A Hooker's Diary..with John Hogan
Bruff clear winners in biggest clash of the season so far THERE was much talk on Limerick radio stations and newspapers last week about the biggest clash of the rugby season so far. There was speculation aplenty about whether the stadium would be ready or not, if many visiting fans would turn up for the game and if the home side would be able to justify their title as marginal favourites.
As it turned out Kilballyowen Park was in perfect condition, a decent crowd of Nenagh supporters showed up despite the weather, and Bruff held on to their unbeaten record.
The fixture against Nenagh Ormond is always one of the biggest crowd-pullers of our season, regardless of whether it's on in Bruff or Tipperary. A healthy rivalry has built up between the two clubs from our days spent fighting for the top spot in the Munster Junior League.
While many rugby supporters were looking forward to the return of Munster to the redeveloped Thomond Park last week, we weren't looking beyond Saturday afternoon and our biggest test so far this season.
Monday
There was an increased sense of enthusiasm - or a slightly decreased sense of dread - going into this Monday's weights session. For us, the game against Nenagh is about as local as a local derby can get. It's that bit easier to motivate yourself through tough sessions when you know your efforts are going towards one of the most anticipated games of the season.
We heard that Nenagh had a player sent off last week and there's much speculation about the severity of the player in question's crime. The many unreliable accounts we have heard have described the sending-off incident as something between a harmless loss of temper to an offense so vile that it wouldn't get passed by a film censor had it been recorded.
Tuesday
It is common now for us forwards to take five minutes on a Tuesday to discuss the previous weekend's game. The general consensus is that Old Wesley were labouring under the misapprehension that forward play is an optional element of rugby. It was also agreed that whatever test the Dublin boys had given us, it would be nothing on the one coming the following Saturday.
One of my esteemed colleagues in the sports department insisted during today that we would beat Nenagh and easily get a bonus point in the process.
I couldn't disagree more. A Nenagh player wouldn't give the time of day easily to his Bruff counterpart, let alone a bonus point win.
We have a laugh about an article that appeared on the IRFU website previewing our game this weekend. The piece was written by a statistician who opted to include some of the most random information about Bruff and Nenaghs' results in the third division since promotion.
Apparently it's relevant that Nenagh have the better record in all games against Ulster clubs (70 per cent) but Bruff have been more successful when only away matches in Ulster are counted (81 per cent).
It becomes apparent to almost everyone on Thursday that I am writing a column about our exploits both on and off the pitch this season. This has caused some discomfort amongst the other players, who fear I may use my new found soapbox to resolve personal vendettas.
The new title assigned to the column, "The Hooker's Diary", is also the source of much slagging in the dressing room. All the expected jokes are made about how I am now making a chronicle of my adventures as a male prostitute for the Limerick Leader.
Thursday
The wall to wall media coverage of the Bruff Nenagh clash continues! Perhaps “wall to wall” might be an exaggeration but a picture did appear in a few of the papers today, of a Bruff and Nenagh player with a representative from AIB. The caption encouraged supporters to go to the game, which it billed as having “all the hallmarks of a great rugby occasion.”
To be honest, the photo reeked of a PR company trying to justify their fee to the IRFU. It’ll take a lot more than a staged photo once or twice a year, to make people travel 30 minutes outside of Limerick for a third division rugby fixture.
Sparse media coverage of the AIL means that many rugby fans no longer know the significance of a clash between Shannon and Garryowen, let alone that of a tie between Nenagh and Bruff. It’s naive to think that one mention in the papers the week before the game will result in any increased attendance at the game.
An often forgotten element of the amateur game that is absent from the professional ranks is parochialism. True, the majority of the Munster team are from this province but how many of them grew up with one another? How many of them would be friends if they weren’t employed by the same company?
As I looked around our team huddle at the end of our Thursday evening session, I could see the faces of friends. Friends whose birthday parties I’d attended, guys with whom I’d gone to primary school, teamates of mine since the heady days of under 10s played across the pitch rather than up it.
We were reminded of all these factors by our coaches and captain before we left the pitch on Thursday.
Saturday
Saturday was wet. Not the kind of wet that would make you put on a jacket if you went for a walk, more the kind of wet that would have you on the lookout for a biblical Ark.
The conditions were so bad that we did most of our warm-up in the dry confines of the gym. We spoke again about the significance of playing our old junior rivals and the importance of winning the first stage of fixtures before the following week’s break.
The opening quarter was the expected battle of attrition with neither side claiming a score. Thankfully the team managed to break the Nenagh deadlock twice in the second twenty minutes and went in at half time 10-0 up.
The half time game of tip rugby between the substitutes was abandoned after 30 seconds due to inclement weather and lazy substitutes, much to the disappointment of the sizeable crowd.
Not long into the second half our third try meant the bonus point was in sight. It was time to bring on the big guns and so I left the cosy confines of my boiler suit and ran into the rainy abyss.
We had no lineouts for the rest of the game, which was fine by me, given the torrential rain and slippery ball.Again and agin we hammered the Nenagh line until it looked like we would have to settle for four points rather than five.
However, with the last play of the game and after several phases played out on their five metre line, we got over and became one of the only teams in the country to claim a winning bonus point on the day.
Sunday
Thankfully there was no seconds game today, meaning a rare casual Sunday morning spent reading the paper.
"John Hogan barged over the Nenagh line to claim the try and bonus point for Bruff," wrote the Independent.
I must confess that my try-scoring theatrics came as news to me. I was fully convinced that I was on the flat of my arse about twenty feet from where the ball was touched down at the time.
But if the paper says it, it must be true and the more I thought about it, the more I could recall making a stunning break for the line leaving a string of Nenagh players in my wake. Well fair play to me.
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Weather for Limerick
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 13 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South east
