Club Rugby

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GreystoneS, Malahide, Navan, Old Belvedere, Skerries and Suttonians

CLUB PROFILEs INSIDE

PROVINCIAL FOCUS INCL HEINEKEN CUP & RABO-DIRECT PRO 12

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Round-up, fixtures & previews

RYLE NUGENT l TONY WARD l FITNESS l NUTRITION l AUTUMN SERIES l schools rugby

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Features

NEWS

RE G U L ARS

10 SChools Rugby

06 General news

12 Heineken Cup

30 guinness Autumn

Peter Drucker analyses how Leinster’s youth are preserving the Province’s future

review/preview

The latest news, results and previews of Irish Provinces involvement in Europe’s elite rugby competition

34 national clubs focus

Club Rugby visits Old Belvedere, Suttonians, Malahide, Navan, Skerries and Greystones Rugby Clubs, to hear what’s happening at grass-roots level

The very latest talking points from Local, National and International rugby

series

All of Ireland’s crucial Autumn Series fixtures previewed, as South Africa, Argentina and Somoa are welcomed to the Aviva and Thomand Park

31 national clubs

A look at the latest innovations in the science and technology behind rugby

Club Rugby talks to the ‘face behind the voice’, Ryle Nugent, on his fascinating career talking television viewers through sporting history

24 INTERVIEW

Irish legend Tony Ward catches up with Club Rugby, to talk all things sport

28 INTERVIEW

In-depth round-up of all the latest from Ireland’s local club sides

64 FITNESS & Nutrition

16 INTERVIEW

news

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The ‘Tullow Tank’ talks Club Rugby through his staggering rise to rugby super stardom

54 Player Profiles

Leisnter’s Rob Kearney and Ulster’s Craig Gilroy profiled

56 PROVINCIAL FOCUS

Current European Champions, Leinster, are the subject of our Focus this month, as we revisit a famous day at Croke Park, profile a blue legend and celebrate milestones for two of the present crop

62 ULSTER BANK LEAGUE

Round-up of all the best action from the National League

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EDITOR’S NOTE Editor: Alan Conway Content Advisors: Shane Byrne Tony Ward Contributors: Shane Byrne Tony Ward Robert Forbes Daire walsh Gerry Hand Design: Barry Sheehan www.ifpmedia.com

Photography: Inpho Financial Director: Tom McGrath Accounts: Gemma Cameron Managing Director: Brian O’Connell Advertising and Marketing Director: Gerard Connon Advertising: Amy McLoughlin Claire Dillon Dean Gargan Printing: GPS Colour Graphics Publisher: Council Publications Ltd. Copyright CLUB RUGBY MAGAZINE 2012. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form without the express written permission of the publishers.

A welcome from Shane Byrne On behalf of everyone here at Club Rugby we would like to welcome you to the first issue of our new magazine.

Club Rugby will cover every aspect of Irish rugby, from grassroots all the way up to the Ireland International team with everything else, including TAG, Women’s, schools, clubs and college rugby, in between. We will have features and behind the scenes access from rugby clubs around the country, as we take you right to the very heart of the Irish rugby community.

In our first issue we have some of the biggest names in Irish rugby for you to enjoy. We go behind the scenes with Leinster and Ireland back row superstar Sean O’Brien as he discusses his career to date and his goals for both his province and country over the coming season.

We also spend a day with RTÉ Head Of Sport Ryle Nugent as we meet the face behind one of the most famous voices in Irish rugby commentary. There is also an exclusive one on one interview with Ireland and Munster legend Tony Ward.

You will also find a dedicated fitness and nutrition section with some handy tips and advice to keep you fit and healthy this winter.

We also have up to the minute news from the four provinces along with a Heineken Cup preview as Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connacht all chase silverware at home and in Europe, along with all the coming and goings from all four teams.

Skerries, Greystones, Old Belvedere, Suttonians, Malahide and Navan are all featured in our comprehensive club section that will have all the latest news from each club.

CLUB RUGBY MAGAZINE Unit D4, Swords Enterprise Park, Drinam, Swords, Co. Dublin p (01) 5359631 f (01) 5358752 e info@clubrugby.ie t @clubrugby1

www.clubrugby.ie

ERC European Player of the year Rob Kearney comes under the microscope in our Ireland player profile as does the highly rated Ulster player Craig Gilroy, as Ireland build towards the Guinness Autumn International series when they will face both South Africa and Argentina at the Aviva Stadium.

With all the latest up to the minute information, Club Rugby is an essential read for any serious rugby fan in Ireland. I hope you enjoy our first publication and I look forward to talking to you in Issue 2.

PS: If you would like the latest news from your club to feature in our publication please email info@clubrugby.ie with any news that you would like us to cover in the magazine

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GENERAL NEWS

ULSTER JERSEY TRIBUTE FOR LATE NEVIN SPENCE

New IRB trials to come into effect in Northern Hemisphere A number of trial amendments to some of the IRB laws have recently come into effect in Northern Hemisphere rugby since the start of the season.

Among a number of the trials is that the extension of the time that a kicker has to take a conversion after a try has been scored. In the past a kicker was given 60 seconds from the time of the try to slot over the extra points, however that time will now be stretched to 90 seconds.

There has also been a modification made to the scrum. Gone are the days of ‘crouch, touch, pause and engage’. Now the call will simply be ‘crouch, touch, set’. Many have argued that the scrum has and the process behind it has been making rugby annoyingly frustrating to watch as the process of setting and resetting the scrum was taking a disproportionate amount of time.

The hope behind removing the ‘pause’ aspect of the scrum is to make scrums a smoother process having become one of the messier sights on a rugby pitch in the last number of years.

Another aspect that the IRB will hope to see cleaned up is at ruck time. Under the new trials the attacking team will have five seconds to use possession of the ball once it’s at the back of a ruck. Once the referee says ‘use it’ the team with the ball has to use it in the allotted time or face giving away a scrum as a result.

Some of the law changes have been made with the goal of improving the tempo of a rugby match and attempting to make the game flow more. Law 19 will trial where on a pitch a quick line out can be taken from.

Under the old law a player could only take a quick throw in from where the ball went into touch and the player’s goal line.

Now in the trial period a player can take a quick throw in from any position outside the field of play between the line of touch and their goal line. The hope with this trial is that the speed of play in the game will remain high as teams may spot an opportunity to score a quick try if the defence of the opposition is not switched on.

The issue of penalties at lineouts is also subject to trial changes. Normally a team that wins a penalty at lineout time only has a number of options, for example a scrum or kick at goal. Under the new trial basis the team that is awarded the penalty will have another option of having another lineout, which benefits the attacking team should they be near the oppositions try line at the time of the penalty occurring.

One of the more interesting trials from a coaching perspective is the use of GPS tracking systems in games.

Already widely used to monitor everything from heart rate to how many yards a player has run during the course of their time on the pitch, the GPS monitors will now give coaches and players alike a more comprehensive overview of an individual’s performance as teams look to find that extra edge required to win at any level of rugby.

The first major test of the new laws, from an international perspective will come when Ireland play host to South Africa, Fiji and Argentina in the forthcoming Guinness Autumn International series which will take place this November with two games at the Aviva Stadium and one, the Fiji game to take place at Thomond Park.

Ulster Rugby have paid their own unique tribute to the late Nevin Spence, who lost his life in tragic circumstances earlier on this year, by having his initials sewn into every one of the Ulster jerseys for this season. Spence, along with his brother and his father lost their lives in a tragic accident on the family farm back in September.

The outpouring of grief since Nevins’ death has been immense, and Ulster’s Director of Rugby David Humphries says that the volume of grief that has followed the tragedy speaks volumes of the regard that Nevin and his family are held in.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the support shown from round the world, not just from within Ireland,” said Humphreys. “It’s taken rugby back to its basic roots in many ways with everyone just trying to pull together as best they can. We need the strength and support of others, and we need to give that to others ourselves.

“Nevin was a dream, a quality individual, the sort of character you’d want around any work place, not just a rugby club,” said Humphreys. “But what Nevin brought to us as a person, the bit that many people didn’t see, is irreplaceable. He was the life and soul. He brought an enthusiasm to everything he did. Nothing was ever too much trouble.

“He was a team man to the tip of his boots, too.

On dirty, wet and windy Belfast mornings, not everyone has a spring in their step but Nevin did.

He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to be paid for doing what he loved. He never lost touch with his roots.”

All the staff at Club Rugby magazine pass on our own condolences to the Spence family.

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Connacht Eagles to play games at Dubarry Park

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GENERAL NEWS

Connacht Rugby have announced that Dubarry Park in Athlone will be the home venue for the Connacht Eagles this season. The ground will play host to all of the Eagles British & Irish Cup matches, with the Eagles having kicked off their campaign against English outfit the Newcastle Falcons on October 16th.

Speaking on the news Connacht Rugby’s Head of Marketing Alex Saul expressed his delight with the news that Connacht Rugby will reach a fresh audience. “This gives rugby fans from the wider midlands region and the west the opportunity to see the talent coming up through the Connacht ranks. This is a very exciting year for the Eagles and we were keen to give them their own identity with a different home venue.”

New Maximuscle deal for Munster Munster Rugby has announced a two year deal with Europe’s leading leading sports nutrition brand, Maximuscle.

The company, which is part of the GlaxoSmithKline group, will provide individually tailored support to the Munster squad as they chase success in both their RaboDirect Pro12 campaign and also in the Heineken Cup. Speaking at the announcement of the news Mark Morgan, public relations manager for Maximuscle said of the deal “Munster is a club with a rich and successful history, their rugby credentials speak for themselves so it is a very exciting partnership for Maximuscle.

“Rugby is an incredibly physical game but I am confident that our products and nutritional expertise can help to give the Munster players an edge over their opposition. Our continuing goal is to increase awareness in Ireland and we hope this partnership is another step towards this.”

Bryce Cavanagh, Head of Fitness at Munster was equally happy with the news saying “Maximuscle has a fantastic reputation within our sport. I know, through my contacts, that they have been doing great things within the world of rugby.

Munster Rugby is always striving to be the best in every facet of our game and that is why we are delighted to have Maximuscle as our sports nutrition partner.”

WIN

RTÉ RETAIN 6 NATIONS RIGHTS RTÉ Sport has announced that it has retained the rights to broadcast all of Ireland’s games in the RBS 6 Nations Championship for a further four years, until 2017. The news means that RTÉ will have exclusive Irish terrestrial rights to the Championship as part of a four year extension to their existing contract which includes television, radio and online coverage.

Ryle Nugent, Group Head of Sport, RTÉ, said today: “The RBS Six Nations is a major international sporting event, steeped in history and a key part of our public service broadcast offering. This is good news for Irish sports fans and means that all 15 matches will continue to be free-to-air for Irish audiences over the next five years.

“We have always enjoyed a successful relationship with John Feehan and the Six Nations Committee and are very pleased to be continuing our partnership up to and including the tournament in 2017.

John Feehan, Chief Executive, Six Nations Rugby also commented on the news saying: “We are delighted to have extended our contract with RTÉ for an additional four years. The work of the broadcaster in the promotion and development of the game is of tremendous importance and we would like to thank RTÉ for their efforts over the years. We look forward to working with them for a further four years.”

Wallace brothers set to be honoured at IRFU Charity lunch The Wallace brothers, of David, Paul and Richard are set to be honoured for their services to Irish rugby at a special IRFU Charitable lunch on the eve of the Ireland first game in the Guinness Autumn International series against South Africa in the Aviva Stadium on November 10th The lunch, which is sponsored by Aon Insurance, will help raise funds for seriously injured players and will take place the day before the Ireland v South Africa game in the Clyde Court Hotel.

All three Wallace brothers have represented Ireland at the highest level. Paul was capped 45 times for Ireland, Richard earned 29 caps and David pulled on the green jersey 72 times before having to retire due to injuries back in May. For more information about the lunch, or to book a table you can contact Lindablack@irfu.ie

Jerseys for your team

Masita Sportswear in conjunction with Club Rugby magazine, Ireland’s newest rugby magazine have teamed up together to reward a team with a brand new rugby jerseys for 23 players. The jerseys, which have been kindly donated by Masita, will carry the Club Rugby logo across the front of the jerseys.

Masita are one of the premier clothing suppliers in Ireland, catering for all sports including rugby soccer and GAA. While Club Rugby magazine is Ireland’s first dedicated rugby magazine that covers every aspect of rugby from grass roots all the way up to the Ireland international team. We also have dedicated sections to club, schools and women’s rugby.

In each issue of Club Rugby magazine there will be a chance for every club to win a set of jerseys for their club. All you have to do is tell us why it should be your team that gets kitted out in a brand new kit.

Simply email alanconway@clubrugby.ie and in no more than 500 words outline why we should select your club above the rest. Please include all contact details, including mobile phone number. The winner will be chosen and notified by phone no later than seven days after the magazine is released.

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GENERAL NEWS

Members of Ballyhaunis RFC teamed up with Ulster Bank making the most of their RugbyForce weekend. The east Mayo Rugby Club were the provincial winners of a support package of €5000 which will be used to improve the club’s facilities.

Pictured are club players and members receiving the cheque from John Dempsey and Ray Walsh from Ulster Bank during their RugbyForce weekend. Pic Conor McKeown.

Pictured are Colm Gallagher, Rob Duffy and Dave Lilly making the most of their RugbyForce weekend. Pic Conor McKeown

Clubs Benefit from Ulster Bank Rugby Funding Earlier this year Ulster Bank RugbyForce, a community initiative which provides rugby clubs with support to renovate their club and upgrade their facilities, announced four clubs, one from each province, as the winners of the annual competition. The four lucky winners were Leinster’s Newbridge RFC, Munster’s Killarney RFC, Connacht’s Ballyhaunis RFC and Ulster’s Donagdee RFC. Ulster Bank introduced the RugbyForce programme last season, as part of their role as the ‘Official Community Partner of the IRFU’. A total of 105 rugby clubs from across the country entered the competition online at www.ulsterbank.com/rugby – a significant increase on the previous year’s inaugural programme.

Newbridge RFC At the beginning of June Kildare’s Newbridge RFC were able to refurbish their changing room facilities, replace essential training equipment and medical kits as well as resurface the club car park.

Niall Browne, President at Newbridge RFC, said: “We are delighted to have been named winner of the Ulster Bank RugbyForce support package. Over the past number of years, raising funds to maintain the club’s facilities has proved quite difficult. We will now be able to improve the club, turning it into something the community can be proud of and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ulster Bank for their generous and much needed support.”

Ballyhaunis RFC Mayo’s Ballyhaunis RFC will now be able to further develop their underage structure and provide a quality infrastructure for the club’s young players. They have also introduced additional equipment, coaching and transport facilities.

Members of Newbridge RFC during their RugbyForce weekend. Photo: Michael Donnelly.

Robert Duffy, Ballyhaunis RFC, said: “Raising funds to maintain the club’s facilities is an ongoing challenge and with the Ulster Bank RugbyForce support package, along with the assistance of some kind volunteers and members, we are able to continue to improve the club’s facilities.”

Donaghadee RFC Donaghadee RFC had a great year last season, wining the Junior Cup against Coleraine in front of a record crowd at Ravenhill. They field three adult teams and also have a thriving youth section. The Down club, who carried out their refurbishments at the beginning of October, upgraded their facilities with new rugby posts, plumbing and electrical work to improve changing and showering facilities and joinery work to improve disabled access.

Killarney RFC Killarney RFC, who will hold their Ulster Bank RugbyForce winning weekend in the coming months were chosen as winner due their plans to begin work on two new pitches on a site purchased for the new club. The site will also include a 900m walking path around the perimeter of the grounds, to increase their already existing, strong community focus. The path will also consist of exercise stations with outdoor gym equipment for the community and club teams to use.

Rugby fans can now get the latest club and international rugby content on the go, with the Ulster Bank Rugby iPhone app. Ulster Bank League fixtures, results, news and analysis can be accessed on Ulster Bank’s rugby Facebook page www.facebook.com/UlsterBankRugby and Twitter page www.twitter.com/UlsterBankRugby

Newbridge RFC pleyers: Aisling O’Hora (Athgarvan), Kaylee Cogan (Brannockstown) and Aoife Courtney (Newbridge). Photo:Michael Donnelly.

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“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

Peter Drucker

SCHOOLS & CLUBS YOUTH IN LEINSTER. OUR FUTURE

by Robert Forbes

Rabo12/Magners (Celtic League) Championships, Heineken Cups, throw in a Grand Slam and it’s fair to say the current crop of Leinster and Irish International players have given us some great days and taken the sport, and our expectations, to new heights. Gone are the bleak days of the nineties exiting Lansdowne Road in misery – as a nation we’ve been to Croker and back to our shiny new Aviva on Lansdowne Road, celebrated European summits previously with Ulster, then Munster and now three titles with our own boys in blue. Leinster rugby is in rude health. Isn’t it? Well the here and now is all well and good, but only in the future will we find out if this ‘Golden Generation’ was just a flash in the pan or a portent of things to come.

For Example:

So, can we win more in Europe? What about the next Grand Slam? Or indeed a World Cup? Or finally filling that irritatingly empty win column against the All Blacks? It’s possible! We may have a smaller playing population than some but witness two World Cups won by the Australians who boast similar numbers. Our pro set-ups are good, but our future boils down to development of the game and the players playing at under-age level.

Most Wins: St Fintans High School 2, Maynooth Post Primary 2

So what’s happening at under- age grades in Leinster? How is it built and what are the opportunities that exist to ensure this great period in the history of Leinster rugby grows sustainably into the future?

Leinster Schools & Youths

Leinster Schools Section B Senior Challenge Cup (Tier 1) Most wins: Blackrock College 66, Belvedere College 10, Terenure College 10 Leinster Schools Section B Vinnie Murray Cup (Tier 2) Most wins: CBC Monkstown 3, Gonzaga College 2 Leinster Schools Section A McMullen Cup (Tier 3) Most Wins: Newpark Comprehensive 5, Kilkenny College 4, St Columba’s College 4 Leinster Schools Section A Development Cup (Tier 4) (The structure of the competition at Junior Cup is similar, albeit the cups are named differently.)

The Development Cups at Junior and Senior level start early in the season and as each Section (or division) concludes, the next competiton begins, admitting that season’s achievers from the tier underneath. The Tier 1 competitions finish in March (St Patrick’s Day being the traditional date for the Senior Cup Final now held at the RDS after a century of finals at the old Lansdowne Road) (Senior Cup is contested by players from 5th & 6th year, with stronger players from 4th year sometimes involved. Junior Cup players will tend to be from 3rd year with stronger players from 2nd year often called up)

Players in the province develop via either their school, club or in some cases, both.

The structures (and naming of the structures) might be tricky to get your head around at first – but the set up is actually quite simple:

Prior to the section A & B cup competitions there are organised leagues to provide more competitive opportunity for schools. Many of the top tier schools honour long standing ‘friendlies’ against other long established schools and with a competitive focus fixed on the schools cups.

Schools

When in 1st and 2nd year of secondary school, boys will usually play a variety of fixtures against opposing schools from all ‘sections’. During these years development is key with playing and learning the game being number one priority.

Towards the end of the season ‘in-house’ competitions, local derbies and cups often bring the year to a climax.

The Leinster Senior and Junior Cup Schools competitions have long been the marquee competitions in schools rugby. The Cups are best known for, and associated with, the long established rugby academies – but an increasingly large number of schools play Senior and Junior Cup rugby at a variety of levels, with players from all new schools striving to play for the ‘SCT’ or ‘JCT’ (Senior Cup Team / Junior Cup Team) Schools operate in cup competition over what is effectively four tiers. Teams may qualify up to the cup competition above by reaching finals, and/or semi finals, in their respective tier.

In-school rugby at primary level is quite rare surprisingly with only a handful of long-established nurseries such as Willow Park, St Michaels, St Marys and Terenure the keepers of the game at primary school level. The Leinster branch via the CCRO structures provide a wide reaching ‘tag-rugby’ to a large number of national schools introducing the game in a safe, easy to follow fashion, and suitable for girls and boys to play together.

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Clubs The Clubs system within the province grows annually in strength and more clubs, with a greater numbers of teams, feature from week to week on the rugby landscape.

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Now with Leinster putting rugby in the shop window like never before – we must ask is the game accessible enough?

Club rugby in Leinster is divided into five ‘Areas’: Metropolitan, North East, Midlands, North Midlands and South East. Each of the five holds competitions at age-grade levels among the affiliated clubs located in that Area.

Leinster (province wide) competitions take place on either Saturday or Sunday, with clubs invited to enter teams into Saturday (Leinster Youth) or Sunday (Leinster Schools Youth) competitions. Clubs outside Metropolitan Dublin and suburbs tend to favour Saturday competition to avoid a clash with Gaelic games which typically feature on Sunday. The Sunday tournaments are by and large the preserve of the Metropolitan area (i.e. Dublin and the greater Dublin area) where the clubs seek to avoid the saturday conflict with rugby playing schools.

Clubs are in many cases the initial breeding ground for players, many of whom go on to represent their schools also. Starting as young as age 4 or 5, Mini rugby (a shortened version of the game, played on smaller pitches) is available to children up to U12 grade and allows players learn the basics with a firm focus on fun, skills and physical activity.

From U13 grade onwards, teams play on full sized pitches and age grade youths rugby continues year by year up to U19 (regarded as the last ‘youths’ grade). U21 is the final ‘underage’ grade as is the tier where schools and club players come together finally in a club environment – however U21 grade is rightly considered part of the senior end of a club.

So with established set-ups, a growing clubs scene and long-serving schools – the future is bright? Well yes, but to plagarise from a well known politicians campaign catch-line “A lot done, more to do”. The clubs/schools relationship has been has been a slow growing one in some cases and with a high fall off in schools players continuing in the game post Leaving Cert, it seems a big opportunity presents.

While some clubs and schools struggle to provide quality rugby for all their of own, others fight to field the bare fifteen week to week.

Now with Leinster putting rugby in the shop window like never before – we must ask is the game accessible enough? Once, at least notionally, the sport was preserve of the middle and upper classes – now those barriers are being transcended, is rugby doing enough to attract new players from non-rugby-traditional regions into the game and indeed are the clubs ready to receive them?

Next month we will be talking to people on the ground in schools and club youth set-ups to investigate what clubs and schools are doing, and could do for the benefit of the game. What indeed are the structures that generate success in schools and clubs and what do they from their experiences see that the Leinster future could hold? “Learn from the past, prepare for the future, and live in the present.” Our challenge is to create, in the present, a future which can take Leinster and by extension Irish rugby from strength to strength.

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LEINSTER The defending European champions start into another European campaign with one clear goal. To become the first side in the history of the competition to win the Heineken Cup three seasons in a row.

A ruthless dissection of Ulster in last year’s final gave Joe Schmidt and his team back to back titles and there must be a feeling that within Leinster that three in a row is a realistic goal for such a driven group of players and management. Before any thoughts of three in a row begin to creep into their collective mind set they will have to successfully negotiate a tough pool that once again sees them pitted against old rivals Clermont Auvergne of France, Scarlets from Wales and the Exeter Chiefs.

Their opening two pool games against the Exeter Chiefs and the Scarlets didn’t go according to plan for Leinster, despite winning both games. They produced two sluggish performances and it was only thanks to a missed penalty by Ignacio Mieres that Leinster’s blushes were speard on the opening weekend in a narrow 9-6 against the Exeter Chiefs. Despite winning 20-13 away to the Scarlets in round 2, Leinster failed to produce the type of performance that they are renowned for. A try from Isa Nacewa, along with the boot of Johnny Sexton gave Leinster the win, however they know that the performance level will have to be raised another few notches if they are to get anything out of their away trip to Clermont in December.

Leinster’s destiny in the pool will be shaped in the back to back games against Clermont in the first two weeks of December. If they manage to get something from their away game, where they narrowly defeated Clermont in last year’s Heineken semi, then you would have to fancy Leinster in the return game the following week which is scheduled to take place in the Aviva Stadium.

If Leinster manage to stay injury free and some of their injured stars, the likes of Sean O’Brien, Eoin O’Malley and Dave Kearney spring to mind, return to the peak of their powers, there is no reason why Leinster cannot top their group and secure themselves that all important home quarter final. Should they get that far then Leinster are one of the teams to fear .They should make a bold bid to defend their Heineken Cup trophy as they look to win it for the fourth time in their history.

POOL 5 FIXTURES/REsults 13/10/12 Leinster 9-6 Exeter RDS, Dublin / KO 3.40pm

20/10/12 Scarlets 13-20 Leinster Parc y Scarlets, Wales / KO 1.35pm

9/12/12 Clermont Auvergne v Leinster

Std Marcel Michelin, France / KO 3.00pm

15/12/12 Leinster v Clermont Auvergne Aviva Stadium, Dublin / KO 3.40pm

tbc/01/13 Leinster v Scarlets RDS, Dublin / KO tbc

tbc/01/13 Exeter v Leinster Sandy Park, UK / KO tbc

Please note: Fixtures are subject to change.

Club Rugby Magazine is not responsible for any changes that may be made.

MUNSTER Once the most feared team in the Heineken Cup, Munster are now fighting to regain some of that lost aura that surrounded their two Heineken Cup wins in 2006 & 2008.

It is safe to say that Munster are now a team in transition. Gone are many of the warriors on which the success of Munster was built on and the players that have replaced them are still in essence finding their feet at Heineken Cup level. Combine those factors with a new coach in Rob Penney and Munster fans could have been forgiven for having reduced expectations for the Heineken Cup this season when they face Edinburgh Rugby, Saracens and the big spending French club Racing Metro 92.

Things have, however, started well for the two times Heineken Cup champions. An opening weekend defeat to Racing Metro in Paris may not have been the start that Rob Penney and his coaching staff were looking for but they will have learned a lot from that performance. Having played much the better rugby for the opening 60 minutes of the game, Munster fell away in the last quarter and they eventually went down 22-17 to the French outfit. Despite losing that opening game in the manner that they did, Munster will have taken heart from their performance.

In round 2, Munster showed the rest of Europe just what they can do with a bonus point win against a very poor Edinburgh side, winning 33-0. That win puts Munster just behind Saracens with the Irish province travelling away to the Aviva Premiership side in the first of their back to back games in December.

Should Munster pick up a bonus point away to Saracens, then one would have to fancy them picking up a win at Thomond Park in the return game. Those two games will determine if Munster will reach the quarter finals, a stage they got to last season when they were comprehensively defeated by Ulster in Thomond Park. The old warriors, the likes of Paul O’Connell and Ronan O’Gara must be privately desperate for Munster to get back to the heady heights that they enjoyed a number of years ago. The introduction of Rob Penney as coach, along with the likes of centre James Downey coming into the side adds a certain amount of freshness to the province and if that can be harnessed in the right way then anything is possible for Munster.

POOL 1 FIXTURES/REsults 13/10/12 Racing Metro 22-17 Munster

Stade de France, France / KO 1.35pm

21/10/12 Munster 33-0 Edinburgh Thomand Park, Limerick / KO 12.45pm

8/12/12 Munster v Saracens

Thomand Park, Limerick / KO 6.00pm

16/12/12 Saracens v Munster Vicarage Road, UK / KO 3.00pm

tbc/01/13 Edinburgh v Munster Murrayfield, Scotland / KO tbc

tbc/01/13 Munster v Racing Metro

Thomand Park, Limerick / KO tbc

Please note: Fixtures are subject to change.

Club Rugby Magazine is not responsible for any changes that may be made.

ALWAYS PROTECT THE SCRUM HALF

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ULSTER Ulster’s defeat of Munster in the quarter final of last year’s Heineken Cup in many ways had the same effect that Leinster’s defeat of Munster did in 2009. It shattered any self-doubts or pre conceived notions that Ulster may have had about themselves. That day Ulster Rugby, once again, became a force in European Rugby.

Despite the lob sided nature of last year’s final, where Ulster where overpowered by a dominant Leinster side, Ulster can take no small measure of encouragement for their style of play that brought them to within 80 minutes of a second Heineken Cup victory. That defeat in the final aside, last year’s competition saw more progression from Ulster having gone out at the quarter final stage to Northampton the previous year.

Their big players like Stephen Ferris, Rory Best, Ruan Pienaar and captain Johann Muller all led by example until they were swept aside by a Leinster team at the very peak of their powers.

This season Ulster will again be looking to advance to the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup. For a team that got to the final last season, reaching the quarter final this season would be seen as a basic requirement. Ulster, once again, will face Northampton, along with Glasgow Warriors and French side Castres, who they defeated in their opening pool game. Realistically you would have to fancy Ulster to top that group if they can reproduce the form that took them to the final in Twickenham back in May.

POOL 4 FIXTURES/REsults 12/10/12 Ulster 41-17 Castres Ravenhill, Belfast / KO 8.00pm

19/10/12 Glasgow 8-19 Ulster Scotstoun, Scotland / KO 8.00pm

7/12/12 Northampton v Ulster Franklin’s Gardens, UK / KO 8.00pm

New coach Mark Anscombe has brought a new dynamic to the Ulster panel and has them playing some good rugby in their RaboDirect Pro12 campaign thus far. The returning Tommy Bowe adds that little bit of extra class in the back line that perhaps Ulster were missing from time to time last season. They got their Heineken Cup campaign off to the perfect start on the opening weekend, when they picked apart Castres in a hugely impressive 41-17 win. That win has set the bar high for Ulster. They have taken their domestic form into Europe and if they can maintain that level of performance then they will be a major threat to every other team in the competition.

15/12/12 Ulster v Northampton

Ulster continued their perfect start to their campaign with a gritty away win to the Glasgow Warriors in round 2. A 19-8 win, in testing conditions, sees Ulster sit atop of Pool 4 heading into their back to back games with Northampton. Given the form that Ulster have produced in the first two rounds of the Heineken Cup, you would have to fancy them getting something from the away game to Northampton, before taking them back to Ravenhill the following week. Should Ulster maintain their level of performance, then Ulster should make their way into the quarter final stage, where none of the other quarter finalists would fancy facing the Irish province.

tbc/01/13 Castres v Ulster

Ravenhill, Belfast / KO 6.00pm

tbc/01/13 Ulster v Glasgow Ravenhill, Belfast / KO tbc

Stade J-P Antoine, France / KO tbc Please note: Fixtures are subject to change.

Club Rugby Magazine is not responsible for any changes that may be made.

CONNACHT Thanks to Leinster’s win against Ulster in this year’s Heineken Cup final, Connacht Rugby have been assured of another season in European rugby’s elite club competition. Eric Elwood’s men suffered somewhat of a baptism of fire in their maiden season in the competition last season when they lost five of their six games in the pool stages and they will, no doubt, be looking to improve on that record this season.

This season they will face Zebre, French side Biarritz and English outfit Harlequins in what looks to be a daunting enough task, for a side that are only competing in their second Heineken Cup campaign.

Connacht got the perfect start to their Heineken Cup win a vitally important away win against Zebre on the opening weekend. That 19-10 win could prove one of the most vital wins that Connacht secure this season as it gave them a little breathing space from Zebre in the race for that all-important Amlin Challenge Cup place.

In round 2 Connacht went down fighting to Harlequins 30-22 at the Sportsground.

Eric Elwood will however rue the chances that got away. Having led 19-9 at one point, Connacht failed to close the game out as Conor O’Shea’s side showed that extra touch of class and experience that Connacht are lacking at this level.

That defeat means that Connacht cannot afford any more slip ups in the race for that place in the Amlin Challenge Cup. If they manage to get full points at home in the return game against Zebre and manage to pick up some points on the road, then there is a realistic chance that Connacht will be able to keep their interest in European Rugby alive for another few months.

A good start against Zebre seemed like the perfect start for Eric Elwood’s team. If Connacht can tighten up and maybe take some points from the big two teams in their pool, then that would be seen as progression for a side that are only competing in their second Heineken Cup campaign.

POOL 3 FIXTURES/REsults 13/10/12 Zebre 10-19 Connacht Stadio Aprille XXV, Italy / KO 1.35pm

20/10/12 Connacht 22-30 Harlequins Sportsground, Galway / KO 6.00pm

7/12/12 Connacht v Biarritz

Sportsground, Galway / KO 8.00pm

14/12/12 Biarritz v Connacht Ravenhill, Belfast / KO 8.00pm

tbc/01/13 Harlequins v Connacht The Stoop, UK / KO tbc

tbc/01/13 Connacht v Zebre

Sportsground, Galway / KO 6.00pm Please note: Fixtures are subject to change.

Club Rugby Magazine is not responsible for any changes that may be made.

THE HOME OF GREAT SPORT

www.rte.ie/sport

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He is the man that has guided us through some of the most pivotal and defining moments in Irish rugby over the last decade. His voice has captured moments of pure, uninhibited joy and soul crushing disappointment. Yet we know little of the man known as Ryle Nugent.

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ugent, sitting in his spacious office in RTE, has come a long way since he began his career with 98fm back in 1994. Since then Nugent has grown into one of the most respected yet at the same time divisive commentators in Irish sport, garnering respect and criticism in equal measure at various junctures of his career.

While he was surrounded by rugby in his youth, Nugent was never fully sure that rugby would one day become his chosen profession and where he would make his name, indeed it appeared at one point that Ryle was destined to be heading for a swimming pool than a rugby pitch. “While I was always surrounded by rugby, as is anyone who went to Blackrock College, swimming was my chosen sport growing up. I swam for Glen Alben under Chalkie White for many years and I was lucky enough to swim for the Irish schools for a period of time too. It was a big part of my life up until 16 when I realised that I wasn’t good enough to make the Olympic team so I knocked it on the head.”

While swimming may have been his chosen sport, Nugent was also a dab hand at the oval ball game and while self-deprecating himself as a player who played ‘full back badly” he looks back on the time that he spend at Blackrock College with the fondest of memories.

“It was a terrific experience going to Blackrock and I look back on it with great memories. We had good fun as a group of lads and in my year we had a particularly talented group of players with the likes of Victor Costello, Shane Byrne, Mark McDermot and Niall Woods all who played at provincial and at international level so it was a good bunch. “ And how would Ryle sum up his own playing ability? “Well I was no Rob Kearney that’s for sure. I played full back quite badly. I wasn’t very good under the high ball, I wasn’t very pacy or very brave in the tackle”, he says jokingly.

While Nugent may have never threatened to become Ireland’s next star fullback, his education off the pitch continued apace and while some of his classmates continued their education at the various universities around Dublin, Nugent took the move, which would seem strange in some people’s eyes, to continue his education at Ballyfermot College in 1990, a move that would open up a number of doors for him.

“I’d have to describe myself as extremely lucky at times. I think in life you can be talented and capable and get no luck and sometimes it can work the other way. The decision to go to Ballyfermot was a terrific move. I did a lousy Leaving Certificate, didn’t get enough points to get into university and knew I wanted to do something but wasn’t really sure.

“I had an interest in broadcasting and journalism and it was around the time that I was working in Sunshine Radio, just answering phones as a summer job and found it really interesting. Then the whole independent licensing of radio came along and I got a job by chance, with the relative experience I had, with 98FM. At the same time I was offered a place at university in Colraine and one thing led to another, so it was a case of the right place at the right time but having that qualification from Ballyfermot was a definite piece of luck.”

While describing his time at 98FM as a ‘fantastic period of time’ it was when Nugent moved to RTE in 1994 that his career moved up a notch. He applied for and fronted a new rugby programme aimed at young children called ‘The Grip’ while at the same time he twinned his work on ‘The Grip’ with reading sports results which Ryle again describes as a ‘piece of luck’ “It was a big transition coming to RTE from 98FM. I was in some way naïve in that I didn’t really know what to expect. I came in having progressed from my time at 98FM. I read reports and worked in the sports department but had no intentions of progressing into commentating.”

At the time of the 1999 Rugby World Cup one day there were three matches down for decision. RTE at the time had only two commentators and head of sport at the time Tim O’Connor plucked the young Nugent from behind the sports desks and into an office for a commentary trial, a move that would move Nugent’s career to a new level.

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than the rugby commentating because I had been in the sports department for a number of years and I kind of knew that I was more than likely going to go . But to go there and to be with the likes of Jimmy Magee and George Hamilton, people that I grew up listening to combined with the chance to travel over to the other side of the world was phenomenal. “ That Olympic games not only exposed Nugent and his commentating ability to a worldwide audience but it also provide him with one of the most cherished moments in his career, a moment that he cannot help but smile at when he tells the story.

“I remember I was sitting beside Jimmy Magee when he was doing the heats of the mens and womens 100m for radio and we played a game for one Australian dollar. We would try and pick the first three in the correct order in each race and I remember thinking to myself ‘Here I am at the Olympics sitting beside Jimmy Magee, somebody shoot me now because life doesn’t get much better than this’.”

Yet life would indeed get better for Nugent as he was at the forefront of commentating rugby in Ireland at a time when the Irish team and the provinces were beginning to taste success. Think Shane Horgan’s desperate lunge against England to land the Triple Crown in Twickenham or Munster finally ending all those years of hurt when landing their first Heineken Cup against Biarritz, all those never to be forgotten moments have been accompanied by Nugent’s unfailing passion and enthusiasm that he brings to his job.

There is however one game that sticks out for Nugent as both a commentator and as a rugby fan. Ireland’s 2007 Six Nations game against England was a historical first. No English team had set foot on the hallowed turf of Croke Park since Bloody Sunday some 90 years previously. That day the air was filled with uncertainty. How would Ireland supporters react to the signing of ‘God Save The Queen’. For Nugent, knowing that he would be the voice that would have to communicate what would happen, the prospect of having to deal with such a situation only hit him just before kick-off.

“The size of the whole occasion was just amazing. I think the way that the IRFU and the GAA handled the situation was perfect, but there were concerns as to just how 80,000 people would react at 5.00pm or 6.00pm on a Saturday evening.

It was naivety on my part but it only really hit me an hour or so before kick-off that if anything did happen I am going to be the first one that is going to have to react, and communicate to people what happened, and I spooked myself because although I knew something could happen I didn’t make the connection that it may well happen, so that was a scary moment, maybe the hype got to me too.

“To me those 15 minutes from the moment the teams walked onto the pitch until kick-off was spectacular, and anyone that was there that day will never forget that moment until their dying day.”

Another moment that crops up whenever Nugent’s name is mentioned is Ireland’s deciding game in their Grand Slam year against Wales when he and Tony Ward gave one of the most passionate calls of a rugby game that has been heard for many a year, and Nugent feels that although there are some people that may have seen that commentary as having a biased slant on it, he feels that when Ireland are playing there is a need to adopt a somewhat different tone to a match.

“My view is that we are broadcasting to a group of supporters that are predominantly supporting one team and you have to reflect that. When Ireland are playing England for example 95% of the viewers want Ireland to win and you have to reflect that. You shouldn’t lose sight of being fair and balanced but you should be more excited about Ireland winning than Ireland getting beaten. However if Munster are playing Leinster then you have to be right down the middle which is only fair.”

The last number of years have seen Nugent’s career evolve. Along with his commentating duties he has now become the head of sport at RTE. While his new role now takes up most of his time he was still able to travel to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand last year, an experience that he would rank up there with the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

“When Tim told me that I was going for a commentary trial my first reaction was ‘No’. However you don’t say no to Tim, so I did the trial under duress. Tim spotted something in me I guess and I had my trial game a week before the World Cup. My first game was Romania v Georgia which I thought was appalling, and then before I knew it I was sitting alongside Ralph Keys commentating on England v Fiji.

“People talk extremism but that doesn’t come close to describing the pressure on the All Blacks. Dan Carter and Richie McCaw are held in such a high esteem that I don’t know how that country would have recovered had they lost that final to France. That whole experience of watching a team under so much pressure to win and a country that was teetering on the brink of emotional collapse had they lost was fascinating to watch.”

“That Fiji game was a nightmare, and the one thing that I was most worried about was pronouncing some of the Fiji players names, which I can still see now. Ralph tells a funny story about that first game. I made Ralph get to the ground about six hours before kick-off and I just sat in the commentary box and smoked and drank so much coffee to the point, along with the nerves, that I became ill. However I got through it and from then on I was bitten by the bug. “

Talking to Ryle Nugent, you get the sense that here is a man that is extremely grateful for the chances that have come his way, but make no mistake about it, this is a commentator that is right on the money when it comes to captivating the raw emotion and passion and conveying it through a television screen so that any person at home can feel like they are in the Aviva Stadium on a Six Nations afternoon.

Having started with a successful stint the Rugby World Cup, Nugent would soon get his chance to experience a commentators dream by covering the 2000 Olympics which were held in Australia, an event that takes Ryle back to one of his favourite moments in his career.

You begin to leave, but before you do you ask can he see himself behind a microphone in ten years and he smiles and simply says “Between everything I am very busy. Commentating is my passion and my enjoyment. I don’t take anything for granted. It continues to be a privilege and I will continue to do it as long as I can. It’s still feels on the morning of a game that I am blind lucky to be doing this.”

Somehow you feel luck really doesn’t have a lot to do with it anymore.

“I sound like a spoilt brat, and I feel like that sometimes, but the Olympics was again an amazing experience. That was a probably a more natural move for me

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Ryle on... ...Declan Kidney & Irish team “I think what happened in New Zealand was embarrassing in the end, and I think the players and the coaching staff don’t need to be told that be anybody. I’m sure that there were devastated by the score and the manner of the defeat.

People are talking about if Declan Kidney should step aside or not and I think it is a reasonable question to ask. However you also have to say that Declan Kidney has achieved more in Irish rugby that anyone else. He has delivered Heineken Cups, Grand Slams, Rabo Championships and he has taken a small pool of players, has moulded them together and has done all that from a small pool of talent.

If one of our key players gets injured, we just don’t have the depth to cope in the way that a New Zealand or a South Africa or an England can cope, so it’s cyclical.

For things to fall our way everything has to be right for us.

The question is though; that when everything is right, when all the players are fit and the game plan is there has Declan Kidney done enough? I think it’s very easy to say that what happened in New Zealand means that he should lose his job, let’s see what happens in November and in the Six Nations Championship and then make a judgement.

I think in sport, and it’s become a blood sport for coaches, because any time they show the slightest sign that there is some sort of decline everyone begins to call for their head and that wouldn’t be my philosophy.

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Is there a time for people to make that call about Declan Kidney? Yes. Do I think the time for that is now? No I don’t.”

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If one of our key players gets injured, we just don’t have the depth to cope in the way that a New Zealand or a 8 Man SuperSled - €1999 + VAT South Africa or an England can cope

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Ryle on... ...the heineken cup “I think there are two very different issues going on at the moment.

There is an internal rugby struggle between the clubs and the unions and how the players are handled along with a unique media battle and the two issues have now collided.

I suppose Sky are having done to them what they did when they entered the marketplace and rugby just has to be the battleground.

It was the Premier League at one point and it could move elsewhere so I think there are two very separate battles going on at the moment.

People talk about will there be changes to the Heineken Cup but I think you prejudge that at your peril. There are so many relationships and so much politics going on there, that if anyone thinks they have a handle on the situation they are either unique or they are not telling you the truth. I don’t know how things are going to pan out.

I do think that from everything that we have seen over the last fifteen years it would be insane to see the Heineken Cup disintegrate and replace something that has worked with something that is unproven, that would be my own personal view.

If the system was broken or fractured in its ethos, then yes I could see something replacing it, but at the end of the day it is a competition that has engaged with a lot of people so I don’t see how people could walk away knowing there is something better.”

Ryle on... ...irish sport I think Irish sport is in a very good place at the moment. You look at the summer that has just gone by, the national soccer team got to the European Championships, ok they didn’t do very well when they got there but they still managed to qualify which they hadn’t done for a long time. You look at the Olympic team led by Katie Taylor, again there were performances that weren’t as they could have or should have been but we still did ok.

You look at the GAA and they are flying at the moment. The rugby team, ok there was that blip in the summer but things are never going to line up perfectly. If you are a kid growing up and you are sitting in third or fourth class and you are looking around and you can pick someone out of the rugby team, or the soccer team, or the Olympic team and say ‘I want to be the next’ and as long as you have that I think you have something special.

There are terrific role models in Irish sport and people like Brian O’Driscoll should be looked up to and try to be emulated. If you have those high achieving people in your key field sports, including your national games and your Olympic sports and we do have them, then that is tremendous.

You look around at the population we have and as yourself ‘are there things to aspire to?’ And yes there are. No country is perfect and there are areas that we can improve on but I think there is a real connection with sport. I have been lucky in my position to travel around the world and you get to see lots of things, but there is still something special about Ireland playing England, or Ireland playing France, or the All Ireland finals that we have seen over the last while. In those stadiums on those particular days there is something different. The only other place I have felt something comparable was in New Zealand for the World Cup, but there is something unique about those occasions.

When Wales play in the Millennium Stadium there is a unique atmosphere, but that is just when the national team is playing. In Ireland we have that across four or five different platforms and I think that is a really healthy thing.

As long as children have people to aspire to and there is structures in those sports so that they can find a way into those sports, what more can you ask for.

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Ryle on... ...favourite sportsmen “I suppose it is going to be obvious but Brian O’Driscoll (pictured right) is at the top of the list. He was a few years behind me at Blackrock College, although he likes to pretend that it was a few more years than it actually was.

I think it is only when he hangs up his boots and decides that he is going to retire that people will only begin to appreciate just what a talent he is. He is going to be impossible to replace. There are some people in life that are irreplaceable and Brian is one of those people.

You would have to say that he is Ireland’s greatest rugby player of this generation, even alongside someone like Keith Wood (pictured above), who I would hold in the highest of regard. Keith was a special, special talent, particularly at a time when we didn’t maybe have the depth or the attitude that we have now.

What makes Brian stand out is not just the tries or getting involved at the crucial moments, even leaving aside what he has done with the Lions. You watch him when it’s a RaboDirect game on a cold November day and he is playing against Trevsio in front of 7,000 rather than England at Croke Park in front of 80,000, and he is still as committed at the RDS as he would be in a Six Nations game.

Along with Ruby Walsh, Brian is the bravest sportsperson that I have seen. That is nothing against anyone else it is just a reflection on them, it is just how they are made. Brian has something in him that I don’t think is easy to articulate. You just have to stand back and admire what he does so Brian is my standout player for sure.”

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PROFILE MEET...

the 125th president

billy glynn William B. (Billy) Glynn has been elected the 125th President of the Irish Rugby Football Union following a distinguished career as a rugby player and administrator. He is synonymous with the game in Connacht where he has been a leading and popular personality in the affairs of the game during all his adult life.

In assuming the highest office in Irish rugby, Glynn follows in the footsteps of fellow Galwegians RFC members Henry Anderson (1945-46), Johnny Glynn (1958-59), Chris Crowley (1968-69), John Moore (1981 – 82), Bobby Deacy (1996-97) and Don Crowley (2002 – 03).

A retired solicitor and Revenue Sheriff living in Galway City, the new IRFU President first came to sporting prominence while a schoolboy at Garbally Park College where he showed early promise in athletics and rugby. He played for the Galwegians RFC winning Connacht Senior Cup team in 1960 while still attending school.

While studying law in Dublin between 1961 and ’64, he played for UCD’s winning Leinster Senior Cup team in 1963-’64. He was also capped for the Irish Universities against the touring Springboks in April, 1965 when the Irish students recorded an historic first ever victory by a team from Ireland over South Africa¸ winning 12-10 at Thomond Park.

On returning to Galway, he played as a speedy wing threequarter for Galwegians RFC and the Connacht senior interprovincial team for a number of years. He was also selected for a Final Irish Trial in 1965 and was chosen on an Ireland under 23 XV. But in 1966 at the age of 24 his career was curtailed due to a serious neck injury.

The injury also ended a successful career in athletics during which he was crowned Irish National champion in both track and field. In 1960 he represented Ireland in the European Student Games in San Sebastian and in 1962 at the age of 20 he was elected to the Central Council of the National Athletics and Cycling Association (NACA) on the platform of advancing unity in Irish athletics.

In his rugby administrative career, Glynn was Chairman of the Connacht senior team selection committee (1988-’06), Manager of the Connacht team between 1996 and 2000, President of the Connacht Branch in 2000-2001 and from 2000 he has been a member of the IRFU Committee, notably holding the positions as Chairman of the Medical Committee, Chairman of the Disciplinary Appeals Committee and as a member of the Representative Game Committee.

Residing in Galway and married to Margaret, he has two sons, Barry and Richard.

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The World According to Ward

Club rugby talks to tony ward, a legend of the irish game

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Meeting a journalist on your birthday may not be everybody’s idea of the perfect way to spend their special day, but then again Tony Ward is not just anyone.

In the pantheon of Irish rugby greats, Ward stands shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Jack Kyle, Jim Glennon and the Brian O’Driscoll’s of this world. Yet growing up it wasn’t rugby that grabbed his interest but soccer and but for a few turns in the road Ward may never have turned to the oval ball game.

“My background would be in soccer I suppose. I grew up in Harolds Cross, even though everyone thinks that I am from Limerick. I was a child of the 60’s so Match Of The Day and England winning the World Cup were some of my early memories. My early years were spent in Leeds, so I was and still am a Leeds fan for my sins. Soccer had a huge influence on me when I was growing up. In school ( St Mary’s) we had to play rugby, so I played rugby in school and soccer outside school hours”.

While the likes of Mike Gibson grabbed the young Ward’s attention growing up it was a team that would become a familiar foe to Ward and to Ireland that peaked his attention in his youth. “The Wales team that I watched were brilliant and Gerald Davis, in particular. Gerald was one of these wizards on the wing but more importantly he was a gentleman too and I think it’s nice that when you meet your heroes, that they are nice too, and Gerald was certainly that”.

Ward combined a love of both soccer and rugby growing up with a lot of success in both codes. He played for Shamrock Rovers and Limerick FC in soccer, playing alongside a certain Liam Brady in his schoolboy days, in fact if it wasn’t for his mother’s intervention, Ward could have followed Brady across to England to a top flight club in his youth. “I was offered trials for Arsenal and Manchester Utd but my mother wouldn’t let me go because I was doing my inter-certificate at the time. I would have loved to have gone but I didn’t avail of the opportunity at that time because there were other priorities to focus on”.

That missed opportunity would prove to be soccer’s loss and very much rugby’s gain.

While he continued to ply his trade in both codes, Ward knew that there would be a time when he would have to choose which sport to concentrate on, a decision he reached shortly after he left school.

“When I came out of school I signed for Shamrock Rovers. In much the same way that Leeds were my team growing up, Rovers were my team in Ireland. The League of Ireland was huge in those days, make no mistake about it. I went to college in Limerick and I was finding the commute from Limerick with the team more and more difficult.

“I used to play for Rovers on a Sunday in Finn Harps for example. So I would travel up with the team, travel home to Dublin then travel back to Limerick on my own. I would be getting back to college on a Monday afternoon and ended up missing lectures as a result. So I was in between the two sports.

“Then out of the blue, Garryowen had an injury at out half one day and a guy called Johnny Morony broke his leg badly. So suddenly I found myself playing for Garryowen, and I remember in my first four games we played Wanderers in Lansdowne Road in a friendly, we played Sundays Well in the quarter final of the cup, we played Old Crescent in the semi-final and Cork Con in the final, and before I knew it I had a cup medal. If I’m honest it meant nothing to me because it happened so quickly for me.

“It was then that I had to decide between rugby and soccer. I decided to stick with rugby. Before I knew it I was in the Munster squad against Australia and the Ireland team so in a sense it was meteoric rise for me, the circumstances were right for me at the time”.

Even though Ward is a Dublin man at heart, his first few years in Limerick playing for Garryowen were among the happiest in his career, not least because of the city and the people that were there. “I know that Limerick gets a lot of bad press but I won’t have a bad word said about it because it is a city that just immerses itself in sport.

“I always give one example that sums up the city and its attitude to

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sport. At the time I was playing for Garryowen I was driving down to Limerick on my motorbike and I stopped to fill up the tank and the guy who came out to fill the tank had a Shannon blazer and tie on him. It turned out that he was the President of Shannon RFC and he was working in the garage. My point is that it epitomized the whole ethos of Limerick and the democracy of the game down there. To fully understand rugby in Limerick you have to live in it and immerse yourself in it which is what I did”.

Perhaps the apex point of Ward’s time in Munster rugby was that never to be forgotten 12-0 defeat of New Zealand in 1978. Looking back Ward can appreciate the magnitude of what took place on that day, but at the time did he realise the scale of what Munster had achieved?

“To do it in Limerick and to do it in the manner that we did it in was something special. The place was jammers and it was the first time in my life that I experienced people bawling crying after a game. It was also the first time that the crowd refused to leave after the final whistle until we came back onto the pitch. Did I realise at the time what it meant? Hand on heart, no I didn’t.

“I suppose it began to hit me the morning after the game when I was asked to go on what was then The Mike Murphy Show. I remember getting a call in Jurys Hotel in Limerick where we were staying with the Munster team and I was asked to go live on the air, which was very unusual at the time, to discuss the match. That was the first time that it really began to hit me.

“Of course as the years go by the feat of what we did gets bigger. We have just come off our biggest tonking against New Zealand this summer so it looks like that first win against them is as far away as it has ever been.”

That Munster game which he described as ‘the greatest moment of my career’ was one of many standout moments in what was a glittering provincial and International career for Ward. He made his Ireland debut in the January of 1978 against Scotland an experience that he can recollect with vivid colour and precise detail.

“You can’t really describe the pride that you feel when you pull on the Ireland jersey.

When we went into the ground in those days at the Havelock Stand end we used to tog out in the Lansdowne Pavilion. I remember walking in past the pipe band after we got off the team bus and I was as nervous as a kitten because it was a huge ordeal.

“One of the pipes was warming up and it was almost an eerie feeling walking into the ground. I was petrified. It was so bad it was one of those ‘I want my mummy time’ but I was one of those people who was mentally tough and the bigger the occasion, the more comfortable I felt.

“Of all the players that I played with, Shay Deering, who has passed away , was one of those players that put his head where most people wouldn’t put their feet. He was just so brave. I was lucky to play against all the top players and all the top internationals at the time. Just to play at that level was an amazing experience”.

When pressed to pinpoint one experience that stands out from the rest Ward replies instantly. “The Lions Tour without a doubt”, he says. That Lions tour to South Africa in 1980 had a profound effect on him, both in a professional and personal capacity.

Having witnessed first-hand the segregation of the black and white people first hand and the lack of equal rights afforded to black people at the time affected Ward to such an extent that he refused to travel on Ireland’s tour to South Africa in 1981. Even speaking about that Lions tour, one can see the emotional attachment that Ward has for that tour.

“I remember arriving into the airport in Johannesburg and suddenly you are faced with what you have read in the newspapers. There were ‘whites only’ toilets, ‘black’s not allowed’ and that was just in the airport. So you arrive and you think ‘is this for real?’.

“During that trip a few of us went out of our way to see the real South Africa and I found it really hard to accept the inhumanity, man to man that I saw.

Nobody could be prepared for what was out there. When we would meet a black person they would address us as ‘massa’ which meant master. I asked them ‘why are you calling me master?’ they did that because that was the way that they were brought up.

“Everything about the apartheid system stank. When I saw how big rugby was to the South African regime I decided that isolation would be the best course of action. People in the IRFU wanted to keep communication open with them and try build bridges that way. I thought that the other way was the best way, to go along with Moss Keane, Gerald Fitzgerald, Hugo McNeill and myself we refused to travel to South Africa.

“One of the best things to come out of that was that I had the chance to meet Nelson Mandela a number of years later when he was released from prison. We were invited to the Berkley Court Hotel to meet him. He is the most charismatic man that I have ever met. Even

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I do think that the club game is the big sufferer because of how big the provincial game has become. though I lost a few caps with Ireland it was a small price and if I had to make the decision again I would make the exact same call”.

Having retired from rugby, Ward now dedicates his working life between being a well-respected journalist and nurturing the next generation of Irish rugby talent.

The schools and club game is one area of the game that lights his fire. Having watched the provincial success of Munster and Leinster and the knock on effects that those Heineken Cup wins brought, Ward is concerned that there is disconnect beginning to develop between the provincial set up and the club game in Ireland, a disconnect that he doesn’t want to grow.

clubs, who feed into provinces who feed into the International team. At the moment we are going schools into academies, into provinces which is a worry. There are players dropping out of the academies and they don’t have the club scene to fall back on.”

Looking ahead to the Guinness Autumn International series, Ward is looking for a much improved performance from the Ireland team having lost so heavily against the All Blacks in June. He is heartened by the recent comments of captain Brian O’Driscoll demanding two wins from two against South Africa and Argentina in November.

“The game in Ireland has never been more popular but there is a new breed of fan that, the majority of them have not been in a club ground in their life and I find that sad. I do think that the club game is the big sufferer because of how big the provincial game has become.

“November is so important because it is the chance to right a serious wrong that happened in June. Maybe a little clear the air talk is needed because to be held scoreless by a team, ok that team was New Zealand, but not to score a single point is not acceptable.

“I’m impressed that Friday floodlit games have been introduced. I think there has to be more co-operation between the clubs and not having Heineken Cup games and RaboDirect Pro12 games on the same weekend as the Ulster Bank League games.

“I think there is a comfort zone for some players. Even if they lose 60-0 in New Zealand they have the comfort of knowing that they are going back to their provinces and standards would lift again, so maybe there is a psychological comfort zone there at the moment. Maybe there needs to be a round table discussion and there is no better man than Declan Kidney to facilitate such a discussion”.

“I think the IRFU have to show more support for the club game too. Professional rugby has been great, but if we get it wrong at grass roots level then we will really suffer down the line. Academies are all well and good but fast tracking players through the ranks and by passing the club game is wrong. To me the club game is still the best breeding ground for young players.

“Schools rugby gets a tough time sometimes. People say that schools rugby is over hyped, but it is hugely important. If you take schools rugby away from the Irish setup then that is our bedrock gone. It has always worked that schools feed into

Such discussions with Tony Ward never get old. A legend past, present and well into the future.

You will be able to read Tony Ward’s opinion in our dedicated section on schools and youth rugby which will begin in our next issue.

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CLuB RUGBY talks to Sean o’Brien, who is chomping at the bit to return to action after injury frustration

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ean O’Brien is pacing. Not the kind of pacing that has seen the Carlow born back row forward strike fear into the hearts of opposing teams for the last few seasons, but the kind of pacing for a return to competitive action from an injury that has seen his season curtailed thus far. The ‘Tullow Tank’ is chomping at the bit.

Once described by the IRB Rugby News Service as ‘a rampaging ball of destruction’ O’Brien has had a phenomenal impact since he broke into the Leinster senior team in 2008. Three Heineken Cup winners’ medals, a hugely impressive World Cup campaign with Ireland in 2011 and one of the front runners, injury permitting, for the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia. Not bad for 25 years of age.

Growing up in Tullow Co Carlow, O’Brien’s background was more in GAA, and he admits that his rise throughout the rugby ranks was more evolutionary than planned as he explains. “I suppose growing up I was more into GAA. I was ticking away with the rugby until I got to 16 or 17 and I thought ‘jeez I better take this more seriously.’ Back then I used to look up to the likes of Keith Wood, Brian (O’Driscoll) and Paddy John.

“When I did come into the Leinster setup in the beginning, it was a bit of a shock to the system in regards to the fitness work and the weight work that was required. It was a bit of a wakeup call to get yourself in gear, but sure you just have to stick at it and get on with it”.

And get on with it is exactly what Sean O’Brien has done. Although he was a squad member when Leinster won their maiden Heineken Cup back in 2009, O’Brien has since become a central figure in Leinster’s incredible run of success over the last few seasons, helping the province to become only the second team in the history of the Heineken Cup to win the trophy two seasons in a row.

While deflecting praise his own way, O’Brien is key to point out the role and the influence that Leinster coach Joe Schmidt has had on the province since he arrived in Dublin in 2010. “Joe is a very smart coach. He is a great man manager and always very approachable. Saying that, he does have a mean streak in him and he wouldn’t be beyond giving people a kick in the arse if they needed it. But he is a very positive coach and always tries to take the best out of a situation”.

One of those times came when Leinster were staring down the barrel of a Heineken Cup Final walloping at the hands of Northampton in 2011. Beaten up physically and battered mentally in the opening forty minutes, O’Brien and Leinster went into their Millennium Stadium dressing room 22-6 down on the scoreboard and looked like they were gone from the game, but O’Brien recounts that inside the dressing room there was a very different feeling.

“It was probably one of the calmest dressing rooms that I have been in. We knew that we had a game plan that we could beat them with but we just didn’t execute it in that first half. We always felt that when we got moving they couldn’t live with us.

To come back in the manner that we did says a lot about the team. From a personal point of view, I was more of a squad player in 2009; in 2011 I had a lot more involvement so it was a great day”.

That 2010/11 season was also a huge one for O’Brien from an international perspective. Having been a part of the 2007 U-20 Grand Slam winning squad, O’Brien made his full international debut against Fiji in the November of 2009. His breakout season with the Ireland team was

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O’Brien was Once described by the IRB News Service as ‘a rampaging ball of destruction’ during the 2011 Six Nations campaign. He landed the man of the match award against Wales and finished third in a poll of Six Nations Championship players coming behind the winner, Italy’s Andrea Masi.

That September O’Brien travelled as part of Declan Kidney’s 30 man squad to the World Cup and once again he had a huge impact down there. He played, and starred in all of Ireland’s pool games including that famous win against Australia in Eden Park.

Despite falling at the quarter final stage to Wales, the whole experience of playing in a World Cup was one he won’t quickly forget. “It was a great experience travelling to the World Cup. For me personally it was a hell of a learning curve travelling about and seeing different parts of the world, it was something that I won’t forget”.

Although he will miss the forthcoming internationals against South Africa and Argentina in November, O’Brien is confident that Ireland will bounce back from their hammering against New Zealand back in the summer. “We had a bit of a camp a while ago and we feel that we are back on the same page. We all want Ireland to do well and I’m sure the boys will put in some big performances against South Africa and Argentina”.

He also feels that Leinster are well placed to continue the success that they have enjoyed over the last few years, despite their sluggish start to the season.

“I suppose we have always been slow starters over the last number of seasons.

The win against Munster in the Aviva in October came at the right time for us.

Our season at the start was up and down I think it’s fair to say. That win against Munster along with the Heineken Cup starting back up means that we can really kick on from here”.

O’Brien is looking forward to returning to both the domestic and international fold and has targeted a return to action at the end of November, which will see him back in time for Leinster’s back to back games against Clermont in the Heineken Cup at the start of December.

“I’m looking at coming back at the end of next month. I wouldn’t be the best person for sitting around so I haven’t been the easiest person to deal with over the last while but I am better now that there is some light at the end of the tunnel, I can’t wait to get back into action”.

I’m sure those sentiments are echoed by both Leinster and Ireland fans. Rest assured the ‘Tullow Tank’ will be firing on all cylinders when he returns. The pacing continues.

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IRELAND NEWS Date

Time

Fixture

Venue

17:30 17:30 14:00

Ireland v South Africa Ireland XV v Fiji Ireland v Argentina

AVIVA Stadium Thomond Park Stadium AVIVA Stadium

NOVEMBER 2012 Sat 10th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 24th Nov 12

Ireland set for Guinness Autumn International series Ireland return to the International fold for the first time since their 60-0 defeat against New Zealand last June when they takes on South Africa, Argentina and Fiji in the Guinness Autumn International series in November.

Declan Kidney and his management team will be looking to regain the winning thread while at the same time secure their second tier ranking for the 2015 Rugby World Cup which will take place in England. Both the South Africa and the Argentina games will take place at the Aviva Stadium while Thomond Park will play host to the Fiji game.

The two games at the Aviva Stadium promise to be hugely physical and demanding games. However captain Brian O’Driscoll is confident that Ireland can produce a number of big displays in front of an expectant home crowd. ““You only have to look at the performances Argentina and South Africa have turned in during the Rugby Championship to see what big games these are going to be for us in November,” he said. “South Africa will always have big men as well as pace and power, but when you see how well they created opportunities against New Zealand in their last outing in a game that they and a lot of others would feel they should have won, you can see that they will be bringing a lot more to the table.

“Tradition in rugby always plays a big part in how international teams play, so the visit of Fiji to Limerick will certainly see our ability to run with the ball and to defend a wide game tested. Every time I have played at Thomond Park for Ireland, the crowd have come out in strength and given us magnificent support, so I know

that they will be in for a treat of running rugby when we play Fiji.

“Argentina has been fairly impressive, probably deserving one if not two victories in the Rugby Championship, and they have gotten better and better as that tournament progressed.

“Their physicality in contact was the big stand out and you can see how important it has been for them, but they’ve also continued to develop their attacking threats across the park. You could see it when they took South Africa on at their own game and deserved a victory at home and shook New Zealand and Australia away from home.

“Playing in the Ireland jersey at home for your country is always something very special and it still hasn’t become any less of a buzz. The Aviva has had some great occasions for us and judging by how South Africa and Argentina are shaping up, this November should see some great matches.”

Adult tickets start at between €30 and €20 for the games. There are also special parent and child packages available at €60 for South Africa and €45 for Argentina for two tickets in designated areas, offering a 50% discount for children.

Tickets for the Ireland XV v Fiji game are available with prices starting as low as €7 for a junior ticket, €15 for a terrace ticket and stand tickets for between €20 and €30. Tickets are available at both from www.munsterrugby.ie and www.ticketmaster.ie

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CLUB NEWS

OLD BELVEDERE

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY (TRINITY)

The Old Belvedere Annual Dinner is a very important event in the club’s calendar, and is a wonderful occasion where all those involved, and all those who are at the heart of what is great about club rugby, can come together.

The next annual dinner takes place on January 12th 2013, and though it is a number of months away, those interested in attending are advised to start booking now, as preparations are already in place for the event.

Bookings can be made through the club’s e-mail; admin@oldbelvedere.ie.

On the pitch, Old Belvedere will next be in action away to Garryowen on Saturday October 27th when they will be hoping to pick up their first win of the present league campaign. However, Belvo will remain in the capital during the month of November as they welcome two of Munster rugby’s biggest institutions, as well as making the short trip to a couple of their nearest rivals.

On November 3rd and 17th, they will play host to Shannon and Cork Constitution respectively, with whom Old Belvedere have had exciting dingdong battles in the past. Either side of the Cork Con game, they will take part in a brace of ‘Friday Night Lights’ specials, firstly away to St Mary’s College on November 9th, and finishing up with a visit to Castle Avenue and Clontarf on November 30th.

Given the setting for these games, it is anticipated that Old Belvedere will be able to attract a sizeable support for these encounters.

The presence of Dublin University Football Club (or Trinity Rugby they are also known) has raised the stakes in the Ulster Bank League Division 1B section this season. As Ireland’s oldest and most prestigious University, its presence in the league can only benefit to club rugby in Ireland.

Having been founded back in 1854, DUFC has the honour of being the World’s oldest continually existing rugby club, and has provided a massive number of Irish internationals, and British & Irish Lions. From their present squad, there are a number of players who have represented their provinces at different levels.

They are able to call upon the Leinster U19 capped Ruane Magee and Ahmed Mua’zzum, while they also have reliable operators like Max McFarlane, Jack Fitzpatrick and Tom Collis, who have lined out for the Leinster U20s.

However, the nature of the college means they also attract players from outside the province of Leinster, with Oisin O’Meara and Tom Ryan having featured for the Munster 19s, and they are joined by Munster U20 stars Conor Kearns and Harry McNulty. In addition to the above mentioned, they also possess a global flavour to their squad, with USA U20s World trophy winner Pierce Dargan.

On the pitch, Dublin University will be doing all they can to be competitve in Division 1B, although their clash with UCD on November 16th will double up as the 28th fixture in the annual colours match between the two colleges. The Belfield school were the victors last time out, and also hold a 35-22 series lead, so Trinity will be eager to peg them back this time round.

BLACKROCK COLLEGE October marked the official opening of Blackrock’s new ‘Body Conditioning Gym’, with this facility being unveiled on October 6th before the senior team’s trip to face Dublin University in the Ulster Bank League Division 1B. President Tony Amoroso was on hand to present this new addition to club members as part of the ongoing development at Stadbrook.

Sunday October 14th was also a significant date in the south Dublin club’s calendar as it was the Blacrock Ladies Youth open day, hosted by the current Ladies senior squad. Girls between the ages of 12 and 18 were invited to this special occasion, which started at 11am. The day mainly consisted of non-contact sessions, as well as fun and games, but it nevertheless gave the young players in attendance a taste of what they could expect in the months and years to come. With ladies rugby growing as a sport in Ireland and rugby Seven’s set to be included in the 2016 Olympics (a competition that Ireland are improving in all the time), there is certainly plenty of motivation for young females to take up the game of rugby.

UCD RUGBY The inaugural UCD Rugby Club camp will begin on October 30th, and will last a total of four days, concluding on November 2nd. Organised to coincide with the Halloween mid-term school break, the camp is catered towards kids between the ages of 6 and 11, and has the potential to become an annual event for the college.

After a mixed campaign during the 2011/2012 season, UCD have really hit the ground running so far, and have certainly benefited in the games to date through the inclusion of Leinster starlets Jordan Coghlan (a try scorer against Bruff) and scrum-half Luke McGrath.

Though it is still early days, UCD will be hoping that they can build up in the early weeks towards a promotion push. Although they do face tough tasks in the coming weeks with Northern opposition in the guise of Ballynahinch and Malone. They host their first ‘Friday Night Lights’ encounter of the season when they welcome Blackrock College to Belfield, which will hopefully bring in a crowd to match their Airtricity League participating soccer team.

CORK CONSTITUTION November 16th will be a pivotal evening for Cork Con, as they will be hosting their very own Minor Night in Temple Hill. Invitation to this event is open to all, and for further details you can contact Der O’Riordan on 0831420762 or Shane O’Connor on 087-2576176.

Friday December 7th finds Cork Con hosting their President & Captain’s Dinner, which is an event not to be missed, as it will bring together all those involved in the successful running of the club. Reservations for this dinner can be placed through Club PRO John O’Mahony, who can reached by phone on 086-1695584.

As an alternative for those who have an interest that goes beyond rugby, the Kaizen Karate Club currently holds training in Temple Hill on Mondays and Thursdays for beginners and the advanced. All are welcome, whether they be beginners or blackbelts, and they can secure a spot in the club by contacting Sensei Paul Lynch, either by phone (087-9292195) or by e-mail kaizen.karate@hotmail.com.

NAAS RFC It has been an excellent start to Division 2B for Naas with a hard-fought victory over rivals NUIM Barnhall being followed by a comfortable bonus point triumph over Sligo. They have welcomed back club hero Henry Bryce to the fold, who will link up with some other new faces, as well as graduates from the Under 21s of recent years.

The 2012/2013 campaign has also seen the appointment of a new club captain in Naas, and at 21, Sam Sutton is one of the youngest club captains currently playing in the Ulster Bank League.

A huge part of Naas’ development in recent seasons has been their excellent mini and youth structure, which has helped to produce a number of talented players for the future.

In recent months, a numbers of players who have featured within the clubs mini and/or youth structure have made their bows an interprovincial level.

Billy Dardis, Oliver Jager, Hugh O’Donnell and Jonathan Phelan have all played for the Leinster Schools Under 18s, Adam Byrne and Mark Rushe have played for the Leinster Under 19s, while Ryan Casey and James Connolly have both lined out for the Connaught Under 20s.

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CLUB MILESTONES

Blackrock College

Blackrock College will this season celebrate fifty years at their Stradbrook facility. The historically famous and successful club, who are currently plying their trade in Division 1A in the Ulster Bank League have had a conveyer belt of talent over the years many of whom have also represented the Lions such as Fergus Slattery, Willie Duggan, Mick Doyle, Brendan Mullen, Hugo McNeill and more recently Shane Byrne, Brian O’Driscoll and Luke Fitzgerald.

The Stradbrook base has seen many great days in the history of Blackrock College, with the school having a decorated history in both the Leinster Senior and Junior Cups throughout the years. To celebrate the historical landmark, Blackrock College reintroduced the All Ireland Under-21 rugby festival, a competition that was first held at Stradbrook in 1966. The competition was won this year by Old Belvedere, who defeated Lansdowne 24-0 in the final. The competition will now be held on an annual basis with ten teams taking part, with Blackrock College and Old Belvedere taking part, along with eight other teams that qualify into the playoffs from the Frazier Mullen competition.

Cork Constitution

Cork Constitution, one of the most decorated clubs in Irish rugby have completed the renovation of their brand new club house, a facility that now ranks up with some of the finest clubhouses in the country.

The project, which was carried out with MMD Construction Cork saw the conversion of the existing Member’s Bar area to provide two additional dressing rooms, toilets, showers and player’s gym. A new single storey Clubhouse was also built providing a meeting room, function room, member’s bar and club bar, kitchen, office, club shop, storage areas, plant & ESB switch room. The project work got underway on 1st March and was completed for the start of the new season. All the clubs memorabilia, including the club Presidents & Captain’s board, club team photographs, the 100 year Centenary presentation cabinet, along with all the trophies that Cork Constitution have won over the years are now safely housed in the new clubhouse.

Galway Corinthians

Galway Corinthians Rugby Football Club is set to celebrate its 80th year in existence this season. The founding members of the club were a group of local school children, made up mostly students from St Joseph’s school.

Harry Warner served as first President of the club and was also the secretary of the Galway Chamber of Commerce (& Industry) for a number of years. The first Secretary of the club was Bernie O’Connell from Woodquay. Corinthians enjoyed immediate success when they formed in the 1932/2 season, winning the Connacht Cup back to back in 1933 and 1934. The club had many temporary homes in the early days such as the Skeffington Arms Hotel in Eyre Square for togging out and Cullinanes of Eglinton Street. The club has continued its development over the years and are now based in a wonderfully modern facility in Corinthian Park which was opened by IRFU President Des McKibbin in 1985. Corinthians have enjoyed a successful start to the 2012/3 season winning four out of their first five games.

Galwegians

This season will see Galwegians Rugby Football Club celebrate 90 years at the heart of Connacht rugby .

The club has a long history of tradition and of success, a tradition that has sustained throughout the years. They have the honour of winning the Connacht Senior Cup the most times , having secured the trophy in excess of 25 times. They have also won back-to-back Connacht Cup and League doubles between 20002002. Along with success on the pitch, Galwegians also have a distinguished history off the pitch. Galwegians have provided the likes of Henry Anderson (1945-46), Johnny Glynn (1958-59), CP Crowley (1968-69), John Moore (1981-82), Bobby Deacy (1996-97) and Don Crowley (2002-2003) who all have been President of the IRFU. Galwegians are currently plying their trade in Division 2A of the Ulster Bank League.

Lansdowne

One of the oldest and best known rugby clubs in Ireland, Lansdowne RFC are celebrating their 140th year as a club this season.

Founded by Henry WD Dunlop as the Irish Champion Athletic Club, Lansdowne RFC have had some of the most distinguished names in Irish rugby pull on their famous

black, red and yellow hooped jersey. Names such as Moss Keane, Con Murphy, Dick Spring, Eric Elwood, Shane Horgan, Gordon D’Arcy and Felipe Contepomi, who became the first overseas captain of the club, have all played for Lansdowne.

Lansdowne have won the Leinster Senior Cup a record 24 times, as well as winning 10 Leinster Senior League titles. Since their inception, Lansdowne have won a total of 123 Leinster Branch trophies as well as 6 national titles - more than any other club in history.

Nass RFC

Formed in 1922 Nass RFC will mark a significant milestone in their history this season when they celebrate their 90th year in existence.

Operated as a junior rugby club until the 1999/2000 season, Naas RFC have developed into one of the leading clubs in Ireland, with their most famous player to date being Ireland international and British & Irish Lions star Geordan Murphy.

Since gaining senior status, Naas have committed themselves to becoming the leading team in the Co. Kildare area and intend to become an all-inclusive community focused club catering for all ages types, sexes and religious views.

Nenagh Ormond

Nenagh Ormond RFC, like Sligo RFC made history this season with the news that Jennifer Donovan will become the first female President in Nenagh’s history.A lawyer by profession; Donovan also has the distinction of being a distant cousin of the current President of the United States, Barack Obama.

Donovan has steadily rose through the ranks at Nenagh, acting in various roles on the club committee, playing for the club and also managing the women’s senior side throughout her time at the club. Speaking of her appointment, Donovan said “The reaction has been great in the club itself. I think as long as we are doing the business on the pitch it should be positive. “Last year’s President Mick Mackey rang me coming up to the end of the season before the AGM to ask me [to consider the position]. I was surprised but delighted to be thought of, especially since there was no woman president in Nenagh Ormond before”.

Sligo RFC

Sligo Rugby Football Club broke new ground this season when Claire Storey became the first ever female President in the long history of the club.

Storey was voted overwhelmingly to take over from Club President John Kane.

Brian Mullan and George Draper, both of who have served the club with distinction throughout the years., were appointed as Senior and Junior vice presidents with Trevor Sweeney assuming the new role of Club Chairman. Sweeny takes control at an excellent time for Sligo RFC. The club are continuing to progress on and off the pitch, currently playing their rugby in Division 2 of the Ulster Bank League.

Skerries RFC

For the first time in six long seasons, Skerries RFC will play their rugby this coming season in the Ulster Bank League following their promotion last season.

The biggest crowd of the season turned out to see the north side club defeat Monivea 27-20 in their final game of the season to secure promotion and a return to the big time of club rugby in Ireland. They have started their first season outside the junior ranks with two wins from their opening two games. Led by captain Joe Glennon, Skerries defeated Boyne by an impressive 54-6 and also Navan 22-15 in the Leinster Shield competition. Their introduction back into the senior ranks has been somewhat of a tough introduction, aside from their impressive start in the cup campaign having gone down narrowly to Suttonians by a score of 22-20.

UL Bohemians

UL Bohemians are another club that will be celebrating a historic landmark this season, with UL marking their 90th year as a rugby entity.

The Munster club have a rich history, not only with their senior team , who won two All-Ireland League titles, with their last one coming in the 2004/5 season, but along with all of their underage teams. UL have won the North Munster U-20 Cup ten times, with their last success coming in the 2008/9 season. They also have had the honour of having a number of players pull on the Ireland jersey. ME.Bardon JP Mullane , WA Mulcahy , JD Torrens, M,Mortell , B Murphy, S McHale, MA English , BJ Spillane have all played for UL Bohemians before going onto to represent Ireland at the highest level.

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OLD BELVEDERE RFC NEWS RESULTS STATS ProfileS

Mervyn Feely, a happy man The Old Belvedere president is in the envious position of being able to reflect on a life well spent in the game, and a currently thriving club, all of which gives him an air of contentment as he settles down for a chat.

Immediately it’s clear that it is all things Belvo that consume the former Connacht inter pro, and not just the rather excellent senior side currently wearing the hoops.

He reveals, “The minis section is thriving at the moment, and this year we have progressed from that, setting up a youths section for pretty much the first time”.

“We used to rely on schools teams to bridge the gap between the minis and the adult squads, but now we have a youth set up which will help keep the youngsters in the club. Previously they could walk away at say fourteen, but now they have the option of staying and playing on”.

Playing is what it was all about for Feely, who lined out for Connacht back in the days before professionalism, and who’s brother Mark also played for the Western province.

“My biggest game for them was against the All Blacks, in the early eighties, I didn’t get nervous before the match, but the nerves did hit me the previous Wednesday when I sat on my own in a pub in Dublin and watched them demolish Leinster”.

“I spoke to a guy who had played for Connacht against them before and he just told me to go out and enjoy the occasion which is what I did”.

“As a kid growing up I was a Blacks fanatic, they were my heroes, and to be on the pitch when they were doing the Haka right in front of me was something special”.

It was also a bit special to share a changing room with one of the games all time greats.

“I joined Belvedere in 1981 and was fortunate to play with Ollie Campbell, he is a genuine great of Irish rugby, and he would lift you as a team that’s for sure”.

“This was back in the amateur era, when Ollie could have played for Ireland at say Twickenham on a Saturday and flown back to play for us on the Sunday”.

“I have often been asked if Ollie found it difficult to adapt from international to club games and the honest answer is that at the time we had a lot of international and inter pros playing for us so the standard was remarkably high, almost on a par with the international game, so no he didn’t”.

“It’s a whole new scene now, if I or most of my contemporaries had the level of coaching that is available now we could have been far better players, of course we could, but you can’t turn the clock back”.

Campbell was not the only Irish out half that Mervyn lined out alongside in an extended trip to Australia which saw him play with Brian Smith.

“The first recession I remember was in the mid eighties and back then I packed up and went to Brisbane. I played for Wests down there and Brian was on that side as were a number of Aussie internationals. We won the Australian championship as it was at the time, and I loved it, but home is where the heart is and I was always coming back to Ireland”.

And to Belvedere, where in 1993 he captained the side to a treble.

“That was the year we were good under lights, we won the Belvedere Floodlit Cup, the All Ireland Floodlit cup and the Leinster League which saw up promoted to the AIL in it’s first year”.

The same AIL that two seasons ago saw Belvedere emerge as top division champions, an achievement Feely has ambitions to repeat this season.

“We have been on a mini recruitment drive this pre season as we lost some decent players to emigration”.

“Richie Leyden who captained us to the division one title is gone to Dubai, Simon Keogh and Stuart Maguire have gone to clubs in London to further their career professionally, and I know other clubs have suffered as well, but they are three big losses for us”.

“We have brought in three lads from Garryowen, and have some quality youngsters like Stephen Crosby (pictured left), Jack Honan and Michael Oguinea (pictured, next page) coming through our own ranks”.

“We have the players and coaching staff in place to regain it, but saying that is easy, it still takes serious hard work”.

“The power base has swung to Dublin clubs a little bit, and I think that has a lot to do with the work situation in the country, I mean all three lads we got from Garryowen came to Dublin because of work reasons, and we were the lucky ones to get them”.

“There is a certain advantage in being located in a big urban area, and I understand fully that some provincial clubs are suffering badly right now”.

“Look being honest at our club the goal each season is always to win the AIL, but one of my main ambitions for my year as President would be to set up the rugby structures to keep us competitive, for me that’s absolutely vital”.

“That being said I feel we are going to be in the shake up again this year, Mary’s will be hard to beat and Clontarf will figure, but we have the right players and in Andy Dunne and Barry Gibney an excellent coaching team, so i’d be confident about our chances”.

Belvedere is engrained in Feely’s DNA, and he makes no bones about the fact.

“For me I would be much more a club man than anything else, I would see far more club games than internationals or Heineken Cup matches, I am a bit old school in that way”.

“Belvedere gave me so much, I have been all over the world on club tours with them, and what I have got from the club is far more than I could ever put back into it”.

A well known face in rugby circles he may be, but Feely once found himself having to explain to a well wisher that he was not quite who they thought he was”.

“I was approached by a woman one day who asked me for my autograph, it took me aback a bit as I wasn’t exactly that well known, but as I was about to sign she enlightened me”.

“She said to me, ‘I never thought I would see Colm O’Rourke playing rugby’.

She was a bit disappointed when I told her she hadn’t.”

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OLD BELVEDERE RFC: History Old Belvedere Rugby Football Club was established in the 1918-19 season and their first game was Old St Marys at Donnybrook. They one that first game 6-0, while competing in the Dublin League at that period of time.

A meeting that would take place at the end of that season would prove to be one of the first landmark moments in the clubs history.

Not only would they begin to compete in senior rugby but they would also open their club to sister Jesuit colleges and “to outsiders, who may wish to join us.”

Their first game in senior rugby took place against the now disbanded Merrion RFC. In twenty one games that season Belvedere won twelve games. They also competed in the Leinster Senior Cup for the first time in 1920; however their first game against Wanderers on March 17 1920 ended in a 3-0 defeat.

Belvedere suffered during the troubles in Ireland at the time with a number of players including the likes of Kevin Barry, who was arrested and executed at that time. Along with losing the majority of their squad, Belvedere also lost their ground at Beech Hill which contributed to the closing of the club before the 1922/23 season.

The Belvedere name however would not die and in 1930 they reformed as a junior club with players only been allowed to play for the club if they attended Belvedere College. That first season as a reformed club would prove to be a success, reaching the Junior League Final going down 11-3 to Bective. In that final six future Presidents of the club, George Morgan, Eddie Gleeson, Tommy Whelan, Paddy Kevans, John Cummins and Captain Bob O’Connell, lined out for Belvedere.

The first trophy would find its way to Belvedere shortly afterwards when the captured the Metropolitan Cup in 1936, a trophy that they would retain the following season. Those successes encouraged the club to reapply for senior status, a status they would regain for the 1937/8 season. Belvedere would also welcome George Morgan and Paddy Quinn back into their ranks from Clontarf. Both players would subsequently go onto represent the British & Irish Lions on their tour to South Africa.

The 1940’s and 50’s would see steady progression for Belvedere, along with some history making moments along the way. In December 1946 an Old Belvedere selected side defeated a New Zealand Services side by 12-6. That win was the first time a New Zealand side had been defeated on Irish soil and Belvedere remains the only side, along with the famous Munster side of the 1978 to defeat the All Blacks in Ireland. During that period Old Belvedere defeated the likes of Cardiff, Bristol, Wasps, Northampton and Leicester.

Over the next two decades Belvedere experienced a number of peaks and troughs. In 1976 they became an ‘open’ club with Tom McGuirk and St Mary’s centre, Gary O’Hagan becoming the first two non Belvederian players in the clubs history.

Belvedere were at the forefront of two major initiatives at that period of time. Floodlights were installed in 1972 and Old Belvedere, under the Chairmanship of Tommy Jordan, inaugurated the Leinster Floodlit competition in 1987, a competition that would last until 1999.

In the modern era, Belvedere would continue to evolve. The 1990’s saw the introduction of the first ladies team while the senior team continued their steady climb up the ranks, a progression that saw them finish top of Division 1B in 2010 under the presidency of John Mahony.

Over the course of their history Old Belvedere have won 19 Senior trophies and 65 Junior trophies. 14 players that have played for the club have been capped for Ireland and 6 others were war-time internationals while 12 players have been overseas tourists with Ireland. There have been two members that have had the honour of being President of the IRFU (Paddy Madigan and Barry Keogh).

Karl Mullen and Des O’Brien have captained and managed the Lions respectively.

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SUTTONIANS RFC NEWS RESULTS STATS ProfileS There are some strange connections throughout the world of sport, but few as intriguing as the link between Suttonians and the most contentious Grand National winner of all time.

“Aidan Kearney who played with Leinster and won a World Cup with the Irish under 20 side is just the latest example of that, he started with us and he is back again now, and the experience he brings to the side is invaluable”.

Way back in 1947 Caughoo owned by JJ McDowell won the big race at odds of 100/1, but almost immediately questions were raised.

“But realistically we face a huge challenge to compete with the bigger clubs in the AIL, every season is a hard one for us.

The race was run in a pea souper fog, and the suspicion among many rival riders was that jockey Eddie Dempsey had not taken his mount around the course twice, but had managed to park the animal up in the shadow of Beecher’s Brook and rejoin the event when the rest of the field came round the second time.

“Our Youth Development set up is putting a huge amount of work in, and as recently as five years ago a local school St Fintans won the Leinster Schools development cup, so it is starting to pay off but it will take quite a while before we see the full benefits of it.”.

And the Suttonians connection as revealed by President Alan Barron, “JJ McDowell was a benefactor of the club who was heavily involved with the purchase of the land where our grounds are and was President himself the year Caughoo won the national”.

Another exciting development has been the Suttonians Academy, founded ten years ago, it has now established a link with a well known club in South Africa.

A strange one indeed, but McDowell who’s family owns Dublins famous ‘Happy Ring House’ jewellers captained the side to a Minor League victory in the 1930s.

In fact the Suttonians colours of white, blue and emerald green are the racing colours of the McDowells as worn by Dempsey on board Caughoo all those years ago.

These days Suttonians first XV play in the AIL division 2B, and Barron is hopeful that a pre season signing from New Zealand can spur them on to a big bid for promotion.

“One of our former players is involved with a club in new Zealand called High School Old Boys and he recommended us to a very good out half called Stephan Van Gruting, we are expecting him to be a major plus this season”.

“We have a long time relationship with New Zealand rugby anyway, Aaron Mauger who was capped forty six times for the All Blacks played for Suttonians as well”.

However ambition is one thing, reality often another, and Barron is realistic about the problems clubs like his face on an ongoing basis.

“Just up the road from us you have Clontarf one of the top teams in the top division of the AIL and a club who appear to have plenty of money floating about.

“Naturally enough if a decent player emerges with us and they want to test themselves at a higher level then they will gravitate in that direction, it can be difficult to keep good players at the club, and we are not the only ones facing that difficulty.

“We have a very good under age structure though, there are up to 350 kids out there any Sunday morning, and really all we can do is try and coach them from a young age, make them into as good a player as we can and hope they stay with us.

“We would be very much a parish focused side, a community driven club, and that is a massive help to us”.

Perhaps an even bigger help is the fact that quite a number of top level players who began their careers with Suttonians, have tended to come back and end them there as well.

“Our intention there is to identify young kids who can play to a minimum of Division one AIL level, work with them through the years and each summer two Academy players are sent to Durban to the academy of Super Rugby franchise The Sharks to further their rugby education”.

“The players we feel have serious potential receive additional specialist coaching, and we genuinely believe that even if they leave for a while they will appreciate what has been done for them sufficiently to enable them to return and help us move forward as a club”.

Barron takes immense pride in not just the clubs current efforts, but it’s history, citing the promotion from junior to senior ranks as one of the highlights.

“In 1996 we won the Leinster League which saw us move into the senior system and that was a brilliant feeling, arguably my best day involved with the club”.

“However the following season we surpassed that in terms of achievement as we won AIL division 4 with a 100% record, we never dropped a point, only three clubs in the entire history of the AIL have done that so it was quite an accomplishment.”.

There have been setbacks along the way; the clubhouse being extensively damaged by a fire at the start of the 1984 season was one such occasion.

“That was a difficult one right enough, but everyone rallied around and it was not alone rebuilt but redesigned the following year”.

No wonder the motto on the club crest ‘Fag an Bealach’, translates as Clear the Way, when something needs to be done no better club than Suttonians to get stuck in and sort it out.

Barron feels that much and all as the club feeds into the community and draws from it, that his legacy when his term finishes could be an even greater integration of both sides.

“To see the club grow and develop as a community asset would be an ambition of mine, to get us to further engage with the community and get more people who actively want to come down and get involved here”.

“If I can help in anyway to do that I will feel I have achieved something, it would defintely be the driving force behind my year in office”.

“We need all the bodies we can get and we want to make their first visit an enjoyable one so they will be keen to return”.

Where Family Counts

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Suttonians fundraiser Suttionians RFC are asking 100 Suttonians Centurions to make a pledge that they will take 10 tickets at €10 each to raise funds that will help go towards meeting the running costs of the club for the coming season.

The Campaign, which is administered by the IRFU and only open to Rugby Clubs not schools, is hoping to raise €10,000 for the club and is open to all Members be they Life , Ordinary , Pavilion , Student ,Players and all MY Suttonians Members.

If people would like to contribute to the scheme then they can contact Willie Moran at wmoran@dunwoody.ie entering ‘SRFC Centurion 2012 Draw’ in the subject/topic box or alternatively he can be contacted at 0872358717.

Willie will ensure tickets get to the individual concerned.

Full listing of prizes below: Your Club Your Country 2012 Prizes 1. Tour with the British and Irish Lions in Australia in June 2013

International flights, hotel accommodation, test match tickets and spending allowance for 2 persons for up to 18nights.

2. Ireland v England 2013 RBS 6 Nations VIP Gold Package

Suttonians RFC: History Suttonians RFC initially played their rugby just off Sax Lane when they reformed in 1924. The club leased their grounds from the St Lawrence family of Howth Castle and they became affiliated with the Irish Rugby Football Union in 1927.

Their first club house, built in 1929, became famously known as the ‘Tin Shed’ which remained on the Sax Site until 1934 when the club and the ‘Tin Shed’ moved from the Sax Lane to their present site on Station Road with Suttonians playing their first game against Malahide RFC on November 24th 1934.

The grounds, which became known as JJ McDowell Memorial Grounds after their one of their most famous benefactors has seen a number of changes over the decades. A second pitch was purchased from the McDowell family.

The ‘Tin Shed’ remained largely untouched until 1971 when the structure was overhauled and a permanent structure was put in its place. The changing rooms suffered severe damage in the 1984/5 season thanks to extensive fire damage. All of the changing rooms were renovated for the following season.

Those same facilities remain in place today and cater for 4 senior and 10 junior teams.

Suttonians expanded their ranks in 1977 when they joined forces with Foxfield RFC, a move that would swell their ranks and provide opportunities for every age category from under age all the way up to senior ranks. They have maintained a strong, local, focus throughout the years, to such an extent that Suttonians senior team is made up of over 90% of local, home grown talent.

The crucial role that Suttonians that play in the local and provincial rugby area was recognised when Rory Barry-Duke was elected as President of the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union in the 2006/7 season.

Barry-Dukes election was just reward for a man that has given so much to Suttonians RFC and the entire Leinster and indeed wider rugby community.

Suttonians are currently plying their trade in Division 2B in the Ulster Bank League, sitting not too far off the top of the table.

VIP match tickets, official IRFU hospitality, hotel accommodation and PUMA Irish Rugby goodie bags for 2 persons.

3. Italy v Ireland 2013 RBS 6 Nations VIP trip to Olympic Stadium

Return flights, hotel accommodation, match tickets and spending allowance for 2 persons.

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Return flights, hotel accommodation, match tickets and spending allowance for 2 persons

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Return flights, hotel accommodation, match tickets and spending allowance for 2 persons.

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Observe a training session with the Irish Rugby Team, tour of Aviva Stadium, goodie bags and tickets to Ireland v Argentina 2012 Guinness Series for 2 adults and 2 children.

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MALAHIDE RFC NEWS RESULTS STATS ProfileS

Currently operating in Division Two of the Leinster Senior League, Malahide Rugby Club is one with a very long history in Ireland. Having originally been founded in 1922, Malahide would disband in 1944 because of a lack of members during World War 2. The club was then reformed in 1978 and in 2006 the club made its move to its current home on the Estuary Road. The present club colours are black and amber, the same as those worn by Malahide Cricket Club and Malahide Yacht Club.

manage. This has led to a number of cuts being made to the academy panel that is selected.

It is expected that the Malahide academy will continue to thrive, though, as commitment to training, the proper attitude, willingness to improve, fitness and punctuality are all seen as key in terms of progression within this year’s academy.

On the pitch, Malahide have had a difficult start to their Division 2A campaign, as they lost out to Kilkenny in their first encounter of the season, 19-12. However, their second team did give the whole club at lift towards the end of September when they qualified for the final of the Jim Byrne Cup with a terrific 28-8 success over CYM.

They are a club that is eager to build toward the future, and with that in mind they are currently in the process of bringing ladies rugby to the area of Malahide. Under the guidance of Arthur Griffin, the Malahide ladies side took their first tentative step towards this goal with their first training session on Wednesday October 9th.

Malahide had shown excellent tenacity in defence early on in this contest, as two tries from Carl Tighe and David Kiernan, as well as a brace of conversions from Shane Breen, gave the north Dublin men a 14-3 interval lead.

This is an idea that has garnered plenty of interest in the club in recent times, and has the potential to be a very worthwhile venture for Malahide.

Griffin has plenty of experience in this regard, as he has coached and coordinated the senior ladies team in Thurles RFC in the past.

CYM did cause Malahide problems during the second period, but the Estuary Road brigade were able to step up to the mark when required, and further tries from Kiernan and Anthony Colbert gave them a comfortable victory in the end.

Those interested in playing for this team, as well as those who would like lend a helping hand, can contact Arthur at arthur. lg.griffin@gmail.com or by phone on 0851532600.

This win means that Malahide have two senior final appearances to look forward to this season, as the first team have already qualified for the Spencer Cup final, so there is a major possibility that silverware may be coming to Malahide in the near future.

Academy training has also been underway for the past month in Malahide, which combines gym work with Richy Forbes and field work, which focuses primarily on skills and fitness. The addition of a number of new academy players has led to the player/coaching ratio becoming much more difficult to

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MALAHIDE RFC: History Malahide Rugby Football Club was founded in 1922 with Lord Talbot of Malahide becoming the first patron of the club. When the club was formed, two teams represented Malahide in the League and Cup competitions within the Leinster branch of the IRFU with the games taking place in the grounds on Malahide Castle.

For twenty two years Malahide operated successfully, until 1944 when the club was forced to disband. The outbreak of World War II, a fall in the number of members and a lack of local support forced an Extraordinary General Meeting to be called. The meeting, which was presided over by Dr. H. Micheal, came to the conclusion that the best course of action was to shut the club down.

The club remained closed until 1978. Two pitches were rented back in the grounds of Malahide Castle, until the club purchased their own land in 1988, with a new club house and pitch opened in 1992.

Malahide have continued to progress on and off the pitch and with a brand new clubhouse opened in the last number of years and are currently pushing for promotion to Division 1B, with captain Eamonn Gleeson captaining the senior team at the moment.

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The spirit of Malahide Community spirit and a sense of togetherness is at the heart of the Malahide RFC ethic. On and off the pitch the club is striving to make a deep and lasting impression in the local area, and no one epitomises that spirit more than Malahide club captain Eamonn Gleeson.

Gleeson (36) has always had a passion for sport.” Along with rugby I played a lot of Gaelic football growing up. The one thing that appeals to me about rugby is that is a game that suits all shapes and sizes so I fitted in well.

Since his move to Malahide, just over ten seasons ago , Gleeson has been at the heart of a lot of change at the club. Now one of the established players at the club, Gleeson, who played for Barnhall before his move to Malahide believes that the club has made huge strides in recent seasons, in part thanks to their move to their wonderful new clubhouse, a move that Gleeson feels will benefit the club for many seasons to come.

“This is a club that is progressing massively. We have made tremendous steps since we moved to our new clubhouse and with this team is a new level of expectation. We have been able to attract a new level of player, ex AIL players, overseas players and add that to the coaching level that we have got in over the

last four or five years and it has allowed us to progress and get promotion for the first time since the mid 1990’s. This season we are going to be pushing hard to get promotion into Division 1B.” While Malahide will be pushing hard for promotion, Gleeson is all too aware that getting enough players up to training and having the numbers for full training sessions is one of the harder aspects of the game, however he has nothing but praise for the attitude of each of the senior squad, citing their honesty and commitment to the Malahide cause as one of the best aspects of the club.

“There is a good bond and a good structure to the club. We have about 50 senior players up here on a Thursday night and even though there might be a bit of an age gap between some of the more senior lads in the squad and the young guys we are a close knit team, be it travelling to games together or going for a drink, we have a good bond and we feel that having that kind of bond will breed success.”

That success on the pitch has gone hand in hand with Gleeson’s time at the club.

When he joined, Malahide were playing in the Metro League, and for a club that won back to back Leinster titles back in the mid 1990’s a return to the big time is very much welcomed. The rate of progression that Gleeson has seen over the last decade

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hasn’t taken him by surprise “When I joined, the club were playing in the Metro league. Since the decision was taken to go back into the Leinster leagues in 2005, the progression has been remarkable.

“There is a lot more emphasis on fitness. We have a brilliant gym facility here which is in use all the time. Having such a facility here has given us the opportunity to develop training programmes for players on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, so the way that people view what they do has become a lot more professional, and with the effort that people are putting in the players can see that success is there for them if they want to work for it.”

The success on the pitch is not only building a bright future for the team but it also helps bring in much needed revenue to the club. “I think we are only finding out now how to use the club properly. When we moved from our old base we perhaps had brought a small minded mentality. If we have success on the pitch then we have success off the pitch. If we are doing well then we will have more people at the game, more people spending in the bars and in the clubhouse. For the majority of clubs, revenue drives the club. If we have the revenue then we can feed that money into the team”.

Like many clubs throughout the county, Malahide is not just looking for instant success on and off the pitch, but as Gleeson explains Malahide is looking to put down a lasting legacy in the community and develop a winning culture within the club.

“That is a big focus for us”, he says. “There was a bit of a buzz around the club when we won Division 2B of the Leinster League , which was the first time that we had won a league for the first time in about fifteen years. Along with that success, our seconds team have won their league for the last three seasons, so there is huge competition within in the club, and once young players see that competition in a club and the success it breeds, then they are more likely to stay and try to share in that success. We don’t just have the fifteen lads that are out on the pitch competing, but the guts of fifty people training and looking to get onto the various teams”.

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While he always took a leadership role on the pitch even when he was not captain, Gleeson always fancied having the captains armband, although he admits that “I didn’t envision that I would be doing it for this long.” His role not only takes in what happens on the pitch but activities that happen off the field, a task that he takes very seriously.

“I like to lead by example, on and off the pitch. There are three or four guys that I would delegate to more than give orders to. Be it from a fundraising point of view or if anything needs to be done around the club. We are trying to develop a team of leaders here. The club has massively progressed and I think we have enough players here now that they can take it on by being here every Tuesday and Thursday, being here for every club event, and turning up for everything. That strong work ethic is driven by our coach Richard Evans. Richard has been tremendous since he came on board and has had an influential effect on how we do things both on and off the pitch”.

While Gleeson may be entering the last few seasons of his playing career, when asked to nominate a player that could be one of the stars of the future, he has no hesitation in mentioning one name.

“Cillian Sweeny. He is in on e of the Leinster’ squads and he has been involved with the Leinster team all summer and we want to bring him through slowly. Hopefully he sees the success that we are having and hopefully will have in the future. Along with Cillian we have the likes of Eoin Crowley, he plays back row, and like Cillian has progressed well, and at his young age (22) he has become one of the leaders on the pitch. These players along with Darren Morrin, Aaron OToole, Neil OKeefe and Luke Murphy are players that are going to be important to the future of this club”.

Talking with Gleeson you feel that not only is Malahide well placed for success in the short term, but the long term future of the club, on and off the pitch, is well set to continue. For many seasons to come.

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NAVAN RFC NEWS RESULTS STATS ProfileS

A history...

Navan Rugby Football Club was founded in 1925 with their first base the Navan Showgrounds, which was rented from the Meath Agricultural Society. The grounds were also shared with Navan Cricket Club as cricket was a bigger sport at the time.

In 1929 the first boys team was established, where the fee to play was two shillings. However there were some players that found a novel way of avoiding paying their fee by scaling the walls of the Showgrounds. In the process of not paying their subs the players who jumped the walls also damaged the shed roofs in the process.

They won their first Senior trophy in 1930 after the Leinster Junior League was split into ‘zones’ five seasons previously. The Leinster league was split into two zones, the metropolitan zone, which was for teams within an 18 mile radius of the GPO in Dublin, while the rest of the surrounding areas were divided into the ‘Provincial Towns Cup’.

Navan defeated Cavan and Longford in the first rounds of the competition and beat Balbriggan in the final.

Navan faced a threat to their identity in 1956 when Ambrose Cassells proposed forming a Meath Rugby Football Association. While the association had very limited success, they won three games in the 1956/7 season, Navan continued to operate as a lone entity, not only continuing but progressing and developing as the years have passed.

The list of silverware that Navan has accumulated over the years has been very impressive. They have enjoyed particular success in the Provincial Towns Cup, and in particular in the McGowan Cup having won that competition a hugely impressive seventeen times.

Navan are currently playing in Division 2B of the Ulster Bank League and have made a solid start to the season, competing at the top of the table with the likes of Boyne RFC, Suttonians RFC and Naas RFC.

THE SEASON SO FAR...

Playing out of Balreask Old on the Dublin Road, Navan are a club with a fine tradition in Irish rugby. They have made a fine start to their 2012/2013 campaign in Division 2B with victories over Sligo and Instonians, with scorelines of 27-12 and 27-14 respectively. Having shown good periods of form in the league last year, the Meath men will be hoping to push on even further during this term.

club honours •

The profile of Navan is increasing all the time, and they have been helped recently by the inclusion of a number of their players at various levels for Leinster’s underage interprovincial sides. From the Leinster U18 Club outfit that recently participated in the interprovincial series against Ulster, Connacht and Munster, Navan had Robert Bourke, Sean Healey and Harry Hester in training as part of the squad.

• • •

Leinster U18 Schools were triumphant in their own Interprovincial series recently, and they had Navan’s Fergal Cleary as part of their team. In their opening two victories against Ulster (68-5) and Munster (34-12), Cleary crossed the whitewash on a total of three occasions.

• • • • • •

The Leinster U19s also featured a couple of Navan’s finest young talents, as Brian Cunningham and Stephen Keelan were in training with the squad while they prepared for their Interprovincial matches against Munster and Ulster, which concluded at the end of the month with a play-off in the home of Navan’s nearest rivals, Ashbourne RFC. The Leinster U20s also looked to Navan for their recent Inteprovincial clash with Munster, when both Liam Burke and Max McFarland (no stranger to the big occasion from his time as a senior cup winner with Clongowes Wood College) lined out against the Red Army in Donnybrook.

One of Navan’s biggest games of the season is on the horizon, as they are set to welcome Boyne for a ‘Friday Night Lights’ extravaganza in Balreask Old on October 26th. It is always a massive occasion when Navan face their North Leinster rivals, and this promises to be no different.

Indeed, this fixture comes just one month from a very special event involving both teams, which took place in Shamrock Lodge (Boyne’s home ground). Taking place on Saturday September 22nd, Navan and Boyne came together for a Bru na Boinne Rugby Day. Kicking off a 10am, and finishing up at 7pm, this event saw all the adult, youth and mini teams from the two clubs participating in one action-packed tournament. In the senior game of the day, it was Navan who came out on top with 12 points to spare (34-22), which may well be a good omen ahead of their highly anticipated league clash.

Aside from this mouth-watering prospect, the fixtures are starting to come thick and fast for Navan, and another titanic battle will be in store on November 3rd when they make the journey to Forenaughts to face Naas. After, that they will be on their home patch on November 17th, when Limerick outfit Thomond will be the visitors.

• • • • • • • • •

All-Ireland Provincial League Championship Round-Robin: 2009 All-Ireland Junior Cup: 2008 Leinster League Div 1: 2001, 2009 Provincial Towns Cup: 1964, 1966, 1968, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008 Provincial Towns Plate: 1963, 1967, 1987 Provincial 2nd’s League: 1963, 2008 Provincial 2nd’s Plate: 1999 Anderson 3rd’s Cup: 1985, 1987 Oval Cup: 1968 McGowan Cup: 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1981, 1988, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Ladies All-Ireland League Div 3: 2003 Harry Gale U20 Cup: 1980, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1996, 2007 McGee Cup: 1972, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1992, 1993 Housdon Trophy, Enniskillen: 1972 Jenkinson Cup: 1976, 1983, 1986, 1996, 2001 Kettle Cup: 1985, 1986, 1995, 1996, 2001 Presidents Plaque: 1988, 1991 Michael Dunne Cup: 1997 Sleepers Cup: 1997, 1999

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SKERRIES RFC NEWS RESULTS STATS ProfileS Defining Skerries President Celsus Toye in one word is not difficult. Gregarious.

strengthened in the key positions where we needed to.

There are a lot of other words that could be thrown in, outgoing, talkative, genuine, and none of them would be too far off the mark either.

“John Murphy, who way way back was one of the very first IRFU development officers is our head coach and he is extremely intense about his rugby, Chris Keane who brings a huge amount of experience from his time with both Connacht and Leinster is his assistant, and while consolidation in AIL 2B is the aim, promotion is certainly on my radar if nobody elses.”.

But what really defines Toye is his passion for rugby, a passion stirred but not shaken from his time at Newbridge College over forty years ago.

Toye was on a Newbridge side that won the Schools Cup in 1970 a team that contained future Irish outhalf Mick Quinn, and a side that hasn’t as he recalls, been emulated since.

“They haven’t won since, that’s true, it was a great team to be on, especially for soembody like myself who had a mainly GAA background up to that.

“I am from Carlow, and I played for three seasons on the county minor team with them, and my rugby really started when I arrived in Newbridge for first year.

“I actually believe that a half decent GAA player can make it into a good rugby player, the GAA teaches the basics of catching, kicking and spatial awareness, all of which are essential in our own game”.

But having developed a liking for rugby the game was to turn into a life long passion for Cel, who was surely the original Toye boy !!!

“When I finished in Newbridge I went to do dentistry in UCD and actually signed up for the Freshers team, but on atrip home to Carlow I played a match for the local club and without really meaning to ended up their for four brilliant years.

“I was fortunate enough to get on to a junior interpro side and it was through that I bumped into the lads from Skerries, started singing a few songs with them, and was kind of co erced into arriving into the town in 1975, and I’m still here”.

Toye had over a decade of a playing career with the Holmpatrick side, “We were a good side, but being honest we wouldn’t hold a candle to the current crew”, before going into a coaching role, that while successful he soon established was not for him.

“I won an ‘A’ competition with Skerries CC but really those lads had been so well coached by the club all I had to do was get them thinking about the game on match day, I loved coaching in some ways, but I wasn’t a great coach.

“It is something that has to be in your very nature and I knew fairly quickly it wasn’t a route I wanted to go down.

“I won a Towns Cup as outhalf for the club in 1979, irnoically the final was against my old team Carlow, and I had the honour of playing with Jim Glennon.

“Jim had a huge influence on the club around that time, I always felt he was a bit unlucky and should have got more than the five or six caps he did, he was as a second row following on from the great Bill Mulcahy another proud Skerries man.

“The thing I liked most about playing behind Jim was his ability to communicate, whatever the tactic, whether we were going to kick the boxes or run the ball there was never any confusion, Jim called the shots and I tried to make the plays.

“Jims son Joe is the current captain of the seniors here”.

And that senior team is ready for lift off according to Toye.

“We got promoted from the jumior ranks last season, we had spent six years down there since being relegated, and I have to say last season it was a very very tough division to get out of, and the fact that we had such a battle is one of the reasons I am optimistic we can take it to the next level this time around.

“The guys now know what it is like to have battle for a win, to really dig deep and eke outa result when things are not going so well, and that will definitely stand to them in the AIL. “We have started of fthe season well, we are in the semi finals of the Leinster Shield, with wins over Boyne, Navan and De La Salle, and critically we have

Toye accepts that the bigger clubs will always get the pick of the better players, but he also argues that the like sof the North County Dublin outfit have something that the bigger clubs can never aspire to.

“We have a real community input, this club if for the whole community and the people around here know that.

“If you take the senior side now as an example, they have come all the way through from under age, they won an All Ireland at sixteens level,their parents have become members and there is a real and genuine community atmosphere around the place “The whole under age structure is superb here, we have upwards of two hundreds kids involved from as young as seven, their parents get involved they get their coaching badges and stick with their age group all the way through.

“For smaller clubs like us it is clearly the right way to go, and it has been shown to be successful for us”.

And one man who is an integral part of that process is the club development officer Michael Woods.

“Mike doing an outsanding job, he genuinely is, he is getting into schools where previously the only time they might have seen a rugby ball is on the telly.

“Skerries CC has now had a cap put on the numbers it can take in, so the traditional influx of players we would have got from there is drying up a bit, but Mike has bene recruitiong from Lusk, Loughshinny, Balbriggan everywhere in the area, and that’s just invalueable to us”.

Toye describes himself as a “Mete and greet” type president, “The committee do the work and I am very much the face of the club”, and when he leaves office in June next year he has a clear set of goals he hopes to have achieved.

“Promotion to 2A is certainly one of them, consolidation would be brilliant, but I think this side is good enough to make the step up. We need to get our financial revenue on stream as well and if we manage both of those I will walk away satisfied.

“In the meantime I am going to enjoy my year, I said that to myself when I became President, I promised myself that no matter how tough the year was I was going to enjoy it, and I intend to do just that”.

A U T U M N

SKERRIES RFC: THE SEASON SO FAR...

Having made a much-deserved, and hard-earned, return to the Ulster Bank League, Skerries RFC find themselves on the crest of a wave at the moment. With big time senior club rugby back at Holmpatrick, confidence is high in the north county Dublin club.

This is something that they displayed in abundance during their opening couple of fixtures of 2012//2013, as they started off the season with a narrow defeat against Instonians in Shaws Bridge, where a 22-20 loss gave them a losing bonus point, their first of the campaign.

However, as it turned out, they timed the occasion for their first victory absolutely perfectly, as they overcame fellow Dubliners, Sutton, by a scoreline of 21-12, in a game that was part of the ‘Friday Night Lights’ series on Friday October 5th. This triumph was made all the more impressive by the fact that they were missing two key players from their line-up, Leinster Player of the Year Ross McAuley (the regular No. 8), as well place kicker Conal Keane, who has been a prominent member of the Old Belvedere side in recent seasons.

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Apart from the action on the field, though, there is plenty of work going on off the field for Skerries, as they recently announced their Minis “Adopt a Team initiative”. This new innovation sees two members of the Skerries senior squad adopting a minis team each, with whom they will attend training, as a well as providing more specialized training drills, which will give the younger members in the club a firm indication of what to expect further down the line.

The teams and their adopters have been announced, and they are as follows: Under 7’s: Ross McAuley and Ed Caraher Under 8’s: Kev O’Connell and Mikey Sherlock; Under 9’s: Kevin McGrath and Chris Tonge Under 10’s: Ronan Connolly and Marc Hewitt; Under 11’s: Joe Glennon and Dave Hewitt Under 12’s: Conal Keane and Rick O’Mahony With five points to their name already in Division 2B, it is clear that a huge weight has been lifted off the shoulders of Skerries, and there is less of a need for them to be looking over their shoulders now. That being said, they do have some tough encounters ahead of them, none more so than their upcoming fixture against Naas on October 27th at Holmpatrick.

It is for games like this that Skerries will be hoping to make home advantage count, and they will need all the help they can get as Naas have been in flying form early on in Division 2B. The unfamiliarity that some teams may have with Holmpatrick as a venue could work to Skerries’ benefit, as teams who are, by this stage, regulars in the Ulster Bank League may take time to adjust.

Thomond and Armagh are two such teams, and they will face Skerries during the month of November. Going by the evidence to date, they won’t find it easy against such a well-organised outfit.

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FEATURE PRODUCT

LeasePlan driving Irish Rugby LeasePlan Fleet Management is not only driving the motor industry forward in Ireland with a series of new alliances and products to the market but is also driving Irish Rugby forward through its vehicle programme for the IRFU and being the key sponsor of Skerries RFU.

LeasePlan has long been synonymous with innovation in the area of fleet management. They offer business to business products and services. LeasePlan are not the only team doing well in Ireland at the moment and with their precious banking licence it has allowed them to grow 20% year on year over the last three years.

Something they are very proud of and they continue to explore further opportunities in the market place. They pioneered Fleet Management in Ireland back in 1983 as Fleet Management Services Ltd and became part of the LeasePlan Group in 1997. Since then they have grown extensively with a fleet now in excess of 11,000 vehicles and they employ 56 people. Their client list is extensive and diverse covering all industry sectors such as Siemens, Permanent TSB, McDonalds, GlaxoSmithKline, Zurich Insurance, Diageo, Glanbia and BT Ireland to name just a few.

In addition to ensuring that LeasePlan are at the forefront of leasing and management solutions to all size fleet operators, they also take their Corporate Social Responsibility very seriously. They are involved in supporting both charities and youth development programmes.

LeasePlan Ireland’s nominated charities are the Simon Community, Welcome Home and ChildPlan. Both of these charities deal with the difficult area of homelessness and provide invaluable support and services to the individuals they work with and the wider community.

Simon Community- LeasePlan Ireland have supplied two fully expensed Hyundai i20’s to the Dublin Simon community which are used by their outreach personnel to carry out weekly visits to people who are reintegrating back into the community. These vehicles have had a very positive impact for the personnel as having their own transportation allow for a more structured planning of weekly meetings and improved frequency as they are no longer dependent on public transport services.

Welcome Home -LeasePlan Ireland have been a main sponsor of The Wexford Cycle for the past number of years. The Wexford Cycle which celebrated 21 years in existence in 2010, remains the most popular event on the Welcome Home calendar and is, by far, their biggest fundraiser.

In addition to being a main sponsor, LeasePlan also actively support the cycle by having their own LeasePlan Cycle Team participating, which numbered over 25 cyclists in 2012, they also provide a support crew of vans and personnel to support all the cyclists taking part in the event and ensure that they support the post cycle social events.

LeasePlan are proud to support both of these charities and to be able to make a difference to their workforce. On a global level, they raise money to support children in less privileged countries, together with the other LeasePlan companies, under the name of LeasePlan ChildPlan.

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LEASEPLAN PROUD SPONSORS OF SKERRIES RFC

In addition to supporting their nominated charities, LeasePlan Ireland sponsored and supported a number of key sporting events and hosted a special client evening in the Aviva Stadium.

As well as working with Volkswagen in providing cars to the IRFU, LeasePlan also jointly hosted a client evening attend by nearly 200 guests in the Aviva stadium where special auctions of signed Leinster jerseys and VIP trips to the Heineken Cup final were held in aid of Irish Guide dogs and The Children’s Hospital in Crumlin raising over €3,400 on the night. The special guests on the night were Roy Keane, Shane Horgan, Alan Quinlan, David Wallace and Jerry Flannery.

LeasePlan also sponsored RTE radio’s coverage of Ireland New Zealand Summer Rugby Tour in June which was covered by Michael Corcoran.

As well as radio support on the match days there is pre and post match coverage on two key radio shows Pat Kenny in mornings and Derek Mooney in afternoons LeasePlan also play a part in the premier Irish cycling event, the An Post Rás. The Rás brings elite, international competition to Ireland, every May. It is an important source of revenue, entertainment and tradition for the towns which play host each year. The Rás is steeped in history, and taps into the grassroots cycling club structure as well as local authority, Garda, local business and volunteering to create a uniquely Irish event. Since An Post took over the sponsorship of the RÁS, LeasePlan has been involved in providing vehicles for the lead cars , commissars and support personnel.

In 2011 LeasePlan became a sponsor to Skerries Rugby Football Club for the 1st’s and were delighted when the were promoted to the Leinster League Division 2B . In 2012 they extended their sponsorship further and our now the main sponsor of the Club, the 1st’s and under 19 teams. Once again as well as being a main sponsor, there is active participation in supporting the club at various matches and social events. The CEO of LeasePlan is a native of Skerries and a keen supporter of the club. LeasePlan were very proud of the club when they became the Leinster Junior champions for 2011/12.

It has been a busy and exciting year for LeasePlan and Irish rugby both teams preformed well on and off the pitch; LeasePlan attracting 150 new clients and increasing their to over 11,000 vehicles and Leinster retaining the Heineken Cup and Ireland completing in the Rugby World Cup. Both teams look forward to a rewarding 2013!

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GREYSTONES RFC NEWS RESULTS STATS ProfileS

In the great Tony Ward v Ollie Campbell debate of the mid eighties there was only ever one side that current Greystones President Hubie Gallagher was going to take.

After all he lined out alongside Ward for the Dr. Hickey Park side on countless occasions, and freely admits to benefiting from the experience.

“I was fast, as a player my pace was my best asset, and Wardy had a great knack of either finding or creating a gap in the oppositions defence, if I was on his shoulder I had every chance of a score, and I got an awful lot of tries that way.

“He was a superb player but could be a bit unpredictable.

“It’s a shame the squad rotation system wasn’t in place back then because he would have got a lot more caps than he did.

“That said the rotation system is not something i would be a fan of at club level, I mean if you do the math you can see where it puts pressure on the clubs, back in my day you had maybe five teams of fifteen players, now you have four squads with twenty two players.

“It means more players for less teams, and that does not sit right with me.

“In a lot of ways I feel the set up when I was playing was better, we would travel to away matches in club blazers and ties, now they travel in their ordinary clothes and I just feel our way was better”.

Not that Gallagher is a Luddite in any way; he embraces change and sees the future with clarity.

“Ourselves and Cork Con would have two of the biggest mini and youth rugby set ups in the country, we have over six hundred kids here every Sunday morning, it’s always been that way and last season I think all our senior team with one exception were home produced.

“The whole club is centered in the community though, I mean our clubhouse is the center for the local Girl Guides, there is Ballroom dancing held there and in the next month or so our Tag Rugby side Greystone Eagles is due to play at half time in the Leinster v Clermont Heineken Cup tie.

“For me it was never about glory when I was playing, I never won anything with the club, I joined because I had friends who were playing here and loved every minute of it.

“I remember clearly the best game I was ever involved in was against Lansdowne, it was a cup tie and they won by just one score.

“It was tough, hard and totally enjoyable, after the game everyone socialised together and it turned into a great occasion.

“For me that was what being a rugby player was all about, I played on a team that apart from Wardy had Johnny Murphy the Irish full back on it, he went to Arsenal on trial with Brady, O’Leary and Stapleton, got home sick and came back, he was some player.

“A number of us got provincial caps with Leinster, we had a good side but for me anyway it was far more about making friendships and enjoying life than winning trophies”.

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Best wishes to our next door neighbour

Navan Rugby Club From

Ardboyne Hotel Serving food all day every day, and best accommodation rates.

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However the current Greystones first XV are geared towards doing just that, although Hubie argues that they are perhaps playing in the most competitive of all AIL divisions.

“We are in 2A which is probably the toughest division going, last year on the last day of the season there were six sides in with a chance of promotion including ourselves, that tells you how tight and competitive it is.

“I was only 29 when I retired, I went to the States in 1991, stayed there for two years and then had a spell in Scotland, people did say to me that I couldn’t afford to be injured because of the nature of my job, they had a point but that never worried me when I was on the pitch.

“I went to St Gerard’s school and my roots are in Sligo, and between school and working on the farm in Sligo I was a bit late coming to rugby.

“We trained hard twice a week with Greystones back then, we paid a fiver a head for a bus and an overnight stop on away matches, and we socialised with the best of them, we had a good side but a great team spirit.

Greenfield House, Straffan Rd, We though specialise in quality andwe prestige usedReggie cars and commercial “That said with the two coaches have in place Corrigan and Niall vehicles. We stock over 120 the guys now and they do train harder than usCo.Kildare certainly in terms of their Maynooth, in experience all makesand and to offer an extensive range tolook ouratcustomers.

Woods vehicles we have the themodels motivational qualities to get us where we of options “I gym work, and they would be much betterT:advised in terms of- :nutrition and the like, mechanical 01-6286263 01-6293100 want toWe be. also have a full service workshop and do car servicing, NCT preparation, but we provide played in a different era, not necessarily better or worse just different”. repairs, body repairs and have a recovery and tow truck service.

We can also M: 087-2585890 “Reggie is a Greystones player from the start, I remember being involved with an The Greystones club has consumed much www.olympiccars.ie of Gallagher’s time, an awful lot of his Finance and Warranty for he thewas purchase of ayour used car or commercial. under 19 side that he was on and facilities you just knew going to be bit special. effort and almost all his heart and soul, and he regrets not a minute of it.

“In fairness though we were never short of big name players, apart from those I “I think it’s a great club with a great spirit in it, I go up on a Sunday morning and mentioned, Nick Popplewell, John Robbie and Paul McNaughton were all here at see all those kids being coached by highly qualified people and I know the future’s various stages. in good hands.

“We have a young enough senior side this time around but they know what is “We are seventy five years old this year, a promotion would be nice, but although I required after coming close enough to promotion last years”. don’t suppose anyone can influence things too much in just a year as President, I’m “A few players have come back to us this season, but our flanker Darragh Duggan and another decent player Dylan Fawcitt have gone to Mary’s in the top division.

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GPS systems in rugby One of the more interesting trials that will take place in Northern Hemisphere rugby this season is that, for the first time players will be formally allowed to wear GPS tracking systems on the field of play, a development that brings rugby another step forward as teams look to gain any kind of edge in the pursuit of victory.

GPS, or Global Positioning System, has been around the game of rugby for a number of years, however it is only this season that coaches will be officially allowed to reap the benefits of the technology in a match day environment.

First conceived in 1973, the GPS system has grown into such a vital tool of information for all sports , particularly in rugby, where many of the things that supporters sitting in the stand may miss, the GPS system will not. A GPS tracking device plays a number of crucial roles. Tucked into a small pocket between the shoulder blades of a jersey, the system tracks players movements from the time they step onto the field until the end of a game.

Everything that a player does on a ruby pitch the GPS system tracks and records them, from how many metres they have run over the course of 80 mins, to the impact that tackles have on their body. The benefits of having such technology will not only have short term gains from a coaches perspective but also from a research and development angle as all the data that has been gathered can be stored and a picture can start to be developed to see how, or if rugby related injuries can be avoided.

A man by the name of Chris McLellan of Bond University, in Australia, has used GPS and the information that it provides to conduct a study into the effect that injuries have on rugby league players in his native country.

He framed his study by measuring tackles and collisions against known skeletal injuries, using GPS tracking devices as his measuring tool. McLellan also took saliva and blood samples both in the lead up and after a game. Using all the data he was able to make a direct link between the chemical markers and the impact that tackles where having on players.

Having such data at hand has made a coach’s job a little bit easier as they can now tailor the needs of an individual player to get the best out of that player rather than following a generic training programme which might be doing more harm than good to a certain player. The GPS system can also play a vital role in the rehabilitation programme of an injured player. Using a tracking device a team doctor can gauge how advanced a player might be in their recovery programme, if they are ready to come back into full training, or what specific training needs they might need.

Just like the ‘Prozone’ programme, which was used to such success by Clive Woodward and his victorious England team at the Rugby World Cup, GPS systems allow a coach to have tangible information about each one of his players at his fingertips, and with rugby becoming a game where even the smallest edge can be the difference between winning and losing, having a fully, modern, GPS system is vital if a team is going to be successful. Having such a system in place not only allows you to measure your own performance but it can aid in the planning and preparation for a team’s next game.

GPSports, a company that works with the likes of the Ireland national team, along with England, Australia, every one of the Super 15 franchises, leads the way with GPS technology in sport.

With the continued advances that are been made in technology, the GPS tracking system may be one of the most important developments in modern rugby, a development that can have a substantial impact for years to come, and with the IRB allowing the use of GPS trackers on the field of play from this season onwards, the depth of knowledge that can be garnered from them is sure to grow and grow.

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PROFILE PLAYER ROB KEARNEY

STATS DOB: Birthplace: Height: Weight: Position: club: Honours:

26th MarCH 1986 DUBLIN, Ireland 1.85m (6’ 1”) 95kg (15st 0lb) Wing/Full Back ucd rfc 41 caps for Ireland

At only 26 years of age Rob Kearney has packed a lot in to what has been a hugely successful rugby career thus far. A Grand Slam winner, a two time Heineken Cup winner, a standout player in the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa and the 2012 ERC European Player of the Year. Not a bad start to date.

A native of Louth, Kearney, whose younger brother Dave is also making a name for himself at Leinster, has become a genuine world class full back over the course of the last number of years. His aerial ability allied with a devastating left foot has lifted him to where he is now considered one of the top full backs in world rugby.

Having played for Clongowes as a schoolboy, Kearney, who also captained the Irish U-19’s five times in his fledging career, first came to the notice of Leinster supporter as a prodigious 19 year old when he marked his debut for the province against the Ospreys , in 2005, with a try. He would close that season with two further tries with his displays marking him down as a bone fide star of the future.

Thanks to his own natural talent, and with Girvan Dempsey away on Ireland duty, Kearney seized his opportunity at Leinster over the next two seasons helping them to Magners League success in 2008. His contribution to that victorious campaign didn’t go unnoticed by the Eddie O’Sullivan and the Irish management setup and Kearney was soon brought into the senior panel, winning his first cap in the summer of 2008 against Argentina.

His star continued to rise as he played an important role in helping Ireland land their first Grand Slam in 61 years when they defeated Wales back in 2009. Kearney also played a huge part in helping Leinster reach their own holy grail, the Heineken Cup in the same year, coming on as a late substitute against Leicester Tigers having missed the semi-final in Croke Park against Munster with a bout of the mumps.

That season also saw Kearney gain further international exposure when he starred for the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. Despite losing the series 2-1, it was generally agreed that Kearney was one of the players of the tour. The warm conditions in South Africa suited Kearney’s attack minded game and his awesome kicking and fielding ability saw him many admirers on that particular tour.

It looked as if nothing could go wrong for Kearney. That all changed in 2010 however, when he badly damaged his knee during a Guinness Autumn International game against New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium. The injury was so serious that he missed the whole of Ireland’s Six Nations campaign along with Leinster’s second Heineken Cup win in three seasons.

All the doubters were silenced however when Kearney showed against Australia in the pool stages of the World Cup that he had lost none of his sparkle and razzle dazzle as he once again ruled the sky in a dominant display of fielding and attacking prowess. That World Cup put to rest any doubts over Kearney’s future and when he returned from New Zealand he set about claiming back his no 15 jersey at Leinster.

The 2011-12 season will go down as a defining one in the career of Rob Kearney.

Having won his battle with his troublesome knee injury, Kearney reinvented himself at Leinster with a number of match winning performances as Leinster marched their way to yet another Heineken Cup win. Kearney scored a crucial try against the Glasgow Warriors in the pool stages along with two beautifully taken tries against the Cardiff Blues in the quarter finals at the Aviva Stadium. The one performance that really stood out however was his man of the match performance in Leinster’s semi-final clash with Clermont in the south of France in the middle of May. That day Leinster were stretched right to their breaking point as Clermont threw everything at them, yet it was the cool headed performance of Rob Kearney that stood out, along with his majestic winning drop goal that could be viewed time and time again. That display in the white hot intensity of a Heineken Cup semi-final showed that when Rob Kearney is on form there are few teams in the world that can handle him.

Along with another Heineken Cup winner’s medal, Kearney also received the highest individual accolade a player can received when he joined Sean O’Brien in becoming the second Leinster player to receive the ERC Player of the Year for 2012. That nod from the rest of the European rugby community bookended a fantastic season for Kearney and one that cemented his standing as the outstanding player of the season.

The challenge for Kearney for the next few seasons will be to see if he can maintain the standards that he has set for himself over the course of the last season. He is now very much a marked man given his exploits in the Leinster and Ireland jersey over the last 12 months. With his huge natural ability Kearney has been able to adapt his game to the law changes over the last few seasons. Not only is he a potent fielder of a high ball but he has now become a clinical finisher, scoring an impressive seven tries from 16 appearances last season.

Rightly acknowledged as one of, if not the best player in the world in his position, the sky really does seem to be the limit for Rob Kearney. If granted the normal luck with injuries over the course of his career there is no reason why he cannot add to what is already an impressive CV with more success for both Leinster and Ireland.

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PROFILE PLAYER CRAIG GILROY

STATS DOB:

11th MarCH 1991

Birthplace: Belfast, N Ireland

He is one of the rising stars of Ulster and Irish rugby and at only 21 years of age Craig Gilroy is going to be a name that rugby supporters across Ireland will be hearing a lot more about in the coming seasons.

Gilroy is one of those players that quickens the pulse whenever he gets his hands on the ball. His quick feet have struck fear into the hearts of most teams in the RaboDirect Pro12 and the Heineken Cup over the last two seasons as Ulster marched towards their Heineken Cup final appearance against Leinster.

A native of Co Antrim, Gilroy combined both rugby and GAA growing up as a youngster in Holywood, a place made famous by golfer Rory McIlory. Gilroy stood out as a player of some promise in his teenage years, helping his school side, Methodist College to back to back cup victories.

When Gilroy left school his rate of progression with the Ulster Ravens and in the All Ireland League was so quick that the then Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin soon promoted him to the senior squad, a decision that would have almost immediate positive results.

Gilroy’s breakout year came during the 2010-11 season when he set Ravenhill alight with a number of high class individual performances. That season he scored eight tries from just fourteen appearances, including two tries in his debut game against the Cardiff Blues in November 2010.

His star continued to rise over the next two seasons, so much so that Declan Kidney felt justified in calling Gilroy up to a Six Nations

Height:

1.83m (6’ 0”)

Weight:

93kg (14st 9lb)

Position:

Wing

Gilroy stood out as a player of some promise in his teenage years, helping his school side, Methodist College to back to back cup victories. training camp last season along with the likes of Fionn Carr, Jack McGrath, Ian Nagle, Peter O’Mahony and Tiernan O’Halloran.

It was however his performance in the Heineken Cup quarter final against Munster in Thomond Park that really propelled Gilroy into the limelight. A wonderful performance, topped off with a brilliant solo try sealed his reputation as one of the most exciting young wingers in Ireland. Despite having been on the losing side in last season’s Heineken Cup, Gilroy enhanced his own reputation immensely with his performances in Europe for Ulster.

Having won the Ulster Young Player of the Year award in the 2011-12 season, Gilroy narrowly missed out on the IRFU young player of the year award which was given to Munster’ s Peter O’Mahony, however he did scoop the Try of the season award for that piece of individual brilliance against Munster in that Heineken Cup quarter final. He capped off a fine season with another headline grabbing performance, this time for Ireland against the Barbarians in June 2012. Despite losing the game Gilroy made a tremendous impact, scoring two tries and creating another in what was his first start for Ireland.

A winger in the mould of a Tyrone Howe, Gilroy is a player of raw and natural talent; he also has explosive pace and a keen eye for the try line. The impact that he has made at Ulster in his career to date has being highly impressive and allowing for natural progression, and if he can stay injury free, Gilroy has a long career ahead of him for both Ulster and, in time Ireland.

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LEINSTER

BLUEMAGIC

By anyone’s standards Leinster Rugby are currently enjoying a purple patch of success at the moment. Three Heineken Cup wins in four years have propelled Leinster into the same bracket, alongside Munster, Leicester and Toulouse as one of the giants of European rugby. Cast your minds back a few seasons ago and it is only then that you begin to get a sense of what is happening at Leinster right now.

In 2009 Leinster arrived to face Munster in the semi-final of the Heineken Cup. For many supporters a Leinster defeat appeared the only possible outcome at a time where the Munster team whose leading lights of Paul O’Connell, Ronan O’Gara etc were at the very height of their powers. Throw in a record number of players selected to play for the British & Irish Lions that summer in South Africa and Munster did indeed look to be the golden boys of European Rugby.

That day however, in a sun kissed Croke Park, Leinster blew away years of internal frustration and outwardly doubts about their backbone to truly come of age in the Heineken Cup as they swept away Munster with a clinical and dominating 25-6 win.

Not only did that propel Leinster into their first Heineken Cup final, a game they narrowly won against Leicester Tigers, but one could argue that it set Leinster on the path to becoming the European giant that they have become today.

Since that day Leinster have hardly looked back. They welcomed in a new coach in Joe Schmidt, who with his bland of free flowing attacking and dogged defensive rugby has taken Leinster to new heights.

Aside from a semi-final defeat to Toulouse in 2010, Leinster have won every one of their knock out games in the Heineken Cup under Schmidt’s watch.

While he may play down his role, the manner in which Schmidt has mixed the experience of the likes of the Leo Cullen’s, Brian O’Driscoll’s and the Gordon D’Arcy’s of the team with the fearless and phenomenal talent of Rob & Dave Kearney, Jamie Heaslip , Cian Healy, Sean Croin etc have made the Leinster squad into one of the most envied in Europe.

Not only have Leinster developed on the pitch but they have grown hugely off the pitch also. While some of that growth is due to new supporters joining in

the Leinster success story, the province have done an excellent job in fostering a inclusive feeling into the branch.

One of the barbs that Leinster was regularly hit with is that they were in essence a ‘Dublin 4’ team for many years. The same cannot be said now.

Leinster, through their success in Europe have now captured the attention of everyone in Leinster and they have welcome that change in the correct manner.

Now Leinster’s power and reach extends far beyond the pale. When you think that Sean O’Brien hails from Carlow and Rob Kearney from Louth, Leinster are positioned to foster and grow the next Sean O’Brien or Rob Kearney that may come from those counties.

Their success over the last number of years has also allowed Leinster to develop their very own state of the art training facility in University College Dublin. Along with the help of a private donator, Leinster now has a fully modern complex where they can train to the highest possible standards and have every need taken care of at a moment’s notice. Success on the field has allowed to grow the Leinster brand off the field with huge success.

Not many teams would average 13,000 supporters for a home game against the like of say a Benetton Treviso or a Glasgow Warriors. Without doing a disservice to those teams, they would not quite have the pulling power of a Toulouse, Clermont or Munster would have, so to have a hardcore, loyal and dedicated group of supporters speaks volumes for the impact that Leinster have made over the last number of years.

Without wanting to overstate the fact, one can’t help but wonder just what would have happened had Leinster lost that 2009 semi-final to Munster. Would have they ever fully from the mental scars? Would we still be talking about Leinster as the ‘nearly’ team in European rugby.

We will never know the answer. What we do now is that Leinster are, without a shadow of a doubt, the number one provincial team in Ireland and with the conveyer belt of talent that is coming through the ranks Leinster look set to sit atop Irish and European rugby for the foreseeable future.

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LEINSTER LEGENDS One of players that was there through the barren times of Leinster Rugby, nobody could argue that Shane Horgan didn’t deserve the two Heineken Cup medals he won in 2009 and 2011.

A native of Co Meath, Shane Horgan not only stood out for his height on the rugby pitch but also for his remarkable athleticism and snipers eye for the try line in career that spanned over a decade at the highest level.

When Horgan made his debut for Leinster in 1998, it was a world away from the Leinster that cast a long and deep shadow of the European rugby scene. Leinster rugby and indeed Irish rugby were both still adapting to professionalism yet Horgan stood out even then. So much so that in the year 2000 he would win his first cap for Ireland against Scotland in the Six Nations Championship.

Like many sports people Horgan did not escape trouble off the pitch.

In the year before he won his first cap for Ireland, Horgan admitted to assaulting a nightclub bouncer in Galway which threatened to derail his career before it really got going.

Thankfully Horgan was able to put that episode behind him and his provincial and International career flourished as a result.

Perhaps the best moments that Horgan will be remembered for is his all-out stretch to ground the ball against England in Twickenham in 2006 which gave Ireland their second Triple Crown in three years and the following year in 2007 with his GAA like style catch from Ronan O’Gara’s cross field kick in that historic game against England in Croke Park.

For all his international success Horgan remained a vital part of the Leinster set up as they looked to break their duck in the Heineken Cup. He played with some of the best players of this generation including the likes of Brian O’Driscoll, Gordon D’Arcy, Denis Hickie and Felipe Contepomi.

‘Shaggy’ as he was known by one and all in the rugby world remained at Leinster until March of this year when he was forced to retire after a fighting a long battle with a persistent knee injury. He may be retired but the memories and the contribution that he gave to Leinster rugby over the last decade will not be forgotten.

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LEINSTER

LEINSTER DUO REACH HISTORIC MILESTONES Leinster and Ireland stars Jamie Heaslip and Cian Healy celebrated significant milestones in their careers in the last number of weeks as they earned their 150th and 100th caps for Leinster Rugby respectively.

Cian Healy:

Heaslip reached 150 not out for Leinster when he captained Leinster to a narrow win against Munster in the Aviva Stadium at the beginning of this month. Healy got his ton up when he played against the Exeter Chiefs in the opening round of the Heineken Cup in the middle of October.

• School: Belvedere College SJ • Leinster ‘A’ Cap: 1 (v Munster) • Ireland ‘A’ Caps: 8 (v England x 3, USA, Argentina, Scotland, Canada, Georgia) • Ireland Under-20 Caps: 4 (v France, England, Scotland, Italy)

Having made his debut in the spring of 2005 for Leinster, Heaslip has become an integral part of the provinces success over the last number of seasons. He scored a try in the 2009 final against the Leicester Tigers, helping Leinster to their first ever Heineken Cup victory. The No 8 also played a huge role in Leinster’s victories against Northampton in 2011, and Ulster last season.

Along with a distinguished provincial career, Heaslip has also had a decorative international career to date. Heaslip has been a pivotal player for Ireland since he was handed his first cap by Eddie O’Sullivan in 2006 against the Pacific Islanders.

He scored two memorable tries in 2009, against France and Scotland, as Ireland won their first Grand Slam in 61 years. He also won three test caps for the British & Irish Lions in 2009, when they narrowly lost the three test series 2-1.

At only 25 years of age, Cian Healy has clocked up his 100th cap in impressively quick time. The Clontarf RFC man made his debut as a replacement for Reggie Corrigan against Border Rovers in the final game of the 2006/07 season.

Since then Healy has ascended through the ranks to become the premier loose head forward for Leinster and Ireland. He started all three of Leinster’s Heineken Cup finals against Leicester, Northampton and Ulster. His crucial second half try against Clermont Auvergne in the semi-final of last year’s Heineken Cup proved to be the difference between the two sides on the day.

Healy made his international debut against Australia in 2009 and has since become a vital cog in Declan Kidney’s front row machine. His standout performance for Ireland thus far came when he delivered a man of the match performance against Australia in the pool stages of the 2011 Rugby World Cup as he helped Ireland defeat the Wallabies 16-6 in Eden Park.

*Member of 2007 Ireland Under-20 Grand Slam winning squad

• Leinster Under-20 Caps: 4 (v Munster, Ulster x2, Connacht 2006 - 3 tries) • Ireland Under-19 Caps: 7 • Ireland Under-19 ‘A’ Caps: 1 • Leinster Under-19 Schools Caps: 4 • Ireland Schools Caps: 3 • Leinster Schools Caps: 4

Jamie Heaslip: • • • • • • • • •

School: Newbridge College Lions Tourist: 2009 (South Africa) British & Irish Lions Caps: 3 Ireland ‘A’ Caps: 6 (v France, England, USA, NZ Maori, England, Australia) Ireland Under-21 Caps: 11 Ireland Under-19 Caps: 5 Ireland Schools Caps: 1 Leinster Under-21 Caps: 10 Leinster Schools Caps: 9 (tour to Argentina in August 2001 he played in all five games)

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Ravenhill has a whole host of hospitality options to meet the needs of any rugby fan. Premium seats, members lounge access, 3 course buffet, drinks packages, and a chance to meet the players. We also can offer the best seats in the ground at the best prices so that you won’t miss a minute of the action.

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NEWS & FIXTURES

IRFU Charitable Trust to stage benefit night The IRFU Charitable trust is to stage a ‘behind the mask’ night on Friday October 26th at the elegant surroundings of the Gibson Hotel at 8pm to raise funds for the continued support and aid that the charity gives to its members.

Super Scrum set to revolutionise training Superscrum is a revolutionary new Irish scrum machine that will significantly enhance your team’s performance. Invented by a former player who suffered a serious neck injury when a scrum collapsed, it is endorsed by former Irish International Player, Reggie Corrigan. The patent protected SuperScrum™ machine provides safer and vastly better opportunities to improve players scrum techniques and fitness levels to all ages and at all levels in the game.

The SuperScrum™ is supremely versatile and brings rapid results in such areas as developing neck, shoulder, leg and core muscles. Improving scrummaging techniques and improving safety levels during training and match play.

“While recovering from a serious neck injury, (cracked C4 and disc out between C4 & C5) I realised that there was nothing out there to help with the technicalities of scrummaging so I decided to develop this new machine.

“Your average 8 man machine is great for drilling and timing. Everyone that has used the “Superscrum one man” to date agrees that it really feels like you have been in a scrum and that was the effect I was going for. This is excellent for a number of reasons.”

It gives the opportunity for inexperienced players to be coached on a 1 to 1 basis in a safe manner. While experienced players using the programme can have a programme tailored to suit their individual requirements with a twenty minute programme that would normally take three hours to complete in a gym.

The Superscrum machine also gives coaches a chance to tweak even the most experienced player’s bad habits, while it is also an excellent tool for younger players to be taught the correct body position at scrum time.

Superscrum rugby is a company based in Navan Co. Meath. All of our equipment is manufactured in Ireland to the highest international standards. We are the only Irish company totally dedicated to serving the Irish Rugby Community. In addition, we can also supply all your rugby equipment needs, including tackle bags, post pads, and tackle suits.

Superscrum rugby’s maintenance division is looking to make life simpler for clubs and offers a commitment to excellent customer service. We repair and service all of your broken or damaged equipment. We come to you and take away the headaches. To date we have fixed several scrummaging machines and in excess of 100 tackle bags and rucking shields on site saving a great deal of time and money.

Superscrum rugby wants to help make the running of your club easier so you can concentrate on the more important matter of actually playing rugby.

On what promises to be a wonderful evening’s entertainment, guests will be treated to free Prosecco on arrival before a night of music, mystery and performances all taking place in the Gibson’s stylish Stratocaster Suite.

The evening, which will have a cocktail dress code, will provide much needed funds as the IRFU continue to look after members who have suffered life altering injuries during their playing days. Nights like these play a vital role in helping the charity continue their vital work.

Started in 1978, the IRFU Charitable trust provides help and support to 33 members that are registered with the trust; most of whom are confined to wheelchairs or who suffer from some sort of permanent paralysis and helps those members with their day to day needs along with helping them restore their confidence after their respective injuries.

The charity currently has an average years running cost of about €200,000, with the costs split between the IRFU, who provided direct grants to the trust and various sponsorship campaigns, like sponsored walks to coincide with the British & Irish Lions tour and the Rugby World Cup along with the likes of golf tournaments, sports quizzes and gala dinners that take place on the eve of a Six Nations championship match.

All the grants that the charity receives, along with the various fundraising activities, go toward providing financial assistance for medical, nursing and caring expenses, home alterations, education and training costs, provision of wheelchairs and specialised equipment together with motor vehicles and vehicle conversion costs. Along with providing help day to day for its injured members, the trust also stays in regular contact with the injured party and their family on a constant basis.

The day to day affairs of the Trust are administered by a sub-committee which is currently made of up of John Callaghan (Chairman), Cliff Beirne, Ollie Campbell, Nicholas Comyn, Billy Dawson, John Doherty, Gerry Drennan, Joe Gallagher, Leo Galvin, Stan Huey, Paddy Madigan, Keith Mangan, Pat O’Connor, Dr. Noel O’Mahony, Mick Quinn and Michael Whelan.

Tickets for the black tie event cost €50 and can be purchased through the IRFU on line or by contacting Tish - tishocnash@gmail.com or Shauna shaunacullen@yahoo.co.uk. All funds that are raised through ticket sales and on the night will go directly to the IRFU Charitable Trust.

Time and venue: Friday October 26th 8pm, the Gibson Hotel, the Point Village, Dublin 1 Dress code: Cocktail dress The IRFU Charitable Trust is registered as a charity in the Republic of Ireland under Charity Reference CHY6120. In Northern Ireland the charity has a Registered Charity number XR87763 and is registered as the IRFU Charitable Trust (Northern Ireland) to take advantage of Gift Aid tax concessions.

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NEWS & FIXTURES

get your ‘TEeNAGE KICKS’ at railway union Railway Union RFC have launched their four-day ‘Teenage Kicks’ Halloween rugby camp for girls which will run from October 30th to November 2nd at Railway’s grounds in Park Avenue in Sandymount.

The camp, which is sponsored by Blindfaith Productions is aimed at girls born from 1995 to 2001 and will run from 9.30am to 1pm each day. The camp will be focused on skills development (including handling, evasion and decision making), general movement, game awareness, and technical skills. All the rugby will be touch or ‘soft contact’ rugby and will focus on rugby 7’s skills. The reasoning behind this is that all the participants will be able to enjoy themselves in a safe and controlled environment.

Speaking at the launch, Railway’s Director of Women’s Rugby and former Leinster player, Shirley Corcoran, said that such a camp is an ideal opportunity for girls to become involved in the sport of rugby.

“This camp is an ideal opportunity for girls to try rugby in a fun and enjoyable environment,” said Corcoran. “Rugby is an excellent sport for girls and has an emphasis on fitness, skills, agility and speed.

There are huge opportunities for talented girls to advance quickly in the sport, especially with rugby 7’s in the Olympics in Rio 2016. ” Railway’s Director of Rugby, John Cronin, agrees saying that the potential upside for girls was huge. “In four years time and every four years from then, there will be fifteen Katie Taylors playing rugby for Ireland at the Olympics, not to discount the opportunities for girls to play for Leinster or Ireland. Many of the girls who will achieve in this sport will have never played it up to now and will be ‘crossover athletes’ who play other sports. Some girls will find they have a unique talent for rugby and will excel at the game.

“The camp will be run by Meddy Baker and Matt Brown. Meddy has played representative rugby for New Zealand at 15’s and 7’s, and she has won the World Cup at rugby league, as well as winning six Hong Kong 7’s titles. Matt, as well as being Railway’s U21 coach, coaches the Wild Geese, Ireland’s premier men’s 7’s side and is a regular on the international 7s circuit.”

Along with fantastic coaching there will also be special guest sessions and visits from Fiona Coghlan, the inspirational Irish Women’s captain and some of her Irish teammates, and by members of the Leinster Senior Men’s team. Leinster Women’s Development Officer Jennie Bagnall will also be in attendance.

WOMEN’S Fixtures: October/November 2012 Date

Time

Div

Fixture

Venue

13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00

Div 1 Div 1 Div 1 Div 1 Div 1 Div 1 Div 1 Div 1 Div 1 Div 1 Div 1 Div 1

Cooke v Old Belvedere Galwegians v St. Mary’s Highfield v Tralee U.L. Bohemian v Blackrock Blackrock v Cooke Old Belvedere v Galwegians St. Mary’s v Highfield U.L. Bohemian v Tralee Cooke v U.L. Bohemian Galwegians v Blackrock Highfield v Old Belvedere Tralee v St. Mary’s

Shaw’s Bridge Crowley Park Woodleigh Park Anacotty Stradbrook Anglesea Road Templeville Road Anacotty Shaw’s Bridge Crowley Park Woodleigh Park O’Dowd Park

13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00

Div 2 Div 2 Div 2 Div 2 Div 2 Div 2 Div 2 Div 2 Div 2

Galbally v Nenagh Ormond Portlaoise RFC v New Ross Shannon v Young Munster Ballincollig RFC v Portlaoise RFC Nenagh Ormond v Shannon New Ross v Galbally Galbally v Ballincollig RFC Shannon v New Ross Young Munster v Nenagh Ormond

Galbally Togher Annacotty Tanner Park New Ormond Park Southknock Galbally Annacotty Tom Clifford Park

13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:00

Div 2 Div 2 Div 2 Div 2 Div 2 Div 2 Div 2 Div 2 Div 2

Belfast Harlequins v Enniskillen Cavan v Garda City Of Derry v Queens University Enniskillen v City Of Derry Navan RFC v Belfast Harlequin Queens University v Cavan Cavan v Enniskillen City Of Derry v Navan RFC Garda v Queens University

Deramore Park Swellan Park Judge’s Road Mullaghmeen Balreask Old Dub Lane Swellan Park Judge’s Road Westmanstown

NOVEMBER 2012 Division 1 Sun 4th Nov 12 Sun 4th Nov 12 Sun 4th Nov 12 Sun 4th Nov 12 Sun 11th Nov 12 Sun 11th Nov 12 Sun 11th Nov 12 Sun 11th Nov 12 Sun 18th Nov 12 Sun 18th Nov 12 Sun 18th Nov 12 Sun 18th Nov 12

Division 2 Sun 4th Nov 12 Sun 4th Nov 12 Sun 4th Nov 12 Sun 11th Nov 12 Sun 11th Nov 12 Sun 11th Nov 12 Sun 18th Nov 12 Sun 18th Nov 12 Sun 18th Nov 12

Division 2 Sun 4th Nov 12 Sun 4th Nov 12 Sun 4th Nov 12 Sun 11th Nov 12 Sun 11th Nov 12 Sun 11th Nov 12 Sun 18th Nov 12 Sun 18th Nov 12 Sun 18th Nov 12

Duff & McMullen Schools Cup Draws Duff Cup

McMullen Cup

Round 1: (12th November)

Round 1: (14th November)

Templeogue College v Good Counsel New Ross

Ard Scoil na Trionóide v CBS Naas

Gorey CS v St. Fintan’s Sutton

St Columba’s College v Mount Temple School

Details:

Tullow CS v St. Patrick’s Classical School Navan

Day Camp for players born from 1995 to 2001

Mount Temple School v De La Salle Churchtown

Date: Tuesday 30th, Wednesday 31st October, Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd November

St. Columba’s College v CBS Naas

Time: 9.30am to 1pm each day, with registration at 9:00am each morning

Round 2: (19th November)

Newpark Comp School v Ard Scoil na Trionóide

Gorey CS v St. Patrick’s Classical School

Round 2: (21st November) Ard Scoil na Trionóide/CBS Naas v St Conleth’s College St. Paul’s College v Sandford Park School

St. Conleth’s Clg v Templeogue Clg/Good Counsel

Wilson’s Hospital School v Q.1.

Venue: Railway Union RFC, Park Avenue, Sandymount

Marian College v East Glendalough School

Tullow CS v East Glendalough School

Cost: €60 (discounts second/third girl from same family)

Gorey CS/St. Fintan’s Sutton v St. Paul’s College

St. Columba’s/Mount Temple School v St. Fintan’s Sutton

Tullow CS/St. Patrick’s Navan v Skerries CC

Ashbourne CS v St Finians

For further details email womensrugby@railwayunionrfc.com or go to www.railwayunionrfc.com/girlshalloweenrugbycamp Places are limited, so early booking advised. Refreshment packs and camp t-shirts will be provided

Sandford Park School v Q.2.

Ashbourne CS v Q.1.

Mount Temple/De La Salle C’town v Wilson’s Hsptl School

Quarter Finals: (26th November)

Q.2. v St. Mel’s College Longford Gorey CS/St. Patrick’s Classical School Navan v Moyne CS Rounds 1 & 2: The School first out of the draw will have home advantage

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ULSTER BANK LEAGUE

Explosive start to League After a five-month break, the Ulster Bank League made its much-anticipated return at the end of September, and it is Lansdowne and Young Munster who will be the happiest of the teams in the top-flight as we move into the third round of fixture on October 26/27.

Though Garryowen have made a positive start with two wins from two against Dolphin and Clontarf, they currently find themselves on eight points, one point behind the aforementioned Lansdowne and Young Munster, who have both registered bonus point victories in the opening stages.

Lansdowne got underway on the first day of the new campaign with a visit to Anglesea Road and Old Belvedere as part of the now firmly-established ‘Friday Night Lights’ series. In a tight encounter, a 17th minute try from winger Cian Aherne, and the unerring accuracy of out-half Craig Ronaldson (who recently enjoyed a trial with Bath), proved crucial, and Lansdowne held out for 16-9 victory, though three penalties from Josh Glynn did at least ensure that the hosts came away with a losing bonus point.

They had things slightly more comfortable in their first home encounter of the season, as a brace of tries from pacy winger Matt Healy, and a five-pointer each from Charlie Butterworth, Sean Carey, Ross McCarron and John Coleman, saw them crusing towards a 48-7 triumph over an overwhelmed Shannon.

The Limerick men were also on the end of a heavy of reversal on the league’s opening evening on September 28, when they took on Young Munster in Thomond Park, a match that was live streamed by irishrugby.ie, with the featured commentary team of Gordon Black and former Ireland star Alan Quinlan.

Having finished a respectable third in last season’s top-flight table, Young Munster were hot favourites heading into this tie, and they certainly didn’t disappoint, as tries from Mark Doyle (2), Dom Lespierre and Ger Flaherty gave the Tom Clifford Park-outfit a maximum of five points. Having finished just ahead of the bottom two in the spring with six wins from 18, Shannon will be eager to avoid falling into the same trap, and they will be looking to step up their performance levels in the coming weeks.

It is a much different scenario for their Treaty county rivals, though, as Young Munster followed up their 36-3 success in Munster rugby HQ with a narrow, but hard-earned, victory over current champions St Mary’s College on their home patch.

A penalty try for Young Munster, and three penalties from Brian Haugh (who is stepping up to the mark following the departure of Wilie Staunton), was pivotal against Hugh Hogan’s men, and a 16-14 final score was enough to move them onto to nine points in the league table.

As mentioned above, Garryowen have shown that they mean business thus far, as they completed the ‘Friday Night Lights’ action for September with a 19-3 triumph at Dooradoyle against Dolphin that was cultivated from three first-half penalties by Jamie Gavin, and a second period try from former Clontarf captain Barry O’Mahony.

While Garryowen would have been expected to get some joy off the Cork club, the trip to Castle Avenue to face O’Mahony’s former compatriots was expected to be a bridge too far for them. This wasn’t how it transpired, however and, after keeping

them at bay during the opening period, they really opened up the north Dubliners upon the resumption, as a brace of tries from Conan Doyle, and the dead-ball accuracy from Gavin, gave them a memorable 23-13 away conquest.

Dolphin did manage to recover well to beat Old Belvedere with six points to spare (21-15) in their second outing, with an 11-point haul from Barry Keeshan proving decisive. Belvo showed tremendous spirit to fight back from a 18-3 mid-way deficit, and two tries from David Mongan did offer them a glimmer of hope, but they had to settle for a second losing bonus point in as many encounters, which is following an eerily similar passage to the 2011 champions’ most recent campaign.

Having gone agonisingly close to achieving top honours last season, Clontarf would have been hoping to go one step further this term, but they have just one point from their first two games, as they went down 22-20 to Cork Constitution at Temple Hill on the opening weekend.

‘Tarf had been in control for much of the contest (they led 17-3 early on in the second period), but 12 points from Gerry Hurley, and a dramatic late try from full-back Darragh Lyons, showed that Brian Walsh’s brigade are still a force to be reckoned with.

The team that pipped Clontarf to the Division 1A crown were, of course, St Mary’s College, who got off to a fine start when they defeated the newly-promoted UL Bohemian at Templeville Road, courtesy of tries from Marcus O’Driscoll and Kevin Croke, giving former No. 8 Hugh Hogan a positive beginning to his new role as head coach.

They did come off second best on their first away journey against Young Munster, but there is enough evidence to suggest that the Templeogue men could have a major say in developments as the weeks and months go by.

2011/2012 Division 1B victors, UL Bohs, have also shown some good form in their endeavours early on, and they bounced back from the St Mary’s defeat by getting the better of Cork Con by 23-15 in Annacotty. UL were always in control of this tie, as tries from Mossy Lawler and Martin McPhail were complemented by eight points from Munster new boy, and Ireland Under 20 international, JJ Hanrahan.

Division 1B kicked off with a ‘Friday Night Lights’ special of its own, when Malone cantered towards five points, courtesy of tries from Glen Moore, Alan O’Connor, Neil Alcorn and Chris Leathem, which gave them a 36-13 winning margin over Ulster rivals Dungannon at Gibson Park.

Malone carried this momentum into their second fixture, when they ran in an astonishing nine tries in a 60-3 away success against Ballymena, three of them coming from the elusive Moore.

They currently prop up the table with 10 points, just ahead of UCD, who have had massive victories over Belfast Harlequins (48-20) and Bruff (42-10), the latter producing an impressive six tries, including one from rising Leinster star Jordan Coghlan.

Joining UCD in the second tier this year are their college rivals, Dublin University

A U T U M N

Date

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Time

Div

Fixture

Venue

19:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30

Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A

St. Mary’s College v Lansdowne Clontarf v U.L. Bohemian Cork Constitution v Young Munster Garryowen v Old Belvedere Shannon v Dolphin

Templeville Road Castle Avenue Temple Hill Dooradoyle Thomond Park

19:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 19:30 19:30 19:30 19:30 19:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 19:30

Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A Div1A

U.L. Bohemian v Garryowen Dolphin v St. Mary’s College Lansdowne v Cork Constitution Old Belvedere v Shannon Young Munster v Clontarf Clontarf v Lansdowne Cork Constitution v Dolphin Garryowen v Shannon St. Mary’s College v Old Belvedere U.L. Bohemian v Young Munster Dolphin v Clontarf Lansdowne v U.L. Bohemian Old Belvedere v Cork Constitution Shannon v St. Mary’s College Young Munste v Garryowen Clontarf v Old Belvedere

Thomond Park Musgrave Park Aviva Stadium Anglesea Road Tom Clifford Park Castle Avenue Temple Hill Dooradoyle Templeville Road Thomond Park Musgrave Park Aviva Stadium Anglesea Road Coonagh Tom Clifford Park Castle Avenue

Eaton Park

Division 1A Fri 26th Oct 12 Sat 27th Oct 12 Sat 27th Oct 12 Sat 27th Oct 12 Sat 27th Oct 12

NOVEMBER 2012 Division 1A

(Trinity), who enjoyed a comprehensive 29-11 success over fellow Dubliners Blackrock College in their first game since promotion from Division 2A, before digging deep for their second win of the campaign when they defeated Dungannon in Stevenson Park with tries from Brian du Toit, Niyi Adeolukan and Paddy Lavelle.

Though they have perhaps been less eye-catching than Malone and the Dublin colleges, Ballynahinch have been very accomplished in their two matches to date, as they came out on the right side of a thrilling 27-17 duel with Buccaneers (12 points coming from the boot of Michael Lawton), followed by a gritty display in defeating Belfast Harlequins 13-11 in a low-scoring contest.

Having endured a heartbreaking end to the 2011/2012 season, when they missed out on ascension to the top-flight by losing to Old Belvedere in the promotion/ relegation play-off, Belfast Harlequins were hoping to push on again this autumn, but two losses so far puts them in a difficult position, even if their defence was much improved from their opener against UCD. As UL moved up a division, Blackrock College found themselves dropping down one, and though it is early days, they will have to be careful if they are to avoid falling into a relegation battle again, as they followed up their Dublin University clash with a second reversal at home to Buccaneers.

Tries from Jan-Simon Byrne and Michael Carroll did show what Blackrock are capable of when they build up a head of steam, but Buccaneers were able to play the game on their terms, and three penalties from Jack Carty proved to be the difference between the two sides in the end.

With two rounds gone in Division 2A, it is Banbridge and Corinthians who are displaying the early initiative, as two bonus point successes for both gives them one point to spare over Terenure College, who followed up a 19-8 opening day victory over the demoted Galwegians with a terrific 38-9 shut-out against De La Salle Palmerstown (DLSP).

Banbridge have accounted for Greystones and Old Wesley in their opening couple of fixtures, while Corinthians have come out on the stronger side of two high-scoring ties with DLSP and Queen’s University.

However, Terenure may well prove to be the dark horses in the third tier, as they have dispatched Galwegians and DLSP with relative ease, and Ian Morgan has secured a gem in the form of Willie Staunton, who was majestic last year as scorerin-chief for Young Munster.

At the opposite end of the table, Queens University and Dublin trio Bective Rangers, DLSP and Seapoint will all be hoping to record victories sooner rather than later, as they are currently winless with two games played. Galwegians have managed to bounced back from their disappointing performance against Terenure, and a 22-13 defeat of Bective puts them back in the fray for a quick return to Division 1B. As tough as it is to gain promotion from Divisions 1B and 2A, it is even harder to come up from Division 2B, as it is a real minefield with many teams of similar capabilities all competing to enhance their reputations in senior club rugby.

For that reason, Boyne, Navan, Naas and Rainey Old Boys will be thrilled that they have made a 100% start to their respective fixture lists. North Leinster rivals Boyne and Navan can derive particular satisfaction from their work to date, as they have taken bonus points from their two opening acomplishments.

Defensively Boyne have been immaculate, as they have only conceded six points between their games against Connemara and Sligo, and kept a clean slate against the latter. Navan mustered up 27 points against Sligo and Instonians, while Naas followed up a magnificent 22-20 derby win against NUIM Barnhall in Parsonstown with a 78-9 cakewalk over Galway’s Connemara, crossing the whitewash an incredible 11 times, including twice through Diarmuid Carr, brother of former Connacht and current Leinster winger Fionn Carr.

Taking the place of Wanderers from last year are Leinster League champions Skerries, who have taken to life in senior club rugby with a refreshingly naturalistic touch. They secured a losing bonus point through their 22-20 defeat in Shaw’s Bridge to Instonians, before coming away with a win at only the second time of asking when they overcame Suttonians under lights in Holmpatrick with a ninepoint margin (21-12).

The much-discussed Sligo and Connemara, as well as Ards, look to be the teams in most trouble at the moment, as they are yet to pick up a point in the fourth tier, though there have been some encouraging signs in Ards’ losses to Suttonians and Rainey Old Boys.

Fri 2nd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Fri 9th Nov 12 Fri 9th Nov 12 Fri 9th Nov 12 Fri 9th Nov 12 Fri 9th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sun 18th Nov 12 Sun 18th Nov 12 Fri 30th Nov 12

Division 1B Sat 3rd Nov 12

14:30

Div1B

Sat 3rd Nov 12

14:30

Div1B

Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Fri 9th Nov 12 Fri 9th Nov 12 Fri 9th Nov 12 Sat 10th Nov 12 Sun 11th Nov 12 Fri 16th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12

14:30 14:30 14:30 19:30 19:30 19:30 14:30 14:30 19:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30

Div1B Div1B Div1B Div1B Div1B Div1B Div1B Div1B Div1B Div1B Div1B Div1B Div1B

Ballymena v Buccaneers Blackrock College RFC v Ballynahinch Bruff v Dublin University Dungannon v Belfast Harlequins Malone v UCD Ballynahinch v Dungannon Belfast Harlequins v Ballymena UCD v Blackrock College RFC Dublin University v Malone Buccaneers v Bruff Dublin University v UCD Ballymena v Ballynahinch Bruff v Belfast Harlequins Dungannon v Blackrock College RFC Malone v Buccaneers

19:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 19:30 14:00 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30

Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A Div2A

Seapoint v Terenure College Cashel RFC v Greystones City of Derry v Corinthians D.L.S.P. v Highfield Midleton v Old Crescent Old Wesley v Galwegians Queens University v Banbridge U.C.C. v Bective Rangers Galwegians v Corinthians Old Crescent v Old Wesley Banbridge v Cashel RFC Bective Rangers v Seapoint Corinthians v Midleton Galwegians v D.L.S.P. Greystones v U.C.C. Highfield v Queens University Terenure College v City of Derry

Kilbogget Park Spafield Judge’s Road Kirwan Park Towns Park Donnybrook Dub Lane Mardyke Crowley Park Rosbrien Rifle Park Donnybrook Corinthian Park Crowley Park Dr Hickey Park Woodleigh Park Lakelands Park

Forenaughts Hamilton Park (Newtownards) Palace Grounds Shamrock Lodge The Vale New Ormond Park Hatrick Park Liam Fitzgerald Park Shamrock Lodge Monastery Field Shaws Bridge Balreask Old Parsonstown Holmpatrick Hamilton Park (Strandhill) JJ McDowell Memorial Grounds

Stradbrook Kilballyowen Park Stevenson Park Gibson Park Ballymacarn Park Deramore Park Belfield Bowl College Park Dubarry Park College Park Eaton Park Kilballyowen Park Stevenson Park Gibson Park

Division 2A Fri 2nd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Fri 9th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12

Division 2B Fri 2nd Nov 12

14:30

Div2B

Naas v Navan RFC

Sat 3rd Nov 12

14:30

Div2B

Ards v Connemara

Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12 Sat 3rd Nov 12

14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30

Div2B Div2B Div2B Div2B Div2B

Armagh v Instonians Boyne v Suttonians Clonakilty v Sundays Well Nenagh Ormond v Sligo Rainey OB v NUIM Barnhall

Sat 3rd Nov 12

14:30

Div2B

Thomond v Skerries

Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12 Sat 17th Nov 12

14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30

Div2B Div2B Div2B Div2B Div2B Div2B

Boyne v Naas Connemara v Rainey OB Instonians v Nenagh Ormond Navan RFC v Thomond NUIM Barnhall v Clonakilty Skerries v Armagh

Sat 17th Nov 12

14:30

Div2B

Sligo v Ards

Sat 17th Nov 12

14:30

Div2B

Suttonians v Sundays Well

64

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Fitness in rugby

A common theme that comes up whenever a particular sport is being discussed is how much the game has changed in comparison to what it was like in past decades. This is particularly evident in the world of soccer, where everything from inflated player salaries to billionaire club owners is providing a landscape that differs greatly from the by-gone era.

Sport science is another major development in soccer, and it has helped to increase the average life span of a professional footballer as a result. However, in many respects, rugby is no different, and in the area of fitness, there have been massive advances across the board at a variety of levels.

Though fitness has always played its part in the well-being of rugby’s finest, the physical conditioning of players (particularly at the top level) has expanded rapidly. Certainly, a greater level of fitness is required when you step away from the club ranks to the provincial ranks, but club rugby is nevertheless a good starting point and it is here that would-be professionals have to lay the ground work that will help them to develop into the type of players that they believe they can be.

Ireland’s two current front-runners for the coveted No. 10 jersey, Jonathan Sexton and Ronan O’Gara, featured prominently for their respective clubs (St. Mary’s College and Cork Constitution) in their early days, and bright prospects like Simon Zebo, Peter O’Mahony, Noel Reid and John Cooney have also plyed their trade in the Ulster Bank League in recent years. There is a huge degree of commitment needed at club level if players are interested in moving on to provincial or international status, and for this reason health & fitness has to play a huge part in their preparation.

Pre-season training is often the most important period in a rugby player’s season, as it is generally seen as a time to regain or increase muscle size and strength. This type of preparation is crucial given the hard-tackling and heavyhitting nature of a lot of games in modern rugby.

There is still a great deal of free-flowing rugby, especially at schools and domestic level, but in games where one team is trying to contain their opponents (and are unlikely to have too much ‘ball in hand’), there will certainly be plenty of benefit to derive from pre-season work, as it will enable players to withstand the ferocity and intensity that they will face throughout a league campaign.

However, though it is universally accepted that this kind of physical conditioning is a necessary requirement in preparing rugby squads for battle, there are many who feel that there is an over-emphasis on this kind of training,

and there should be at least an equal appreciation of what is termed as ‘aerobic training’.

In the same way that pre-season training helps to build up muscle strength, power and size, the aim of aerobic training (also referred to as ‘cardio’) is to decrease it. Aerobic training can off be done during early pre-season, or even during the off-season, but can be quite different to what you would usually see teams doing in the early weeks of a new training regime.

Yet, despite the obvious advantages that would appear to come with aerobic training, there are cases where it has been found to do a player more harm than good, and isn’t, as a whole, completely necessary.

One of the most common reasons for using aerobic training is to aid the progression towards intense anaerobic training. Anaerobic training/exercise differentiates to aerobic exercise in the sense that the muscle energy systems used develop a greater performance in short duration, high intensity activities (which can last from mere seconds up to about 2 minutes) than you would get from aerobics.

Any activity that lasts longer than 2 minutes has a large aerobic metabolic component. As a result of the decreases in strength and power (readily associated with aerobic training), it may not be appropriate to use aerobic training for this purpose. By manipulating work-to-rest ratios and distances covered during interval training, a player can change the intensity of his workout and still maintain an efficient energy system adaptation and muscle fibre type patterns of recruitment.

As a result of interval training, significant increases in aerobic fitness can be expected, as well as an improvement in the ability to recover from high-intensity bouts. With this in mind, it is worth noting that it has been demonstrated, in the past, that strength training alone will maintain endurance levels as well as improving speed and power, in addition to the obvious strength benefits.

What we can conclude from this is that, despite what popular opinion might tell us, it is evident that strength training, in correlation with anaerobic training, is far more productive for rugby players in comparison to aerobic type training.

This would appear to be the best way forward for clubs who are looking to develop their players for the future, and if they can nurture them in this fashion, then it will stand them in good stead if and when they move on to the next level.

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key points to remember • Eat at least 5 meals a day. Small meals are better than 2-3 large ones. This can be achieved by snacking every 2-3 hours • Eat all meals at regular times and avoid eating after the last evening meal For a rugby player the type of the food they eat and the quality of the intake of the food they eat is one of the most fundamental keys to performing at a high and successful level. Nutrition is therefore of vital importance to every player.

Starting to look at what you eat is hugely important for any aspiring player that dreams of walking in the footsteps of the likes of a Brian O’Driscoll, Tommy Bowe or Johnny Sexton. Too many players pay only fleeting attention to their nutritional needs and their progress is stunted as a result. Having a fully comprehensive diet programme with specific needs tailored to an individual players needs is fundamental to the development of any player that has genuine aspirations to play rugby at a high level.

• Never eat confectionery while watching TV or when relaxing - instead eat fruit and drink water • Drink between 2.5 and 3.2 litres of water each day • Choose a variety of foods from the five food groups each day. Try to eat as wide a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables as possible

Despite rugby being a highly intense, highly physical game, high-intensity activities such as running, tackling and competing for the ball account for approximately 15% of the time in play, of which those activities last around for roughly around 10 seconds. It is estimated that during a competitive match, a forward covers 4000 – 5000 m, with backs covering as much as 5500 – 5750 m

While alcohol can be taken in moderation in a social situation, keeping the amount of drink that you take on board is key. The days of going out and have six or seven drinks in the run up to a game are long over, if you want to perform to your optimum level then a player must realise that when they are playing throughout the season that there won’t be too many times that they can indulge themselves.

In looking at what nutritional needs suit a player, different aspects have to be taken into consideration. If you are a front row forward, you are going to be on a different programme than a winger as the demands for each position are so varied.

Even during the off season it is important to maintain a base level of hydration.

One cannot just throw caution to the wind and let themselves go when their season is finished, by doing that they run the risk of setting themselves back when the gruelling pre-season training begins. Consuming too much alcohol can also affect hand-eye coordination, reaction times and balance, along with leading to a decrease in strength, speed, power, muscular and cardiovascular endurance.

One common thread that all run through all rugby players is that the intake of carbohydrates is of huge importance to performance. Carbohydrates such as pasta, rice and potatoes taken in the days leading up to the games gives the body the proper fuel and energy to maximise a player’s ability on the pitch.

A high protein diet, combined with carbohydrates would be seen by many nutritionists as the ideal diet for a rugby player looking to get the best from their game. Because rugby has gone to such a strength based game over the last ten to fifteen years the need to be as physically strong as can be is of paramount importance and having lots of protein in your diet. Protein, especially in the post recovery stages of a game, is crucial given the number and the severity of hits that a player can take in any given game.

One of the more delicate balancing acts for a player is game day. Because games take place at different times each week, a player’s diet for match day is never the same. If, for example, a player has a game that kicks off at 12.00pm in the afternoon then they will have to take fuel on board at times of the day that in normal circumstances they wouldn’t have to. One of the major recommendations from coaches and nutritionists is that a player should have their main pre match meal at least four hours ahead of the scheduled kick off time. That gives the body enough time to break down the food and for it to be released around the body.

Having food closer to game time runs the risk of causing cramp and discomfort during game time.

If a player does feel that they need a snack before the game, the recommended time for having such a snack is 2-3 hours before the game. Snacks such may include the likes of 2 slices of bread with a mixed salad (lettuce, tomato, potatoes or rice) and a biscuit with a glass of fruit juice.

Keeping sufficiently hydrated before, during and after a game is another crucial aspect of maintaining a high level of performance. Taking the correct amount of fluids, water, Powerade, Lucozade, is of critical importance. If you don’t take on enough fluid pre and post-game then your performance will not only suffer during the game but also in their post recovery schedule.

One of the best ways for a player to keep an eye on their fluid levels is to monitor the colour of their urine. If their urine is a clear or pale colour then they are taking the correct amount of fluids, however if the colour is yellow or a dark colour then they are not taking on enough fluids. One of the best ways to keep fluid levels up is to always carry a water bottle around wherever you go so that you can keep yourself well hydrated at all times.

A good marker for daily fluid requirements is 35-45 ml per kilogram of body weight.

For an average 70 kg young player this means drinking between 2.5 and 3.2 litres of water each day. While water and sports drinks are advised for keeping up fluid levels, the avoidance of alcohol is of high importance to maintain performance.

Maintaining discipline to alcohol when a player is rehabilitating is also of high importance. Too often players can let themselves go a bit if they are out for a prolonged period of time, however if they go overboard and indulge themselves then they put themselves at risk of setting their timeframe for a return to action. Alcohol has a vasodilatory effect to soft tissue injuries and bruising, increasing bleeding and swelling to the damage area One of the most talked about aspects of rugby nutrition is the issue of explosive training and the positive and negative points to taking Creatine. The cells in our body store their energy in the form of a molecule known as ATP (Adenosine TriPhosphate). The amount of work our muscles can perform is a direct consequence of the amount of ATP they have stored. Creatine aids the natural production of ATP increasing the fuel to work during intense muscle contraction.

Creatine is one of the most widely taken sports supplements and gives a player additional strength. Combined with the correct diet it can lead to increased muscle strength which can make a player more explosive and stronger, able to lift heavier weights for a more prolonged period of time.

The subject of young players taking creatine has become one of the more talked about subjects in the rugby community over the last number of years with some arguing that players in the age bracket of 15-19 should not be taking the supplement.

Some people argue that players at that young age should allow their bodies to progress at a more natural level rather than taking a supplement that aids growth at a time where their body is developing at the same time.

Others argue that if players don’t take supplements at that young age then they run they risk of been left behind the rest of their age group and will not get the opportunities that a more well developed player will get.

Both sides of the argument have their valid points; however one could argue that allowing a player to develop at a more natural level rather than adding supplements to a growing body would seem to be the better way forward, from a long term point of view.

Caffeine supplements are another good way of keeping players focused and alert, especially in and around game time. Caffeine tablets or the likes of Red Bull energy drinks are the best ways to give players that extra boost just before kick-off. The ingestion of 1-3 mg/kg body mass of caffeine tablets before a rugby match is advised for those who have taken in a full training session in the build up to the game. However if a player is however sensitive to caffeine then they are advised to stay away from such supplements.

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Bistro & Wine Bar in the centre of Dalkey Village Serving delicious tapas & an eclectic mix of fine wines OPEN TUESDAY-SUNDAY // LATE DRINKS & LIVE MUSIC FRI & SAT NIGHT

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