IRFU policy helps new converts cross line

IN FOCUS: TO RUGBY OR NOT TO RUGBY:An increasing number of schools that have not traditionally played the game are now embracing rugby. Cillian Ó'Conchuirinvestigates

OLD HABITS die hard, but traditional stigmas attached to schools rugby are being challenged. While the success of Castletroy College in securing the Munster Junior and Senior Cup double last year was proof that what was once seen as an elitist sport is branching out, for some schools the Gaelic tradition still reigns supreme.

Castletroy shocked Munster rugby when they hoisted both trophies last year, but their exploits mirror the wider growth of rugby among public schools.

St David's CBS of Artane, whose history is deeply rooted in Gaelic games have become one of the latest schools to take up the oval ball. What started as a student request two years ago has now developed with coaching assistance provided by Christian Stemmet, a member of the Leinster Community Development Programme.

The difficulty many Gaelic games schools face in establishing a rugby team would be that the players and seasons overlap. Having introduced rugby to St David's, principal Pádraig Kavanagh dismissed claims the development of a rugby team would be to the detriment of the national games adding that the overlapping hasn't occurred. "We would like it to develop but not too much. Gaelic will always remain the priority for us.

For Coláiste Eoin, Stillorgan, it is not only a matter of diluting players from talented Gaelic and hurling teams but also tradition. "The difference between Coláiste Eoin and the majority of schools in the country is that Coláiste Eoin is an all-Irish school," says principal Séan Ó Leidhin. "To preserve and protect the ethos of the school it is very important that the emphasis is on culture and Gaelic games are a central aspect of that culture."

This view is also supported by Coláiste Eoin's Proinsias de Poire, who is involved in football as well as the school's long musical tradition. "In Coláiste Eoin we are very proud of our legacy and heritage. Let us have that and let other schools have their own. People understand when they come to Coláiste Eoin that this is the spirit and ethos here and we make no apologies for that. It's unique and long may it continue."

Given Munster and Ireland's success over the last few years, the growth of rugby is no real surprise but the level of which it has grown in non-traditional areas is testament to the IRFU and provincial development programs.

"Development Cup Competitions for new and emerging schools started four years ago with 15 schools participating at Junior and Senior Cup level," says David Ross, provincial domestic game manager with Leinster Rugby.

"This figure last season had risen to 45 teams in each of the Development Cups." This does not include schools like St David's who have recently set up sides.

St Patrick's Classical School, Navan, combine a strong Gaelic tradition with a competitive junior rugby side. They have been All-Ireland colleges senior 'A' football champions three times this decade and have had a rugby team since 1984, winning Leinster Schools Section A Junior Shield titles in '93 and '94 but more recently lifting it in 2002.

"The school management and principal, Colm O'Rourke is very supportive of all sports and certainly there has never been an issue it (rugby) would take away from Gaelic," says Junior Cup coach Séamus Peppard. "Of the last team we had as Leinster football champions, of a panel of 30, 10 of them had won Leinster Junior medals from Section A in rugby. I think it benefits them, being exposed to other sports. They come back to football better players and more open to new ideas and I think it has benefited us in football as well."

Castletroy principal Martin Wallace notes transferable skills between Gaelic and rugby helped them secure the senior cup. "We brought in two of our Gaelic footballers in September, one at outhalf and one at fullback. They . . . made big contributions in all of the matches."

The fairytale success of Castletroy is a model worth following for any school whose rugby team is in the initial stages. "In our situation we would have had no previous history," he says. "We were only in existence for eight years. We were starting from a base where students were coming to the school, some of them played rugby, others hadn't, and we had teachers interested in getting involved in coaching.

" We built it up over the years. We ourselves were pleasantly surprised, and that's putting it moderately, in winning the two cups. We had a strategy in place and we were hoping we would win a cup. To win both was a pleasant surprise."

The development competitions give teams the opportunity to play against teams of the same calibre, but it does not limit teams as Castletroy proved. "Having grades certainly benefited us. Starting out, if we had only the A grade to play in, it would have been a deterrent because you would have teams demoralised by the opposition," according to Martin Wallace who started training rugby at schools level over 25 years ago. "The progress we have made by being able to move, from one year to the next, up a grade, has been important in relation to the development of rugby in the school."

Munster's success in the Heineken Cup as undoubtedly helped the growth of rugby at secondary level, where almost 12,000 now play the sport. The growth is also as a result of the active nature which the IRFU has approached the development of the game. "They are exposing a population of youngsters to something they have had no familiarity with," says John O'Sullivan, principal of Coláiste Éanna. "Anything that is new and presented properly can be very appealing. Whereas the uncertainties of soccer, Gaelic football and hurling are very familiar to the kids, the newer sports are very attractive."

Emulating Belvedere College's Leinster Senior Cup triumph last year might be a distant ambition for St David's and schools like it, but with the IRFU striving to develop the game, it might not be that distant. "In terms of other schools playing it, I think it's brilliant," says Belvedere headmaster Gerry Foley. "The IRFU and Leinster Branch are very successful with their development work . . . We would be participants of the Leinster Branch. In practical terms of going out ourselves saying 'do you need a load of coaches', that is difficult for us to co-ordinate. It might seem we are falling over ourselves with coaches. We're not. We have a large number but I have to convince staff members to get involved. In the development program if they are saying to us 'can you help?', we would be very willing to be involved in that."

The further growth of rugby in secondary schools sustained a blow in the Budget, with schools now under pressure to maintain traditional sports. "One of the main differences between Coláiste Eoin and most of the schools that play rugby is that they are private schools, that charge high fees," stated Séan Ó Leidhin.

"This is a voluntary school, there are no fees and I'm relying completely on the goodwill of teachers. If I could charge €7,000 I would have flexibility. I could employ professional trainers, but I don't have that freedom. Coláiste Eoin is known for the education it provides and it is renowned for its Irishness and Gaelic games are a central part of that.

"Anytime you go to Croke Park you see the umpires working voluntarily, so at the highest level there is goodwill and voluntary work involved and it is on this basis our games grew and developed. We aren't so narrow minded that we have no interest in rugby. The basic rule is if something isn't broken why change it."

Séamus Peppard indicated "if every school is going to reflect society, I think it (rugby) will become more prevalent in all schools, but schools are limited in the personnel they have involved in sports. I imagine schools will stick to what they have rather than introduce something new."

Although stating rugby will "always play third fiddle" to traditional sports, John O'Sullivan would consider introducing rugby if the demand was there. "We would give anything that would broaden the extra-curricular options available to our students serious consideration and where demand for other sports arise we would always strive to entertain them, but always mindful of our core games; hurling and Gaelic football."

Although the occasional Canterbury top may be seen under the blue uniform of Coláiste Eoin, Gaelic traditions hold firm.

"Will we see rugby being played in Coláiste Eoin?" asks Proinsias de Poire. "I don't think that is something that will happen in the short or long term. The priorities we have is the progression of the Gaelic games. That is the rock on which we were founded and we have to be loyal to that."