Shane Timmonsis captain of the Senior Cup rugby team in St Mary's College, Rathmines. A Leaving Cert student, he is currently juggling study with his rugby commitments. This is his diary.

Monday

I live in Palmerstown so I'm up at six and in school by a quarter past seven every morning. I generally chill out in the common room until school starts. My days are pretty structured and I think a lot of the guys have the same kind of schedule - apart, maybe, from the early morning.

Study is the toughest thing. You try to plan but most of your brain is preoccupied with the Cup. We train five days a week. On Monday we have a weights session and we do fitness in the school yard. The day basically goes school, rugby training, study and I get home at about 10pm.

Tuesday

I attend early morning business class that starts at eight every Tuesday. Leading up to the Leaving Cert year you're aware that the Senior Cup is coming up so when you're in fifth year you try and get as much done then as possible.

The worst thing for players is to come in after training and see the guys who aren't playing, studying away. You get the impression that they're all racing ahead, although that mightn't be true.

It's difficult to put into words what the Senior Cup means. It basically means everything. This isn't just a year of hard work. It's something we've been looking towards and hoping for for most of our lives.

It has been a major part of our lives for so long, even for people who aren't involved in rugby. We'll remember it for years to come. One of my coaches, Rodney O'Donnell, who played for the Irish and British Lions, says the Senior Cup years were the best years of his rugby life.

Wednesday

Wednesday is a half-day in school which means we have an extra-long training session of three hours rather than the one and a half we do on the other days.

We start off with fitness - they sometimes make us lift tyres and run across the pitch with them! We just do basic hands, passing the ball, tackles and so on and we concentrate on the scrum and the line-out.

I'm captain this year. There's a lot of history there, some big shoes to fill. Denis Hickie was captain here, also Shane Jennings and Jonathan Sexton. Tony Ward played for Mary's too although I don't know if he was a captain.

I would like to play after school. At the moment I'm back row and I'll be switching to scrum half next year so I'm hoping to break into Leinster then. This year I went for trials but I was injured and ended up as the water boy so it wasn't the biggest success! Next year will hopefully be better.

Thursday

Thursday is much the same. More school, training and study. You're always conscious that people who aren't playing have a much more structured timetable when it comes to study and schoolwork. We have school mentors - teachers who meet us and help us out in their free time - they really help. Study after training is a killer.

Coming up to the Cup, everyone gets more serious about food. There aren't any strict eating rules. It's up to yourself although there's a strict no smoking or drinking policy. We all have our brown bread and Lucozade. I saw a guy going to get a muffin in the canteen yesterday and I was like, "No, no!" You can eat a meatball sub if you want but you'll feel every bit of it in training later.

There is a strict school policy about Creatine. It's completely banned. No one takes it. I don't think anyone takes anything - not even protein supplements. One or two guys were taking protein but they stopped because they said it didn't work. I'm well aware that there is a big problem. You can really see the difference between our team and some members in other schools but at the end of the day, we hope that won't matter.

Friday

We have another 8am business class on Fridays. We don't normally have any training on Friday because a lot of the lads have grinds. I do grinds in Irish and biology.

This Friday will be special, though. We're having a roar-in for the Senior Cup panel. That's where the whole school gathers and there's a stand in front of the school. Not just the team but we'll try to get the whole panel, at least 40 of us, up on the stage for everyone to cheer them on. Everyone who is called up on stage gets a really good reception. We have so many chants it's not funny, and we practise them all. We have cheerleaders too - guys, not girls - and they dress up in blue and white and just get the crowd going. It's just a bit of fun.

Because I'm captain I'm last up on stage and I have to give a speech. It'll be nerve wracking. I haven't a clue what I'm going to say. I'm under strict instructions not to curse. I have been known to let the language get the better of me when I'm talking to the team! I'll probably say something corny like, "Wear blue and cheer until you go blue" or something. I think I'll have to talk about bringing the cup home as well. I have the phrase "Bringing it home" in my head.

Saturday

Saturday is usually a match but that more or less takes up the whole day. If the game is at 1pm, you're normally thinking about it beforehand and then afterwards you're thinking about what happened and how we played.

Our first Senior Cup match is coming up and I'm a bit nervous about that. It's not just a 15-man effort. It's something that the whole panel are a part of. It's a real team process. We're quietly confident about our chances this year. The bookies have us as underdogs but we're happier about that. We're trying to focus on our team mentality. You just try your best to keep an eye on everyone. If someone is nervous I or the vice-captain, Paul Gannon, will have a word with them. It's tough mentally when you arrive at Donnybrook and Setanta Sports are there but when you hear the roar from the supporters you begin to calm down.

The team is being picked today and tomorrow. When you have to make a call to a mate telling him he didn't make it, that's really heartbreaking. The stress of the whole thing would break you down if we weren't so close as a panel. It's just got to be done.

Sunday

Sunday is a rest day when I get to catch up on a bit of sleep and study. I'm normally wrecked - I slept until 2.30pm last Sunday.

St Mary's played CUS yesterday at Stradbrook. They won 25-14. See SportsTuesday for full match report

In conversation with Gráinne Faller