long, doing a wee bit of media stuff which is all part of the package.”
Armstong played his first two senior years for Clogher before joining Dungannon but made his return when his former youth coach Stephen Bothwell came calling. “The journey under Stephen has been very good,” he added.
“As far back as I remember, Stephen Bothwell has been there, in my day from running onto a kicking tee to him playing when I was only a wee fella.
"Obviously, he coached me through youth, and then I went away to Dungannon and it was him who got me to come back to Clogher six years ago.
"We’ve been on this journey together and it’s been an exciting one to see where we have come in five or six years. Hopefully, he sticks around for a wee while longer.”
The Beef Farmer looks back on last year with fond memories and admitted his side’s success was unexpected: “Last season was incredible for the first season with the club playing in the All-Ireland, in 2C.
"Going into the season, a wee bit like this season, we didn’t really know what to expect or where our targets were, it was just about finding our feet and seeing where we were at.
"After the first couple of blocks, winning five or six games in a row, I think our goal changed when we realised we could be title contenders. Thankfully, after a slip-up or two in the middle, we pushed on and finished strong, thankfully got top spot and then of course the Shield final was a nice day out too.
"It was nice to get a crack at a 2A side, in Ballymena and got the result, hopefully, we won't be too far away playing a team in that league.”
Clogher have gone from strength to strength in recent years with Armstrong noticing the club’s growth since he started playing rugby at the age of 11.
He is hoping there is still more room for them to grow, at all levels, in the years to come: “It's been great to see the improvement since I started playing rugby at 11 years of age, where the club was then compared to now, there was no such thing as mini’s back then which has all started to now.
"To see the youth striving now, male and female, the club has even now got a senior ladies' team which is doing incredibly well. They won the league last year for promotion and got to the final of the Suzanne Fleming Cup, which was an incredible achievement.
"As far as the firsts, to see where they were 10 years ago, they were flying high in junior rugby and then had that fall off for a couple of years but then put in the hard work and got back to fighting ways and climbed up through the ranks.
"Hopefully, we can keep improving and there’s still a few leagues to go if we get that length which would be a great achievement for the club.”
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