Still got the blues over you: Mullingar RFC host URC champions

Last Tuesday the grey sky at Culleen Beg on the outskirts of Mullingar buzzed with the industrious hum of drones. The aircrafts hovered over the main pitch of Mullingar RFC to capture the activity of the Leinster Rugby squad as their coaches put them through their paces.

Ostensibly this was ''non contact' training, but some of the collisions on the synthetic surface produce a grimace on the faces of the many supporters who came to see what their idols do to get ready for the season ahead.

“They are fairly intense, they have to be. Once the season starts they will be playing week in, week out, so then the intensity has to be paired back,” Jack O'Brien the Athletic Performance Coach & Sports Scientist at Leinster Rugby said of the session.

Jack grew up just a little further down the N4. The Longford man was one of a number of the Leinster contingent with midlands roots. At the barrier was Colonel Jim Prendergast. After the final whistle went he greeted his grandson, Sam Prendergast, with a warm hug.

The Leinster 10, along with his many colleagues chatted, took selfies, and signed numerous jerseys after the exhausting hour and 20 minute session.

“It was lovely to train here today. This was where my dad grew up. It was particularly lovely to have my granddad come along as well,” the Ireland outhalf said. He was one of two players left on the pitch after the crowd had fizzled away.

The other player still chatting, as members of the team management attempted to herd the stragglers, was Westmeath greatest ever rugby player. Robbie Henshaw was at home. There is something incongruous about the 6' 03'' accordion playing centre, not that he does both at the same time. In the heat of competition he is always in the thick of the action, directing those around him, taking decisive action.

At Shay Murtagh Park at 3:50pm he's a very different person: “It's great to be back in the Midlands, close to home for me, back in Westmeath,” typed out it seems a bit trite, but in person with his grin and enthusiasm you can feel the sincerity.

It's difficult to imagine this imposing athlete as a child, but that is the human voyage: “I remember playing here as a kid, from minis up to underage. We regularly came over and played in the Midlands leagues. To see the development is unbelievable.”

Just as Robby's development saw him progress from minis to an International player so too has Mullingar RFC had an equally dramatic metamorphosis: “I remember the changing rooms being like a cold, old shed, with a very small clubhouse; very, very old school. So to see the brand new gym, the new clubhouse facility, it's exceptional. Fair play to everyone who's involved.”

Mullingar RFC's facilities are now the envy of not just other rugby clubs, but all sports clubs. The standard of the gym, dressing rooms, and social area are well documented, but less obvious is high quality training put in by the voluntary coaching set up.

“It's great to see the physical development and coaching the players are getting in their clubs,” Robbie says, “It's now a massive part of the game, the physicality aspect of it. Even at club level; to get the teenagers in early and get them used to the gym and lifting correctly, it's huge. And it was big in my development as a kid coming up.”

For Denis McDermott this was an auspicious occasion. Mullingar RFC's president, along with a sizeable team of volunteers, was on site early making sure that every t was crossed and all the i's were dotted.

“Anytime Leinster comes to town, it's a big day for Mullingar. They don't always travel with their international squad, but here they are. There's James Ryan walking across the pitch,” Denis says pointing to the British and Irish Lions lock, “Obviously we are more than happy to accommodate them. If you get that phone call, it's a happy one, everybody gets very excited very quickly.”

Leinster Rugby's programme to visit regional clubs across the province gives them lots of options in the 12 counties. Mullingar is an attractive proposition for such a training session: “We have two 4Gs pitches, a stand, two 4Gs training paddocks, two grass pitches, a huge gym and a new clubhouse. In comparison to other rugby clubs we are very attractive, we're near Dublin and we're open for business,” Denis explained.

The club's presence on the Leinster radar is enhanced by the number of youth players participating in underage development squads: “As far as I know we are one of the biggest youth clubs in the country. “We have 400 minis that participate in the two Leinster mini blitzes, we also have 400 youths playing here, both boys and girls. We saw Finn Brennan started at out half for Leinster the other day. Channing Dafel started at 10 in the PwC U18 Interprovincial Championship for Leinster, while Caoimhe O'Mahony featured at fullback in the women's team that won their championship. We actually hosted that women's game here in Mullingar at the weekend. Our facilities and our coaches are producing excellent young players,” Denis tells.

The start of September sees the club emerging from a summer of hibernation. The Mullingar RFC president says the visit of the URC champions was a good way to commence matters: “We're at the very start of the season. This is a nice way to kick things off. Obviously in this country, GAA is the summer sport, everybody thinks about it, but winter is coming, and winter means rugby. We're going to open for business this weekend and our minis and youths will be back training next week.”