City of Derry's new dawn under Neil Beddow begins with Ards test

The former winger has been charged with restoring the fortunes of the 'Green & Black' following a tumultuous few seasons which have seen Derry lose All Ireland League status and last season slip into junior rugby's second tier.

'Q2' is unfamiliar territory for the Judges Road club but league tables don't tend to lie. It may seem a long way back but Beddow, and his assistant, Tom Burns, have been busy reshaping their Derry squad over a hectic summer; a summer that Beddow hopes will mark the beginning of a resurgence for the club.

"Yes, happy with how things have settled," explained Derry's new Head Coach, "Ultimately I'm still a bit impatient in that I want everyone available all the time but I understand that's not how life works.

"I'd love my full squad to select from and I'm hoping in a week's time that will be the case but we're not just there at this moment in time. Going into this opening game, it will be challenging against Ards but we still have a very competitive team and squad available to us and, listen, we'll be doing our best to start with a win."

The full squad Beddow is referring includes quite a number of new faces and the odd old one too! Returning to the club are out-half and former captain Alex McDonnell, Davy Devine, who returns after spells with Belfast Harlequins and Ballyclare, and David Lapsley, though the influential centre won't be available until the end of the NW cricket season.

Those familiar faces will be joined by a host of new recruits including Willie John Bradley who moves from Coleraine, flanker Brodie McClelland from Limavady, David McCann from Leinster club Suttonians and Marius Bartley who arrives from UCC.

Another new arrival, back row Mark Scott who joined from Inishowen, has already impressed in pre-season challenge games with Ballymena and Strabane.

"There were half a dozen or so players who had moved on from the end of last year," added the Derry coach, "So we do have quite a few new faces in and around the club but not everyone is available just at this moment in time. Some are playing other sports, such as cricket and Gaelic and so on.

"We also still have a bit of a holiday period that's closing out with some guys still away on holidays. This week we do have a few missing and are looking more towards the start of next week when we should have more bodies on the ground but, listen, we have a competitive squad which we will be putting out against Ards this weekend.

"Mark (Scott) has come in and been unbelievable in pre-season," he added, "He's been playing a couple of positions for us and has really excelled. He played in the back row last Saturday against Strabane and will be playing there again against Ards so the signs are positive with a number of the new lads."

The locals have been handed a tough looking start to life in Q2 with a derby trip to Limavady and back to back home games against Carrick and Academy to follow Saturday's opener. Indeed Beddow believes those opening four league fixtures should give a clear indication of what his team are capable of this season.

"Well, I'm sort of setting a target for the first four games in that we'll see where we are at after those games because we've a tough start. We have Ards, Carrick, Limavady away and Academy is the fourth one so we will see where we're at at the end of those fixtures and I'll set realistic targets after that.

"But personally I'm not setting myself any targets other than Saturday against Ards is my target and we'll take it from there.

"Other than they have had quite a successful pre-season, I don't know an awful lot about Ards as a team. They had a successful season last year and seem to have built on that. Last season they were pushing top four in Q2 but they seem to have had a good pre-season with reference to the opposition that they have played. "They beat Bangor in one game and had a pre-season type warm-up session with Ballyclare too so I think they'll be optimistic about where they are coming into the season from but, listen, so are we. "From what I've see in pre-season, and from the numbers that’ve been training, I'm optimistic the club will 'right' the ship and we'll start righting it from Saturday moving forward.

"City of Derry is still a big name and still would be the biggest club in the north west. Ultimately the league we are playing in doesn't agree with that statement if you understand what I mean. But, no, we have more numbers in now. Previously not a lot of players have been coming to the club over the last four or five years but I think this year we've got a decent number in."

As a player, 49-year-old Beddow helped Derry to a famous Ulster Senior League and Cup double back in 2000, and with the dust settling on a positive pre-season and the real rugby about to start, he can't wait to be back prowling the Judges Road touchline.

"We cant wait to get at the first game now. We're at home, there is a big day at the club planned; a fun day with mini-rugby registration, there are bouncy castles and so on and so forth; so we're trying to hit the ground running on and off the pitch.

"Hopefully we can make Judges Road a place opposition teams don't enjoy coming to play."