“View from the bench”

April 3rd 2009

Another season closing.

First of all I wish to extend hearty congratulations to our 2nd XV- “BUTLER SHIELD CHAMPIONS.”

You guys should finish your league campaign in the top 3 (hopefully 1st or 2nd) this, coupled with your magnificent win in your first Ravenhill final. All I can say is “FANTASTIC!” You hit every objective and more this term.

The first XV’s season was always going to be a struggle. But in our new division we showed that we can compete with the top teams, & with a little strength in depth we could have even challenged for top honours.

I think it is important to note that you were also on course to meet all the seasons’ objectives that we set for ourselves, then, injury hit the squad which played havoc with the tail end of the season. But do remember, that you too made a cup final this year, losing in the last seconds to a breakaway UC Coleraine try.

Bridging the Gap.

Numerous injuries to our squad were a killer this year. The gulf between the standard & quality of the rugby between the clubs 1st & 2nd XV’s was too wide. Some lads show great potential as future first team players, but when they stepped up to represent the first team this year we found that, on occasion, they were a little bit out of their depth.

We’ve also seen that the second XV are ready to step out of the minor league & play in a junior division – whether you take this step or not is a committee decision- but this certainly will help to close the gap, but it’ll still be a little too wide for the 1st XV’s strength in depth. This can only be solved with the first XV stepping back down into junior 3 or even 4.

This act should provide a comfortable stepping stone for the promising players that are pushing for first team places.

Within the next 2 – 3 years, the youth system should start to bear fruit – thanks to the hard work of Brian Harkin & Glasha. This should reinforce the ranks of the 2nd XV & who knows it may very well lead to a 3rd XV in the not so distant future.

A Thank you to....

Mick McGarry, Mick Morgan & Paddy Corr plus the other committee men who do unseen work behind the scenes.

Brian Harkin, Glasha, Paul McMenimen, Phillip McFadden and Steven Griffiths, thanks for your help in running drills for me in training sessions. Especially Steve for his work with our 2nd XV.

To John Merritt, the clubs number one supporter. Thank you for storing, maintaining & producing the training equipment, for ensuring changing rooms are unlocked, marking the pitch, water bottles filled, financial control on training nights & match days, linesman on match days & for the tens of other jobs you do that go unnoticed, your enthusiasm knows no bounds & is an example that we should all follow.

Thank you to all the club sponsors for your money. It’s always needed & always grateful.

And finally, thank you Shaun Craig. For having a vision of this clubs future & a plan of how to get there. You knew what you wanted from your time as captain. The amount of time, money & effort that you put in to this club is not really witnessed by most people. We all know that your time as club captain will go down as the most successful to date, and rightly so.

Time to go

This was my last season with Inishowen RFC. On Thursday 2nd April I will hold my final training session, and on Saturday 11th April I will witness my final 1st XV match. I’m proud to see where this club is now to where it was two years ago.

Off the field you are progressing with a youth section, putting into plan your own club house, training & playing facilities, and have seen a steady stream of young, quality players introducing themselves to Inishowen rugby.

On the pitch our 1st XV improved last year to compete & gain promotion from their division. This year again improved to be able to compete with the likes of Larne, Ballyshannon & Strabane, all of which are stalwart clubs that have played qualifying rugby for a long time.

The progress the 2nd XV team has made over the last 2 years is staggering, especially when you realise that this is only their 3rd full season in competition. But it has been a constant improvement. (35% this season, 32% last).

If the 2nd XV take promotion, then in 2 seasons this club would have seen both sides promoted into a higher quality of competition & 3 cup finals between them (Winning two of them).

I have witness some great highs in my time at this club, naturally the Forster cup, Butler shield and Grosvenor fixture, with the thrill of the championship race last season. But also witnessing club record victories (the 1st XV 68 - 7, and the 2nd XV 40 – 0, both against Clogher Valley - the 1st XV score being the biggest points accumulation per match of any side in their division that season). I’m proud of the defensive records both teams set over these two seasons, and I’ll always smile over the little things like the enthusiasm you guys showed at our first training session together.

All of the credit of this success has to go down to you the players. Thank you all for your time & effort, for your willingness to listen, contribute, learn & improve at anyone of the 142 team meetings, training sessions & video sessions, not to mention reading all the e-mails, re-caps and structures I sent.

Someone once said that ‘you will only get out of it what you put in’. To the players that have genuinely contributed to our sessions over the past two seasons I’ll ask this: Do you think you have improved as a rugby player during this time? If the answer to that is yes, then I can honestly say I did my job.

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