An Irishman’s Diary on Roscrea and a great year for rugby’s underdogs

‘From the halls of Roscrea College to the fields of Donnybrook,

We will cheer our team to victory in the Leinster Senior Cup”.

Every year during my time in Cistercian College, Roscrea (CCR), this refrain would start up in the refectory after Christmas, as a new senior cup campaign beckoned. For each of my six years in the school in the 1970s, the team never advanced beyond the first round. However, on March 17th, 2015, CCR’s long wait for a win in the Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup finally came to an end, with a nail-biting 18-11 victory over Belvedere College. Many long-suffering past students, myself included, had long since given up hope that we would ever reach the holy grail. There had been so many narrow misses, so many heart-breaking defeats, that we seemed destined always to be the nearly team. So you can imagine the emotion felt by us middle-aged men as the reality sank in that we had actually done the seemingly impossible for the first time in the history of the school.

The event was tinged with more than a little sadness for me with the knowledge that my brother Gerry, a teacher in CCR and a huge rugby fan, did not live to see this fateful day, having passed away on October 11th , 2013, just a few days short of his 59th birthday.

While Gerry’s absence was keenly felt by me and others, it couldn’t quell the euphoria among the throngs of Roscrea supporters who were present to witness this sweetest of victories. With just seven points separating the teams coming into the final minutes, Belvedere’s diminutive scrumhalf made a break near the Roscrea line and looked certain to score under the posts. It seemed inevitable that another draw was going to be plucked from the jaws of victory, but somehow the player was held up just short of the line and the siege was lifted. The final whistle, after what seemed like an eternity, triggered a massive celebration.

Cohort

Let us ponder on the magnitude of this achievement for a moment. The total student cohort in CCR is 180 according to the school website – there would be that number in one year alone in Belvedere.

Then, consider the fact that the Leinster Senior Cup is one of the most prestigious and highly contested competitions imaginable, with huge time and resources being invested by schools with a view to ensuring success.

Diets are carefully supervised, fitness levels are amazingly high and the large crowds that turn up for the matches place incredible pressure on young shoulders.

Blackrock has by far the best record in the competition with 68 victories, and Roscrea beat them on their way to the final with a brilliant try deep in extra time. Victory over ’Rock was a good omen, as Roscrea had never previously beaten them at this level. The semi-final against Newbridge was a similarly tense affair that was decided in a replay that could really have gone either way. When destiny decrees it is your time, nothing can stand in your way.

There were many Roscrea teams in the past that came close to breaking the hoodoo, but it just wasn’t to be. The school produced a fair sprinkling of senior international players, including Gerry Culleton, Ned Bryne, Jim Glennon, the Spring brothers, Dick and Donal, Ben Cronin and Gavin Duffy – apologies to anyone who was inadvertently omitted from this list.

I’m sure those men and others who wore the CCR jersey with distinction revelled in the achievements of the team of 2015.

Restorative

Sport has a special binding and restorative quality. To enjoy it, one just needs to ride the wave of emotion it induces. I was in Ballsbridge with other members of the class of ’77 and two close friends, also past students, and we marvelled at what had unfolded before our eyes. We hugged unashamedly and shed a sly tear at the prospect of the Leinster Cup finally making its way to the small Offaly school located in the shadow of the lovely Cistercian abbey. I thought of my brother Gerry and of how he was celebrating with other deceased CCR men from beyond the grave and urging us to seize the day –

carpe diem

was the motto by which he lived his own life.

A few months later, on the eve of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, I dare to dream that it may well be the year of the underdog and that Paul O’Connell and Joe Schmidt’s team could do a Roscrea on it, and achieve what few believe could ever happen. Might Ireland even be worth a small punt?