A COUPLE OF years back, the players at City of Armagh RFC were asked to upload pictures of their 5k runs into a group chat, to allow coaches keep track of their pre-season progress.
James McNabney was part of that squad, but had much more than fitness work going on in his life.
“Out of nowhere, James threw up a photo of him clipping sheep in the middle of the summer!” recalls Chris Parker.
“I suppose at Armagh he was coming into a group where there are plenty of boys around him who’d be happy talking about farming and sheep and horses and stuff, so he fitted into the changing room pretty quickly, to be honest.”
Parker was McNabney’s head coach at the time, and is looking forward to seeing the Ulster man win his first Ireland cap off the bench in tonight’s Nations Championship clash with Fiji [KO 8.10pm].
The day would surely have arrived sooner for the 23-year-old, but a ruptured ACL ruled him out for all of last season. Now, the big man with big potential is primed for the Test stage.
Parker first came across McNabney when the Ballymena man was working his way through the Ulster pathway, coaching him with the Ulster schools and clubs set-up in 2019, during which time he remembers McNabney “disappearing” for two weeks in the summer to take part in his other sporting pursuit at the time, eventing.
The keen farmer loved his horse riding and competed in the Mounted Games during his teens, but when the time came to prioritise one, rugby won out. A sensible call. As Andy Farrell said after naming his team for this weekend, “For the size of him you would have worried for the horses at that stage, wouldn’t you?”
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James McNabney comes for a lineout during his City of Armagh days. Leah Scholes / INPHO
Leah Scholes / INPHO / INPHO
McNabney now weighs in around 120kg and 6ft 5in. Run the clock back to his underage days, and Parker – who still coaches Armagh’s AIL side – remembers McNabney as an exciting physical talent.
“Even then, James would have been 16 at that stage, it was clear that there was an awful lot of raw talent there with him, and I was delighted in the 23/24 season, he was allocated to come to Armagh, and got to work with him again,” says Parker.
“James’ humble nature and character was fantastic to have around the squad.”
Parker is quick to stress that the 23-year-old is a Ballymena man, but City of Armagh still take pride in their “small role” in his development, seeing his talent at AIL level before kicking on with Ulster and now, Ireland.
Capable of playing at number eight or blindside flanker, McNabney is a powerful athlete with a knack for getting his big legs pumping with ball in hand. His running style led to former Ulster head coach Dan McFarland coining the nickname ‘horse’, based on McNabney’s high knees on the move.
He moves fast and hits hard. On Friday, Tadhg Beirne described meeting McNabney in the collision as “like hitting a brick wall”. This was evident even in those City of Armagh days.
City of Armagh head coach Chris Parker. Leah Scholes / INPHO
Leah Scholes / INPHO / INPHO
“Whenever you see somebody who has this athleticism and dynamism of James, you can see that there is a lot to work with, and he obviously had a big frame that would be able to put a bit of size on,” says Parker.
“James was fantastic when he kitted out for us. His commitment was a huge thing, you could see that this guy had a lot of very good attributes that would allow him to progress, and I think from when he joined Armagh, everyone knew we weren’t going to see too much of James for too long, this was just going to be a small stepping stone on the way to an awful lot bigger things, and that we would enjoy his appearances while he was with us.
“He pretty much won us a game down in Terenure by himself, especially in the second half, just with his ball-carrying and making line breaks.
“That side of his game has always stood out, and I think a lot has been made of the running technique and how he’s got the nickname horse and things, but his ball-carrying sets him apart a lot, he offers something quite different to a lot of other back rowers.
“Hopefully this just the start of it for him now in a green shirt and that there’s plenty more opportunities ahead.”
And it marks the first time a former City of Armagh player has made an Ireland teamsheet since Tommy Bowe was lining out in green.
“And Tommy’s a very loose link, he’s a Monaghan man,” says Parker. “But for us to be able to say that James was or is a member of this club is great.
McNabney missed all of last season through injury. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
“He is a Ballymena man, and he would remind you of that himself, but a lot of people can take a lot of pride in seeing James where he is today, Cambridge House (grammar school), Ballymena Rugby Club, ourselves, the work and support the Ulster Academy has done for James on his journey, it takes a lot of people to get a player there, but ultimately, James has got himself there and a lot of people have just helped him with opportunities along the way.”
In the not-too-distant past, City of Armagh didn’t have any registered Ulster players on their books. Stories like McNabney’s provide a lift at an interesting time for the club, whose senior team lost a core of five experienced players last season and are now ploughing their way through the rough and tumble of AIL Division 1B with a notably young group of players.
“The journey the club has been on over the last number of years, without having any players allocated to Ulster and things like that, and then suddenly having allocated Ulster players to us, there’s a lot of pride from the club, from the playing group of being able to see players going on to achieve things, for players to be able to say, ‘Jeez, I played for Armagh with an Irish international’, it’s great for the boys, and it’s great that the club can take a bit of pride in playing a very small part in that journey.”
And the connection has been a lasting one. McNabney hasn’t played for the club in two years, but Thursday’s announcement that he made the Ireland squad was met with just as much enthusiasm and excitement as you’d expect at Palace Grounds.
“At training there’ll be a lot of chat about it, he obviously hasn’t played for us in two years, but the boys would still see him out and about. There was a crowd over in Bilbao for the (Challenge Cup) final last year that fell in with him, and there’ll be a lot of pride from a lot of people to see James in a green shirt on Saturday.”
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‘It takes a lot of people to get a player there, but ultimately, James got himself there’
A COUPLE OF years back, the players at City of Armagh RFC were asked to upload pictures of their 5k runs into a group chat, to allow coaches keep track of their pre-season progress.
James McNabney was part of that squad, but had much more than fitness work going on in his life.
“Out of nowhere, James threw up a photo of him clipping sheep in the middle of the summer!” recalls Chris Parker.
“I suppose at Armagh he was coming into a group where there are plenty of boys around him who’d be happy talking about farming and sheep and horses and stuff, so he fitted into the changing room pretty quickly, to be honest.”
Parker was McNabney’s head coach at the time, and is looking forward to seeing the Ulster man win his first Ireland cap off the bench in tonight’s Nations Championship clash with Fiji [KO 8.10pm].
The day would surely have arrived sooner for the 23-year-old, but a ruptured ACL ruled him out for all of last season. Now, the big man with big potential is primed for the Test stage.
Parker first came across McNabney when the Ballymena man was working his way through the Ulster pathway, coaching him with the Ulster schools and clubs set-up in 2019, during which time he remembers McNabney “disappearing” for two weeks in the summer to take part in his other sporting pursuit at the time, eventing.
The keen farmer loved his horse riding and competed in the Mounted Games during his teens, but when the time came to prioritise one, rugby won out. A sensible call. As Andy Farrell said after naming his team for this weekend, “For the size of him you would have worried for the horses at that stage, wouldn’t you?”
McNabney now weighs in around 120kg and 6ft 5in. Run the clock back to his underage days, and Parker – who still coaches Armagh’s AIL side – remembers McNabney as an exciting physical talent.
“Even then, James would have been 16 at that stage, it was clear that there was an awful lot of raw talent there with him, and I was delighted in the 23/24 season, he was allocated to come to Armagh, and got to work with him again,” says Parker.
“James’ humble nature and character was fantastic to have around the squad.”
Parker is quick to stress that the 23-year-old is a Ballymena man, but City of Armagh still take pride in their “small role” in his development, seeing his talent at AIL level before kicking on with Ulster and now, Ireland.
Capable of playing at number eight or blindside flanker, McNabney is a powerful athlete with a knack for getting his big legs pumping with ball in hand. His running style led to former Ulster head coach Dan McFarland coining the nickname ‘horse’, based on McNabney’s high knees on the move.
He moves fast and hits hard. On Friday, Tadhg Beirne described meeting McNabney in the collision as “like hitting a brick wall”. This was evident even in those City of Armagh days.
“Whenever you see somebody who has this athleticism and dynamism of James, you can see that there is a lot to work with, and he obviously had a big frame that would be able to put a bit of size on,” says Parker.
“James was fantastic when he kitted out for us. His commitment was a huge thing, you could see that this guy had a lot of very good attributes that would allow him to progress, and I think from when he joined Armagh, everyone knew we weren’t going to see too much of James for too long, this was just going to be a small stepping stone on the way to an awful lot bigger things, and that we would enjoy his appearances while he was with us.
“That side of his game has always stood out, and I think a lot has been made of the running technique and how he’s got the nickname horse and things, but his ball-carrying sets him apart a lot, he offers something quite different to a lot of other back rowers.
“Hopefully this just the start of it for him now in a green shirt and that there’s plenty more opportunities ahead.”
And it marks the first time a former City of Armagh player has made an Ireland teamsheet since Tommy Bowe was lining out in green.
“And Tommy’s a very loose link, he’s a Monaghan man,” says Parker. “But for us to be able to say that James was or is a member of this club is great.
“He is a Ballymena man, and he would remind you of that himself, but a lot of people can take a lot of pride in seeing James where he is today, Cambridge House (grammar school), Ballymena Rugby Club, ourselves, the work and support the Ulster Academy has done for James on his journey, it takes a lot of people to get a player there, but ultimately, James has got himself there and a lot of people have just helped him with opportunities along the way.”
In the not-too-distant past, City of Armagh didn’t have any registered Ulster players on their books. Stories like McNabney’s provide a lift at an interesting time for the club, whose senior team lost a core of five experienced players last season and are now ploughing their way through the rough and tumble of AIL Division 1B with a notably young group of players.
“The journey the club has been on over the last number of years, without having any players allocated to Ulster and things like that, and then suddenly having allocated Ulster players to us, there’s a lot of pride from the club, from the playing group of being able to see players going on to achieve things, for players to be able to say, ‘Jeez, I played for Armagh with an Irish international’, it’s great for the boys, and it’s great that the club can take a bit of pride in playing a very small part in that journey.”
And the connection has been a lasting one. McNabney hasn’t played for the club in two years, but Thursday’s announcement that he made the Ireland squad was met with just as much enthusiasm and excitement as you’d expect at Palace Grounds.
“At training there’ll be a lot of chat about it, he obviously hasn’t played for us in two years, but the boys would still see him out and about. There was a crowd over in Bilbao for the (Challenge Cup) final last year that fell in with him, and there’ll be a lot of pride from a lot of people to see James in a green shirt on Saturday.”
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