Soper hopeful Bann boys will come back stronger after break

Banbridge Head Coach Daniel Soper is hoping the two-week break will have done his side good.
Jonny Graham could be back in contention for Banbridge's match on Saturday. Pic: Matt Mackey / Presseye.com.Jonny Graham could be back in contention for Banbridge's match on Saturday. Pic: Matt Mackey / Presseye.com.
Jonny Graham could be back in contention for Banbridge's match on Saturday. Pic: Matt Mackey / Presseye.com.

Their early season promise had all but evaporated in their recent three successive defeats but after a two week break from competitive rugby, Soper has his fingers crossed his boys will be rejuvenated.

“I was pretty pleased with how we started the season,” he said.

“Pre-season was good and we did well in our first league match and in our first All Ireland game as well.

“We picked up a very good win against a big Cashel side.

“Since then, we have put in a few disappointing performances. We lost to Queens in a game that we didn’t really get up to our standards. We just seemed to go through the game thinking that things would happen for us.

“Against Thomond, we let ourselves down. The have a big pack and we didn’t stand up to the battle but hopefully we can now get back to the form we were showing in September.

“We started early this year and that certainly helped us during the first few weeks of the season but maybe we have neeedd a break over the last few games. We’ll see this weekend whether or not it has helped us.”

The boss held special praise for summer signing, Niko Vorster, who has begun his Banbridge career in thrilling fashion.

“Niko has been excellent for us,” said Soper.

“He has been such a good addition to the squad and has been the stand-out in terms of the new guys.”

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