Kingussie captain James Falconer speaking ahead of 2023 Camanachd Cup final

Transcript

00:00 So, James, coming up for final day again for King Lucy. The objective I guess is to retain

00:17 the trophy, yeah? Yeah, that's always the game plan. The game

00:21 plan all year has been to get to the final, so now we're here, so hoping to take it home.

00:27 Last year you won the Grand Slam, this year just a heart strike, a bit of a revenge in

00:32 mind against Oban after the Macaulay Cup final? Yeah, I mean, for a while the Grand Slam card

00:37 was on again, obviously. We got beat, we took it on the chin. I think it's not a bad thing

00:43 in a way because it's given us that hunger again to fight back and we know that Oban

00:48 aren't going to sit down and just let us win. They proved that in the Macaulay Cup, so we

00:53 need to come out harder this time. But still maintaining the standards of last

00:58 season, in pole position for the Premiership as well?

01:01 Yeah, I mean, hopefully if we get three out of four I would have said that's a pretty

01:05 successful year. So this Saturday, if we win, we win and then we have to keep looking towards

01:12 the league because we still can't afford to drop any points, so we've still got some important

01:16 games in the league as well. How is form going into the final from your

01:19 perspective? Form's good, yeah. Pretty fit and ready to

01:24 go. Obviously it's only Monday, so anything can happen between now and Saturday morning,

01:29 but generally all good. Not a home final like last year, but only

01:33 40 miles north, so expecting a big crowd to come up?

01:36 Yeah, I would have said so. I think the crowd would travel anywhere, it didn't really matter

01:40 where it was. If it was down in England we would get a massive support, so hopefully

01:43 most of the village will be up for it. What do you expect from Oban Kaminak on Saturday?

01:49 Probably just as good as what they were in the Macaulay. They came out, they're fit,

01:54 they're young, they're big lads, so they're going to be right up for it. I can't even

01:57 remember the last time they were in a Scottish Cup final, so they're going to be wanting

02:00 to win it just as much as us, so it's whether we can go over and above that.

02:04 Is this the biggest prize in Shinty in your opinion?

02:06 Oh, absolutely. Scottish Cup has got to be the big one for

02:11 it. I think everyone in Shinty wants to win this one.

02:14 What would it mean to you personally to win it again?

02:17 For me personally it would be my biggest achievement in my life to be honest. It was a massive

02:22 achievement last year and I was just playing in it, so to be able to lead the boys out

02:26 and stand in front of everyone hopefully holding it is just an absolute honour.

02:30 So confident going into Saturday? Hopefully.

02:32 Excellent. Best of luck to you. Thank you.