Blue is definitely the colour for Nick Burns, but he hopes to get used to a different shade of success this St Stephen’s Day.
The 18-year-old spent his formative years with Cork Church of Ireland, but instead of helping them in their Peard Cup final assignment against Cork Harlequins on Monday, he’ll be backboning UCD’s efforts in the Neville Cup decider against Railway Union.
The Douglas man has been part of a student revolution at Belfield, which has seen the perennial strugglers reach the first senior final in the club’s history.
Nick Burns: Former C of I man is carving out a new career as a central midfielder with UCD. Picture: Adrian Boehm
“The colour choice was definitely a contributing factor in choosing UCD — once a blue, always a blue!” laughs Burns.
“I’d love to be in Cork rooting on the boys but my main focus now is UCD. Of course, you can’t forget where you came from, and I owe a lot to the coaching I got right the way up from age 4 to 18, I definitely wouldn’t be here otherwise.
“With UCD it goes in cycles as students come and go; this year there is a great bunch of lads with plenty of hockey ability. With the backing we are receiving from everyone at UCD it’s a great chance to really give something back. I feel we’ve displayed that we can match anyone on our day, so who knows how things will go on Stephen’s Day.”
Burns, a forward by trade, has had to adapt to a new central midfield role and increased responsibility with his new club, but announced his arrival in Leinster hockey with two goals in UCD’s shock 4-2 semi-final win over Glenanne.
“That was a real stepping stone for us, and gave us the self-belief we needed, (as it) maybe wasn’t there in previous seasons. Since then we’ve gone on to beat Pembroke Wanderers, league leaders at the time, in a 6-4 thriller.”
“I’ve found myself learning a new trade as a centre mid, it’s certainly a big change from playing up front and comes with a lot more responsibility, but I’ve adapted my game and I’m working hard to improve all the time, albeit without getting the tap-ins at the back post! I’m more than happy to take on the challenge.”
UCD’s preparation hasn’t been ideal, as the side have been focusing on exams before scattering around Ireland as they return home for Christmas. Burns says they’re hoping to learn from the mistakes of their early-season loss to Railway, who boast a fine short corner unit and are hoping to win a first senior trophy since their 1980 Mills Cup success.
“We were a little raw and just gelling (that day),” he offers. “They have a very good spine to their team and a great corner option, but we’ve done our homework and learned from previous mistakes, so we’ll just have to see how it goes on the day.
“It’s been tough trying to get everyone together during the exam period, and it’s all very physically draining. But we’re in great shape and there’s no doubt our fitness will stand to uson the day, once we don’t go too mad with the turkey and ham the day before!”
Meanwhile, Burns’ old cohorts at C of I have revenge on their minds as they face bitter rivals Quins for the second time in nine days in the Peard Cup decider at Garryduff (2.30pm, Monday).
A depleted C of I outfit were arguably their own worst enemies in the sides’ league clash last weekend, gifting two early goals that ultimately swung the outcome in Quins’ favour as well as spurning a number of short corner chances.
C of I's David Harvey says his side were happy with their performance - if not their chance-taking - in last week's defeat to Quins. Picture: Adrian Boehm
The ongoing absence of John Jermyn hasn’t helped in this regard, while Karl Burns, Phil Smith, Alec Moffett and Shane O’Donnell will all be absent.
Nonetheless, C of I defender David Harvey says his side were happy with their performance, but will need to take their chances this time around.
For Quins, Garryduff holds no fears these days given they’ve won twice there during 2011, and they have a range of players firing on all cylinders right now, particularly Phil McLaughlin and the Black brothers Mark and Jason.
They’ll nonetheless know they can’t rely on Chris Daunt and John Hobbs to firefight at the back, nor can they give Andy Herbert and David Hobbs the room to manoeuver C of I into dangerous positions.
St Stephen’s Day Cup finals
Peard Cup: Cork Church of Ireland v Cork Harlequins, 2.30pm, Garryduff; Neville Cup: Railway Union v UCD, 2.30pm, Serpentine Avenue.
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