McNamara: Win Over Wesley Was Huge For Confidence And Motivation

There is something unmistakably powerful about a player who never really leaves home. Studying for a degree or work commitments can take players far from where they first picked up a rugby ball, but there remains a different kind of story – one rooted in loyalty, familiarity, and a deep connection to place.

At Shaw’s Bridge, that story is embodied in Bradley McNamara. At 25, McNamara has become one of the many defining players in an Instonians squad that has surged from the depths of junior rugby back into the highest tiers of the Energia All-Ireland League Men’s Divisions.

A full-back with a sharp attacking instinct and a nose for the try-line as he is the second top try scorer in Division 1B this season with 11 tries, he has played his part in a remarkable rise, one that has seen Instonians win three league titles in a row and build a run of dominance that few clubs can match.

Yet for McNamara, it has never really been about the destination. It has always been about the journey, and the people he has taken it with.

“I joined Instonians pretty much from whenever you can start playing rugby, and played right up until I joined RBAI and played my schools rugby there,” he told IrishRugby.ie, speaking about his connection with the famous Instonians jersey.

That simple sentence captures everything about his connection to the Belfast club. Instonians is not just where he plays, it is where he grew up.

From those early mornings in mini rugby, learning the basics alongside team-mates who would become lifelong friends, to representing the Royal Belfast Academical Institution during his school years, rugby has been a constant thread running through his life.

When the time came to choose where to play his senior rugby after spending time away in Scotland at university, there was never really a decision to be made.

“I think just from being at the club for so long and going back and a lot of the boys I went to school with, there was no real decision about where I was going to play my rugby. I was always going to be back at Shaw’s Bridge.”

That return marked the beginning of a journey that would become one of the most remarkable in recent All-Ireland League history.

To understand the significance of what Instonians have achieved, you have to go back further. To the difficult years, the setbacks and the long climb back. When McNamara was in his early teens, he remembers it clearly.

“I was at the game where we actually got relegated. Gosh, I don’t know how many years ago that was, and then my brother went on to play in the junior leagues with Instonians and I was always watching.”

Relegation in 2014 sent the club into a period of rebuilding. The path back to the All-Ireland League was neither quick nor straightforward. It required patience, resilience, and a belief that the club could return to where it felt it belonged.

When McNamara first played senior rugby as a teenager it was during a tough route through All-Ireland League qualifiers against the best of the other provinces. It did not go their way, but the journey was still in its early stages.

“During my school rugby days, we got put out of the Schools Cup quite early, so the school and the club were nice enough to release me, so I actually went on to play in the play-offs that year in 2019.

“We played Clonmel, Connemara, and then Enniscorthy. We unfortunately lost, the old round robin set-up which was tough going.”

That early experience offered a glimpse of the challenge ahead. Instonians were close, but not quite there yet. The squad would need time to develop, to grow, and to find its identity.

That identity began to take shape in the seasons that followed, culminating in one of the most dominant campaigns the AIL has seen.

The 2022/23 season in Division 2C became the foundation of everything that has come since. Inst did not just win the league, they dominated it, going unbeaten with 18 straight bonus point victories.

It was a statement of intent, a declaration that the club was not simply returning, but arriving in a reinvigorated state. For McNamara, watching from a distance while studying abroad in Scotland, it was both inspiring and motivating.

Trying to make it home for matches, keeping an eye on his phone during weeks to see how the group would get on as he sat across the water, he missed out on the side getting promoted back into the league, and missed that Division 2C campaign.

“It was great to see. Being at uni it was great to see them doing so well and then I was fortunate enough to come back and be able to have a good stint in All-Ireland League rugby.”

When he returned, he stepped into a squad transformed, not just in results, but in mindset. Instonians went into the following season and success followed.

Culture had changed since his first taste with the group, and with many others returning, that change in culture has been at the heart of Instonians’ rise. It is a team built not only on talent, but on belief. Belief in the system, in the coaches led by director of rugby Clem Boyd and player-coach Paul Pritchard, and in each other.

“I joined during school and I think it was a tough year. The play-offs, we probably didn’t perform as well as we should have and to be able to come back and the amount of boys, even at training, completely changed.

“I don’t know if it was an attitude or a culture change, but definitely it came back and the style of rugby suited me and all the boys.”

Since returning, McNamara has become a central figure in that system. Operating from full-back, he has brought an attacking edge that has helped define the team’s style.

Whether joining the line at pace, exploiting space in broken play, or finishing moves with clinical precision, he has been a consistent threat.

But as Instonians have climbed the divisions, the challenges have evolved. Division 1B has proven to be a different beast altogether. The margins are tighter, the opposition more organised, and the consequences of mistakes more severe. They are the newcomers against teams well seasoned in the landscape.

Those lessons have come at crucial stages this year. A defeat at home to Dublin University ended Instonians’ remarkable 33-match winning streak at Shaw’s Bridge, a record that had become a source of pride for the club, similar to their 52-game unbeaten run from junior rugby in Ulster up to the 2023/24 season.

“We expected to come up to 1B and it to be a completely different standard, and it’s lived up to that. In terms of our playing, I think this is probably the best we’ve played since I’ve come home in terms of consistency, and it’s shown in this league that you don’t just win games by scoring tries.

“Your defensive system has to be there and unfortunately this year we’ve been on the end of some tough losses, but it’s all lessons learned and you have to just move on from that.

“The home record was brilliant. It was like our winning record (from junior rugby up) that we were going on and then we unfortunately lost to Sligo.

“But I think the boys, in the back of their head, it’s not really anything to be worried about or that’s why we’re going out there to try and win.”

For a team that had grown accustomed to winning, the challenge was how to respond. The coaching team backed them, and in their last outing that response came in emphatic fashion. A 35-32 victory away to Old Wesley, the league leaders, a stunning second-half performance that reaffirmed Instonians’ credentials as genuine contenders.

“I think just in general, that loss to Trinity, we knew we had to bounce back straight away in terms of Wesley away. I think that’s been a huge factor.

“I can’t remember but there was sort of a plateau and we weren’t really playing well but the coaches just stuck with us. Kept giving us that confidence just to go out there and play rugby.

“I think that’s why Wesley is a huge win for us in terms of the motivation and the confidence going into the last three games, and then it also helps out in the league table.”

As the season enters its final phase, Old Wesley lead the table, with Dublin University just behind. Instonians are in third place, five points off the summit, with clashes with Garryowen, UCC, and Naas to come. Highfield are also gaining ground in fourth.

“With Trinity and Wesley back-to-back, I think some of the lads, me especially, were happy to get a wee week’s break,” he admitted.

“I think after Wesley a couple of bodies were a bit sore. In terms of this week coming up, we went down to Garryowen back in October and it was an extremely tough game, and I think we took a lot of lessons from it.”

That earlier encounter with Garryowen, a 37-14 defeat, remains fresh in the minds of Pritchard’s men. It might have served as a reality check that Division 1B was going to be their biggest obstacle yet to overcome.

While this club journey continues to build, McNamara also experienced a glimpse of the professional game this season.

As injuries piled up for Ulster, the phone rang for him at work, and while initially coming into the Ulster ‘A’ set-up and being involved as injury cover, the highlight came in December when he made his senior debut for the province off the bench, in an EPCR Challenge Cup fixture against Cardiff.

It was a moment that reflected years of hard work, dedication, and consistency at club level. There was almost another. McNamara had been set to make his first start for Ulster against the Toyota Cheetahs in Amsterdam, an opportunity that would have marked another milestone in his career. But life, as it often does, had other ideas. Weather related issues led to the game being cancelled.

“It was pretty surreal. I was sitting pretty much in work and was asked to come in and play against the Connacht Eagles. I went in that week and trained and the experience was amazing and I thought that could have been it.

“But the six weeks of injury cover then came on and probably the best six weeks of my life, being able to just have that experience and see how the professionals really do it.

“Then also to get a game is absolutely amazing, especially Cardiff away. It is such a great stadium to go to, it’s very lively (at the Arms Park) but I think that really made it for me that night.

“You can’t really control the weather unfortunately, so it was going from a high to the ultimate high to the ultimate low, but you’ve just got to move on. Come back and have the games for Instonians in the next week or two weeks, so that was the next focus.”

That ability to reset, to refocus, is part of what defines him as a player. Because for all the excitement of those professional experiences, his heart remains firmly with Instonians.

It is that connection, to team-mates, to supporters, to the club itself, that continues to drive him. As Instonians prepare for the final weeks of the season, chasing a fourth consecutive league crown and promotion to Division 1A, McNamara stands at the centre of it all.

A local player. A product of the system. A star in the back-line, in one of the most compelling club stories in Irish rugby. The journey from relegation to resurgence has been long, but it is not finished yet.

“We’ve definitely learnt a lot from that Wesley game and all our focus is pretty much on Saturday. Since I’ve come back to the club, it is next week focused. We’ll just let the league do it itself, and we’ll just focus on ourselves if you know what I mean.

“The journey has been great. Just to be going out there and playing with your pals and having family there watching you.

“There’s a lot of old boys down watching and a lot of young fellas coming from the school. It makes you proud to go out there and play for your club,” he added.

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