He’s won one Ulster Junior Cup and he’s lost won, so Enniskillen captain James Ferguson knows both ends of the ‘coin’.
He was part of the first Enniskillen side to win the cup back in 2020. He scored a try in the final that day to overcome Armagh 2nds 18-17.
On Saturday, he’ll lead the team out in the Ulster Junior Cup Final at Kingspan Stadium where they’ll play league champions Dromore for the third time this season.
Ferguson was 26 when he collected a winner’s medal five years ago and he remembers it as being a very tough game;
“We were behind for quite a bit of it and managed to stick at it and score two late tries.
“There were a lot of those players coming towards the end of their career. We stuck to the task and backed ourselves to the end that day, which I’m sure we’ll have to do on Saturday.”
Three years later he felt the opposite emotions as Enniskillen relinquished a nine-point half-time lead to lose the Ulster Junior Cup Final to Ballyclare.
“We didn’t control the most important part of the game which was after half time and they pulled away and we didn’t really recover from that,” he recalled.
The learning’s from both finals he’s played in will be invaluable going into Saturday’s showdown with the league champions;
“It’s about not panicking,” explained the 31-year-old, “we need to remain composed and take our chances when you get them because against the likes of Dromore you don’t get many chances.
“From experience, these days don’t come that often and you might think you’ve years to get to finals and league-winning games but you won’t and ultimately you’ll look back and wish you could seize it or be happy that you did seize it.”
The team has evolved massively over the last five years and so too has the management.
Alastair Keys took on the role of coach last year and along with his son Connor, who is the backs coach, Raymond Savage the forwards coach and Ryan Cathcart the strength and conditioning coach, they have brought a level of “consistency” to the team, said Ferguson, but he’s conscious that winning is important too;
“Overall, we’ve had a good season, we’ve lost three games this season – twice to Dromore and once in the All-Ireland Final. You can say you’ve had a good season but you’re judged on silverware,” said the Enniskillen-based solicitor.
“It would great to win. Our support has been excellent this year and there’s been a positivity in the last year or two with the whole club getting behind us and us getting behind other parts of the club too.
“It would be really good for us to do it for people who are supporting us from outside the team and for ourselves as a team.
“I think the boys deserve it, but Dromore probably think they deserve it too,” he added. Dromore will go into Saturday’s game as favourites, having held the upper hand in both league contests but Ferguson is ready to turn the tables;
“I’m very much looking forward to playing them again, to make up for the defeats – not that it will change the league – but to prove to ourselves.
“ I think it is really time for us to stand up and not lean on the coaches, regardless of age.”
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