By Rory McKee
BANGOR Rugby Club captain James Leary hopes a simple message from their new head coach can inspire them to better things during the upcoming season.
Leary, who was confirmed as captain again earlier this week, will lead the team into the 2025/26 campaign at Upritchard Park against Enniskillen this weekend under a new-look coaching setup headed by former Bangor favourite David Bradford.
After their eight-year stay in the All Ireland League (AIL) was brought to an end in April 2024 following a play-off defeat to Monkstown, Bangor went on to have what Leary describes as an ‘average’ season on their return to Championship 1 last term.
He admitted dropping out of the senior ranks was a bitter pill to swallow, particularly having played his part in helping Bangor get there in the first place.
“It might sound like a ridiculous thing to say, but we didn’t even play that badly which probably resulted in us avoiding automatic relegation because we had so many losing bonus points.
“We won four in a row at the end of the season to make it into the play-off match but we were beaten by a slightly better team on the day.
“Myself and maybe three or four others playing that day were part of the team that got us promoted, so it was a tough one to take.”
Leary continued: “Last season was a bit of a rebuild I suppose. We didn’t compete with the top teams like Enniskillen and Dromore and lost a few close games. We still had the chance to finish in the top four with two weeks to go, but it wasn’t to be.
“I would describe it as average and I think the rest of the players would feel the same way.”
Incoming head coach David Bradford, who previously played alongside Leary at Bangor, has already laid down a marker with the squad.
“He put it to us by saying, ‘Do you want this to be just another season, or do you want to do something this year?’
“I think the new coaching team has been very well received, as all three of David, Phil White (forwards coach) and Ricky Armstrong (backs coach) have captained Bangor in the past and people know that they’re Bangor men,” Leary said.
“In pre-season, there are usually targets put in place during pre-season, but David has undercut that by saying that the aim is to enjoy rugby and you enjoy rugby by winning games. If we do that, we should be in a pretty good place.”
Leary also highlighted the blend of youth and experience in this year’s squad and singled out the returning Andy Smith as one to watch.
“We’ve got a decent crop of younger guys coming through from Bangor Academy and Bangor Grammar, who are only going to improve by playing with guys used to a higher level.
“Andy Smith has come back to us after spending time in Australia. I remember him scoring a hat-trick for us against Ballymena when he was 18, he’s a really good rugby player and will be big for us this year.
“There are a few boys still here who have hung on since I started playing; Robert Gamble and Gareth Millar are going to be vice-captains and I’ve played with them pretty much the whole way through at Bangor. They will really help me and I know the team looks up to both of them.”
‘No gimmes’
IN what is shaping up to be a more competitive Championship 1 than ever, Leary and his team mates will be taking nothing for granted.
“The year that we won it [Championship 1], we turned up and pretty much expected to bonus point everyone,” he said.
“But it’s definitely a much stronger league than it was with the teams promoted from Championship 2 and Omagh coming down from the AIL. There are definitely no gimmes.
“I remember us turning up away to Lurgan and thinking absolutely nothing about a bonus point win, and then they beat us at home in January. So every single game is going to be hard.”
