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"Man U" of shinty head to the isles





A festival of shinty is to be held in Stornoway and Shawbost this Saturday when Camanachd Cup holders and league champions Newtonmore visit Lewis and Harris.

The trip will fulfil a promise that was made by the Badenoch giants to Camanachd Ledhais' manager Paul Duke.

Newtonmore began their warm up prior to the season on Saturday with a friendly against Skye, which they won comfortably in a game ending 4-0.

Duke said: "The Newtonmore boys told me 'If we win the Camanachd Cup and you get league membership confirmed then we'll take the cup over'.

"The fact that they will be bringing over the Scottish Hydro Premier Division trophy, as well as the Strathdearn and Marine Harvest North Division Two cups is a nice bonus.

"Quite a few of the Lewis boys, including myself, all headed down to Newtonmore after the final and that cemented the deal."

Indeed, Duke was raised on a good strong diet of Badenoch shinty as a child in Newtonmore and as a former player for the club before moving to the Western Isles.

The visit will be a pivotal moment for Duke. He said: "After the year 'More had in 2011, winning the cup for the first time in 25 years against Kingussie in such style, it's a great honour to have them travel over.

"This is as big as it gets. We're getting the opportunity to test ourselves against the very best in the sport."

"I hope to have as strong a team as possible for the game.

"We will be facing a side mostly consisting of the Strathdearn Cup winners, who are still 20 places above us in the league system, with several first team players in the mix.

"We will learn a lot from the game about our mental toughness for the season ahead."

Na Ledhasaich will not only face "Bil' r an t-Slibh" at Sgoil Shiaboist but the youth of Lewis and Harris will receive the opportunity of free coaching by Newtonmore star players Scott Campbell and Paul MacArthur at Stornoway Primary School on Saturday morning from 10am until 12.

Duke said: "The session is for all youth players, from those on the verges of our first team to complete beginners.

"If youngsters bring shinguards and boots, the sticks and the helmets will be provided.

"We'll have drills and games led by Scott and Paul. It's the equivalent of having Man United players coming to coach the Stornoway Athletic youths.

"I'd urge the whole island, young and old to get along to watch the game at Shawbost and to send their kids along to the session at the primary school.

"The trophies will be on display alongside our own Md Cup from last year. When we won it, it was great to see that Newtonmore were the first ever team to win it - and also the fact Kingussie never have!"

Scott Campbell was the captain when Newtonmore ended the long wait to win the Scottish Cup.

He said: "I'm certainly looking forward to going over. It'll be a great opportunity for the two clubs to enjoy each others ideas.

"Hopefully both can learn from one another. And I'm sure there will be some top banter to boot."

Glen Tonkin, joint Marine Harvest North Division Two coach of the year, said they were delighted to be heading over to Lewis for the first time in the club's history.

He said: "Newtonmore are on a high and through the Paul Duke connection its a privilege to come over and show our support to Lewis Camanachd."

"We hope our open training session will be well attended and the game itself will provide a good entertaining show for the locals who come out to support the event.

"After watching the documentary on BBC Alba, it's an honour as one of the giants of shinty to show our support to a newly established club."

"Our boys could still learn a lot about the level of commitment this small club shows to put out a team on a week to week basis."


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