Newbridge old boys schooled for success

JOHN O'SULLIVANtalks to a former Newbridge College coach about ex-pupils Geordan Murphy, Johne Murphy, Bernard Jackman and Jamie Heaslip

THE PARABLE of Newbridge College is an invigorating homily to the positive influence of schools rugby. On Saturday evening in Edinburgh four past pupils of the Kildare college will dispute the 14th staging of the Heineken Cup Final. Geordan Murphy and Johne Murphy will don Leicester Tigers’ colours while Bernard Jackman and Jamie Heaslip will wear the blue of Leinster.

It is perhaps more apposite to celebrate a school whose coaching structure sought to arm young players with a decent skill set and in doing so perpetuate a love of the sport and a facility to play it long after the school gates closed behind them on graduating.

Newbridge last won a Leinster Schools Senior Cup in 1970 but their contribution to Irish representative teams, underage and senior offers a rich tapestry of individual excellence: to the aforementioned players others like Tony Buckley (Munster), John O’Sullivan (Munster) and Fionn Carr (Connacht) underline more recent success from a lengthy list down through the decades.

The words Newbride and silverware fit snugly in another aspect of Irish life but for the college, rugby has never been primarily about harvesting trophies. It is partially attributable to the fact the distance between the elite six schools in the province and the second tier continues to grow and, but for an occasional aberration, will do so until there is a change in both emphasis and structure.

Greg McInerney has coached senior and junior cup teams in Newbridge for the past 29 years and during that time has taken charge on the playing fields of the four past pupils who will run out at Murrayfield on Saturday. He is perfectly placed to give an overview on what they were like as boys and how closely they resemble that image as professional rugby players.

He no longer coaches the senior rugby team – a personal decision – having taken time out to study conflict resolution at Trinity College while holding down the day job at Newbridge as head of the geography department. He was a coach of some standing reflected in the fact he took the then IRFU Level Four (the highest) coaching course alongside some guy called Declan Kidney.

The first under the microscope is Johne Murphy, who departed injured during the Tigers’ English Premiership final win over London Irish on Saturday but is expected to be available for selection for next Saturday’s final. The club’s top try scorer he faces a tough battle with a fit again Matt Smith and Alesana Tuilagi, who will be available after serving a ban for an incident in the quarter-final win over Bath.

McInerney smiled as he recalled: “Johne was outgoing and easy going off the pitch but was very determined and committed when it came to playing rugby. I have no doubt that he wouldn’t have achieved anything like the same level of success had he stayed in Leinster.

“He would have been considered an above average schoolboy player but with nowhere near the level to which he has developed. In fairness to the work that he has done since moving to Leicester, his strength and speed have improved appreciably. I’m not surprised on the basis of going there (to Leicester) on a school tour.

“I was very struck by the work ethic demanded of all the players. Sheets with statistics were put up on the walls and those at the bottom were warned that they would be cut if there wasn’t an immediate improvement. It really was survival of the fittest, which I didn’t really agree with as most were still schoolboys. This was the epitome of a professional set-up; Leicester PLC and there was little room for sentiment.

“Johne played fullback, centre and wing in school and was a coach’s dream in terms of attitude and dedication. He would always be ready to go, always give his best. I suppose you could say his attitude even then was professional.”

The first of the quartet to come under McInerney’s tutelage was Jackman. “He’d run through a brick wall for you, absolutely no fear and no regard for his own safety. He wasn’t that big as a schoolboy but he gave everything out on the pitch, be it at training or during a game. He was also very determined.

“An example would be a conversation I had with him a few years ago about his decision to go and see a sports psychologist about his lineout throwing, which was always the weakest part of his game. That just shows you how self-motivated he was and underlined that desire.

“You’d find him at the bottom of every ruck, always in the thick of the action. His game has come on so much in the last two years.”

If Johne Murphy and Jackman did not command the headlines as schools rugby players then the same cannot be said of Jamie Heaslip.

McInerney explained: “He had so much ability at school it was frightening. He could do then exactly as he does now with Ireland and Leinster. He knew that he was skilful, knew that he was a standout player.

“There is an exuberance to the way he plays that won’t sit well with some coaches, especially those that are strict disciplinarians. It peeks through in the gesturing after scoring tries. He would resent working under a hard taskmaster who tried to stifle that facet of his personality. He has pace, all the skills and can link up with team-mates. He possessed those attributes at school but has obviously polished them since.”

Arguably the college’s most celebrated past pupil is Geordan Murphy and, while he has proved to be an accomplished fullback with Leicester, Ireland and the Lions, McInerney maintains that “he should be playing at outhalf.

“Mind you I am the coach who played a future Ireland number eight (Phil Lawlor) at outhalf during his schooldays so maybe that says more about me as a coach. I remember Geordan in the semi-final win over Clongowes (Newbridge went on to lose the 1996 Leinster Senior Cup final to Blackrock’s self-styled dream team) charging down a kick, regathering and scoring a try.

“But it was the coolness he displayed in trotting back to kick the conversion from the touchline. That always stuck with me. He always had that shoulders-back strut that said, ‘I am the best, full stop.’ He possessed the best hands in rugby terms I have seen. He would draw players and then move the ball away the instant before being hit.

“He had no fear of taking contact and was regularly hit hard but never shied away. He had fabulous skills and that confident air of invincibility. He played at outhalf in that team that got to the final and along with Jim Ferris (scrumhalf) was a primary reason for us making it to the final. I still think his distribution is brilliant and that he would make a great outhalf.

“They’re four good lads who have actively retained a link with the school. Jamie (Heaslip) brought down one of the trophies Ireland won to the school while Johne was at the first-round schools’ cup match against Clongowes this year. They drop in, sign autographs and pose for pictures and are no doubt an inspiration for the boys who play rugby at the school.”

On Saturday, it would appear that Newbride can’t lose no matter what the outcome at Murrayfield.