UCC still punching above their weight

DOLPHIN HAVE joined Cork Constitution as the go-to rugby club in the Rebel County these past few years.

University College Cork forms the talent pool from where they pluck many of their new players. But despite this constant handicap, the students abide.

More than that, they thrive – living off three-year undergraduate cycles.

When UCC get it right, as they clearly have at the moment, the peak of the cycle should deliver rewards. Despite an ultra-competitive Division 1B – where big sharks like Clontarf, Dungannon and Lansdowne will circle – they are expected to be in the promotion shake-up.

Their under-21s are the current All-Ireland champions while the senior team just missed out on promotion to Division 1A last season as Old Belvedere and Young Munster rejoined the top table.

During the summer Dolphin and AIL champions Cork Con came with their shopping lists.

The college captain Ivan Dineen and Seán Scanlon went to Con. That’s a centre and fullback jumping ship. Dolphin took Shane O’Sullivan and promising secondrow David O’Callaghan (Darren Blower, a hooker, came the other way).

All four departures are seeking professional contracts with Munster. The student scene provided an initial platform but Cork Con or Dolphin was the logical next step.

“The threat from other clubs is obviously there but the threat from the economy is more pressing,” director of rugby Gary Byrne explains. “We exist in a challenging environment whereby players have to move to Dublin for work.”

However, students are not so quick to enter the work force these days due to the shortage of jobs. They tend to do a post-grad and that, in many cases, means another year playing rugby on campus.

Losing four high-profile players would cripple most clubs but UCC’s progress is set to continue because of a well established academy system.

New centres have landed; Dave Maguire from Trinity College and Daniel Horgan looks primed for an immediate impact having scored two tries for Pres Cork in the Munster senior schools final last March. Scrumhalf Ronan Barry is another worth following from that Pres team.

Five more players – Mike Kenefick (lock), Brendan Daly (prop), Hugh McCarthy (backrow), Barry Kelleher (centre) and Ronan Corkery (hooker) – have returned from Erasmus studies in America.

“We can only work internally on our own programme and processes,” said Byrne.

“We aim to provide an enjoyable rugby experience and put a huge time into our under-21s rugby programme. Our academy has been producing players for a decade now.

“The under-21s won the national title last season and they are now coming through to the senior squad.

“We avail of the support services available to us. We have our own video analysis department. We offer the best of sports science and performance analysis to our players. Playing rugby in a university environment means they are learning.

“You have to be innovative and sharpen the pencil every year. We have to always be improving because we only really have the players on lend for two or three years. That is the cycle.

“After that they go back to the club they have been involved with since they took up the game. The post-grad means some guys might stay on an extra season but otherwise it is about getting the best out of each cycle.”

The departures of Dineen and Scanlon are further covered by the arrival of Irish under-20s outhalf Brian Kingston from Blackrock. That means the past two Irish under-20s numbers 10s, Kingston and Andrew Burke, and the current Munster under-20s outhalf Johnny Holland need to be accommodated in the same backline.

“So, there are three guys going for the 10 jersey but they are versatile players that have played centre and fullback before so we can do a bit of positional jockeying to find what works best.”

Of course, the problem with UCC having so many players being recognised by the Ireland under-20s and Munster A should be to the detriment of their league campaign.

“We take pride in players coming through our academy and not the Munster academy and making it. We have more players on the Irish 20s every year. This is a good thing.”

Basically, they are willing to handle the consequences of success.

DVISION B FORMAT:

The home and away format makes this an ultra-competitive league. Two clubs from Division One B will be promoted to a 10- team Division One A for the 2011/’12 season. There will also be a play-off between bottom club in One A and third place in One B.

Clontarf are expected to go straight back up with Lansdowne due a return from their recruitment drive over the past two years. The Connacht clubs – Buccaneers and Galwegians – may have something to say about that, in an extremely competitive league made up by UCC, UL Bohs, Bruff and Dungannon who, as the highest ranked Ulster club, have been able to attract plenty of fresh talent.

Bottom of 1B and fifth in Division Two will meet in a relegation play-off.

UCC

Home Ground: Mardyke Grounds and The Farm

Colours: Red, Black and White with Skull.

Final League position since 2002 (Division 2): 3rd, 1st, 4th, 9th 4th, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 13th.