Only Lee and history separate old rivals

SCHOOL OF SPORT - CBC v PBC: Emmet Riordansets the scene as one of the most storied of local rivalries is set for an airing as the Munster Schools Cups come down to the wire

CORK SPORTING disputes may be in the news for all the wrong reasons at the moment, but this week one of the most storied of local rivalries is set to get an airing as the Munster Schools Cups come down to the closing stages.

Pres and Christians do battle in the semi-finals of both competitions over the next two days, with the senior game taking place this afternoon at Musgrave Park (3pm), before the juniors meet in a replay at CIT tomorrow (3pm).

It’s a rivalry that has not lost any of its fervour down through the decades since Christians won the first senior title back in 1909. They hold the edge, with 28 titles, one more than Pres, who hold the upper hand in the junior ranks with 26 wins to 14.

It has produced many great games between the sides in the 100 years and has proven a breeding ground for players to go on and excel at club, provincial and national level.

The panel for last weekend’s international game against England featured five players from the two schools, with Donncha O’Callaghan and Tomás O’Leary representing Christians, while Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer and Mick O’Driscoll are all former Pres pupils.

Of course Declan Kidney also cut his coaching teeth in the white-hot atmosphere of Cork schoolboys rugby, leading Pres to five junior and three senior titles in his time at the school.

Former St Munchin’s pupil Brian McMahon came out on the wrong end of one of those results, when the Limerick school lost to Pres back in 1992.

He now oversees rugby matters at the Pres and is well aware what the games will mean to everyone involved.

“It’s a massive week, we love playing the boys up on the hill. There will be a great buzz about the place. I think it’s a great advertisement for schools rugby in Cork. The kids love it, the coaches love it,” says McMahon, who is director of rugby at the school.

The schools lie just a half a mile apart and draw on pupils from the same areas, something McMahon believes adds to the intensity of the games between the sides.

“There’s such a great rivalry between the two teams, they end up going to university together, working together and playing on the same senior teams together.

“The kids themselves just love the challenge and the adults love it too. You see parents that went to Pres or Christians standing side by side on the terraces reliving their schooldays. The great thing is once they come off the field, they really are great buddies,” he adds.

McMahon’s counterpart at Christians, Peter Melia, is another outsider who has come to understand just what the games mean to the students and the wider Cork rugby public.

Brought up in Liverpool, Melia married a Cork girl before taking up a teaching post at the school in 1996. He admits he knew little about the rivalry when he started.

“In fact, I was totally ignorant of it, but it’s something that you learn about very quickly,” says Melia, who has his own theory of why it is such a big deal.

“I think one of the big differences here is that it’s not diluted by anything else. You have a city of this size but you have only two rugby-playing schools.

“In Dublin you have rivalries like ’Rock and Michael’s but there are other schools that might dilute that rivalry. Geographically, we are only about half a mile away from each other, separated by the river.

“The other thing that makes it more intense is that a lot of the kids play in the same clubs before they come into school. So they have played rugby with each other. In addition to that they also play Gaelic games together, so they know each other inside out.”

That familiarity invariably leads to close games, with Melia pointing out the emotions that stream through the fixtures.

“The last five minutes of every Pres-Christians game your life passes before you. That’s just the way it is, you know you’re not going to get an easy ride, all those emotions are being experienced.

“It’s something they never forget. The supporters are as fanatical about it as the players, it’s quite incredible to observe, how really up for it the supporters are. It gives everyone a great buzz to see that contribution off the field as well as on the field,” adds Melia, who admits it’s a tough task trying to keep his players grounded before the games.

“It’s hard to ignore it. It’s in your face all the time. There’s a phrase I use with the players, “pressure is a privilege” and that’s the way I try to view it. What else would we be doing if we didn’t have this sort of thing? You try to relax them at the same time as making them aware that it’s a huge game with a very exciting prospect.”

Both schools are able to call on their long list of past pupils when it comes to help on the coaching front, with former Ireland scrumhalf Brian O’Meara working with the Pres juniors.

“There’s never much hesitation, they’re up as soon as you say ‘Senior Cup winners’,” says CBC’s Melia. “This year, for example, we’ve had John Kelly up helping with the backs and Brian Hickey, the former Munster forwards coach. We’ve had Darragh Hurley helping with the frontrow, we’ve had Billy Holland helping with the lineout.

“We do have a lot of input, but guys are very willing to give up their time because they remember what it was like when they were here doing the same thing.”

Although weeks like this may be dominated by rugby, both teachers are keen to point out that getting the balance right is the key. “We’re very much an educational establishment first and foremost. Schoolwork comes first, end of story, there’s no battle there,” states McMahon.

“On Wednesday morning our Leaving Certs will be sitting their pre-exams before they go out and play their game. We may treat it like a professional game, but education is number one.

“Rugby is a great pastime, but for every one that makes it at the professional level, there’s a hundred that won’t. And they have to have something to fall back on.”

TODAY

Munster Senior Cup semi-final

CBC v PBC

Venue: Musgrave Park

Kick-off: 3pm

TOMORROW

Munster Junior Cup semi-final

CBC v PBC, Cork IT, 3.0pm