Sport: rugby club staying ‘as open and as safe as possible’

Mullingar Rugby Club will be staying “as open as possible” for the foreseeable future, says club president Conall Fitzgerald.

The IRFU postponed all non-élite fixtures as we moved to Level 3 – just as the Mullingar 1st XV had kicked off their Leinster League Division 1B campaign last weekend.

The U18s began their season with good results, while the club’s senior women were due to host Rathdrum for a Division 2 clash, and the men’s 1sts were away to Longford.

“We’re continuing training and trying to make things as open as possible and as safe possible,” said Conall. “It’s non-contact training and restricted to pods of 15, and we’ll continue it as long as we are allowed and as long as players and coaches are willing.

“There’s always some risk, but we believe the mental and physical benefits of remaining active are huge for players and coaches. I’m a great believer in sport, and that you get more out of it than you put into it.

“The lockdown was tough on people despite the good weather, and we’re expecting the winter to be more depressing. So as long as we can keep going as safely as possible, we’ll keep going.

“Hopefully we’ll have matches in three weeks’ time. It’s hard to know. We could be flying, or we could be in another lockdown. There’s no point in planning pessimistically; we’ll plan optimistically and hope for the best.

“We have to respect this thing, and to be afraid of it to a certain extent.”

Training continues for every team from adults to minis, with full distancing measures. The club has invested in hand sanitising stations. The dressing rooms, which can’t be used under regulations, are available for isolation should someone at training showing symptoms.

The club continues to rely on the generosity of its supporters and sponsors, Conall said, but has moved to make membership more amenable to families during these straitened times. Membership for minis, for example, costs €40 instead of €85.

Tony Doolan, coach of the U18 side and a former club president, said all playing members, adults and children, “need matches” to keep sharp.

“We might get the green light after October 27, but there’s no real indication that things are going to improve anytime soon,” he said.

“But we’re going to train, and focus on our movement, passing, trying to make training as enjoyable as we can. If you’re in your 20s, the pubs and other distractions are closed, so there’s not much else to do. If competitions take up after October 27, we’ll be ready.”