Dream League debut for the village heroes

WHEN it comes to rugby, Sutton is akin to a village community. So it was that by the closing minutes of this AIL Division Four tie at McDowell Memorial Grounds on Saturday, the attendance seemed to have almost doubled in size.

The efficiency of the bush telegraph also ensured some serious celebrating afterwards in the bar. And there were no objections from coaching co ordinator Stephen Dods when the players joined in.

"I don't put any limits on drinking, before or after a game," said the 32 year old New Zealander, who learned his craft as a number eight with Canterbury from 1987 to 1991 and is now in his fourth season at Suttonians.

Drinking before a game? "Look, I'm trying to establish camaraderie here, and at the end of the day it's up to the players to manage themselves," he said.

Dods was clearly delighted with the team's achievement in winning their opening AIL tie by such a wide margin. "To be honest, I'm very surprised," he said. "We were probably lucky to have been playing at home. It's not easy to give of your best when you travel a distance, as CIYMS had to do."

Despite their elevation to senior status this season, Suttonians are unlikely to lose the simplicity and warmth that characterised their years in junior ranks on Station Road. "Didn't we pick the right club?" grinned Ed O'Neill of their sponsoring company, McGivern Flynn.

Meanwhile, it was a particularly special day for veteran, 38 year old prop forward Mark Shatwell. A transport manager from down the coast road in Raheny, Shatwell joined the club 21 years ago and has now seen them realise the dream of AIL competition.

"They had just got rid of the old tin hut when I arrived here from school as a 17 year old," he said. "Since then, we're into our second clubhouse - and we now have hot showers!" He added: "Naturally this is a cause for celebration, but it remains no more than a stepping stone in our ambitions to achieve greater things."

Those ambitions will be tempered, however, by cool, New Zealand pragmatism. "My objective here is that we should develop as a club at all levels of the game," said Dods, who is also a key member of the side. "I'm trying to mirror, the New Zealand approach where the emphasis is on nurturing young talent in the clubs, rather than the schools."

On the competitive front, the push towards senior status was spearheaded by Dods and augmented by compatriot Russell Southam, an outside half now in his second season. Southam missed Saturday's match because of injury, but the club's depth of talent was reflected in a fine display by his replacement, Pat Kilduff.

According to club official Gordon Linehan, the bar takings last year were £170,000 - an extremely impressive figure when one considers that it's open only four days each week, from Thursday to Sunday, inclusive. But he added that the figure for the current year might be down somewhat.

One suspects that those calculations will need to be revised, however, when the impact of Saturday's breakthrough begins to filter through the local community. Indeed rugby life on Station Road will never be quite the same again.