Crucial period of the season for stuttering Co Cavan RFC Firsts

Paul Fitzpatrick paul@anglocelt.ie Having started the season superbly, Co Cavan RFC's Firsts have slipped up twice in recent weeks. However, according to player-coach Tumaile Tasola, with a number of players returning from injury, the squad can get back to winning ways, starting with a tricky-looking away trip to play PSNI this Saturday. "The last couple of weeks, things have gone a bit wayward but we had a couple of games called off and now we have guys coming back from injury which is just what we need to boost things again," Tasola told The Anglo-Celt. The Tongan native, who arrived in Cavan via spells in the AIL with Sunday's Wells and Co Carlow, has been impressed with the set-up in Cavan and feels that, with proper commitment, there is definite potential in the county. "It's definitely working out, the challenge is still there, it's a long season and we're not even half-way there yet. "There are good people in the Cavan club and I get on really well with all of them, which is important when you move to a new club. The likes of the Jacksons, Kevin and Jimmy, Matt Keenan and others have given me great help. "The talent is there but it's just the young players and the second team who are really putting in the effort, some of the senior lads have drifted off and we need full commitment to make an impact this year. "Clubs like Cavan need to focus on the talent that the club has and put in structures and build local talent. In Cavan, there is definitely talent there and it's just a matter of how much they want to do with it" Cavan face local rivals Virginia, a club which is investing heavily in its underage set-up, in two weeks in the cup in what will, no doubt, be a hard-fought tussle. "At the moment we haven't lost a game in the Gordon West Cup so I'm still hopeful that we'll make the final, if we can get the commitment from the lads," said Tasola. "The seconds and the ladies teams are going very well so we need the same effort from the firsts. "Virgina is a local derby, we have them on Saturday week which will be tough, away. They have some very good players as well but for this week we're going to focus on beating PSNI. "Hopefully with all the players coming back, we should have a strong team and get back to our winning streak." A win this Saturday will set up a tilt at the upper reaches of the league, says Tasola. "We lost two league games but there a few have been cancelled due to the weather. We are still on target for the top four and we'll take each game at a time to get there."