Future is bright for home grown Ormond 21's
By Thomas Conway
The first quarter of this Dónal Walsh Cup final had just elapsed and the Nenagh Ormond players looked collectively as if they had seen a ghost.
Trailing 19-0, the Tipp club had been utterly dismantled in the opening twenty minutes, broken apart by a Garryowen side that just oozed quality and class. For many of the Ormond players, last Sunday would have been their first experience playing in an environment as spectacular and sacred as Thomond Park. Clearly, they were shell-shocked.
And yet somehow, they managed to overcome that initial paralysis and produce a truly spirited comeback, seizing the initiative and taking the game to the Limerick club. There was disappointment amongst the Ormond faithful in the stand, but there was pride too. That same mixture of emotions was palpable from coach Rob Buckley, who spoke afterwards and paid tribute to his players.
“I’m 100 per-cent proud of our lads, because that was a really strong Garryowen side,” he said.
“Like ourselves, a lot of them have played AIL rugby in Division 1 this year and you could see that in a lot of them. But our lads fought really hard today and they fought really hard the whole year. We have a small squad but for a man they gave their best, and that’s all we can ask for.”
Buckley is as experienced on the field as he is off it. The powerful flanker made an impactful appearance off the bench for the first team against Terenure on Saturday, and he has also been involved in coaching to a high level, most notably with Cistercian College Roscrea’s Senior Cup side.
He touched on this in the aftermath, noting that several Nenagh players have schools’ experience, but also emphasising that many have come through the Ormond academy system.
He thanked the Green Bar & Restaurant, Borrisokane, for the support they have provided to the under-21s side all season, as well as the supporters, for getting behind the team. A steady stream of talent is flowing into the senior set-up, and that will benefit the club in the long-run, Buckley feels.
“Derek Corcoran, James Hickey, Dan Fogarty and John Long are doing a super job at spotting this young talent,” he said.
“As I said a few of these players have already been capped at 1A level, such as Fionn Higgins, who’s just out of school this year. Others like Brian O’Rourke, Robbie Tynan, Fionn O’Meara - they all have 1A caps to their name as well. And that’s going to stand to them going forward. It’s going to stand for us as a club as well,” Buckley concluded.