Tomorrow afternoon the Ireland schools team will play England at Musgrave Park. I sincerely hope that a good crowd will turn out to give the youngsters the encouragement they so well deserve. The importance of schools' rugby to the game in this country cannot be overstated. The schools' cups get a lot of publicity and it is absolutely merited because of the interest they generate. They stand second only to the senior internationals in appeal.
The game at schools' level in Munster, Leinster and Ulster has long been strong. In Connacht, it has progressed hugely over the last decade. For instance the number of schools affiliated to the Connacht Branch has quadrupled. In the other three provinces there have been appreciable increases, too. Nothing has been more encouraging than to see new schools emerging. Schools' rugby is not about hype, to use the modern term, it is about reality as those who attend the matches regularly will readily testify. Would that the Ireland senior side been even half as successful as the schools' teams have been in recent years.
For well over 100 years the senior cups in Ulster and Leinster have graced the rugby calendar and for most of this century those in Munster and Connacht. Then the junior cups were added to the schedule. Far from losing any appeal, the enthusiasm has never waned either among players or the general public. Hype cannot be sustained for a century, the truth is that the schools' game has immense appeal.
Each year some of the best rugby in this country is played at schools' level and that is why it draws the huge attendances. The best matches I have seen this season have been in this sphere, none better than the superb final of the Leinster Junior Cup between Belvedere and Blackrock last
Wednesday week.
Nor can an argument be sustained that for some schools it is one competitive match annually. There are leagues at junior and senior levels in Leinster in which the traditionally strong schools do not participate. St Andrew's won the senior competition this season and St Paul's the junior league. The enthusiasm those wins generated was a telling testimony to what it meant to both schools. Their successes also reflect immense credit on their coaches. There are also leagues for the second teams split into two divisions, premier and first, and indeed even a thirds league.
Inevitably there are schools which are traditionally very strong, but that happens in all competitions in all sports.
Well over half the counties in Ireland have never won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and maybe never will. It does not diminish interest nor the enthusiasm with which each county will prepare annually even though most know they will not win at provincial or national levels. Some will have their hours of glory by causing upsets and so will some schools. Last season St Saran's reached the final of the Connacht Schools' Senior Cup; the previous year Portumna won the Junior Cup for the first time. This season Roscrea got to the final of the Leinster Senior Cup for the first time since 1941. Happenings such as those all add to the romance and appeal of the competitions and who knows who it will be next season? As regards schools who are knocked out at the first-round stages of the cups, there are in fact plate competitions for the losers. There are also preliminary rounds in the cups for the weaker schools to qualify. In addition to the main competitions, Connacht runs Development Cups and leagues at both junior and senior schools' levels. In Ulster, too, the competition is not confined to the senior cup and junior medallion. They also run subsidiary competitions.
Then there is the High Schools' Cup for the boys leaving their schools at 16 years of age. There is very big competition for the primary schools and nearly 200 schools take part in that with finals day in June at Ravenhill. That is effectively mini rugby.
In Munster there are no fewer than 19 competitions at schools' level in addition to the senior and junior cups. There are three divisions in the senior development league. The advances made in relation to the schools over recent years have been tremendous.
ONE of the best decisions taken by the IRFU in the last 25 years was to field a schools' team at international level. In the early stages, initially only two matches were played each season. Then all four home countries were encountered annually with additional games against touring teams and overseas tours to Australia and New Zealand.
Unfortunately Scotland have dropped out this season at schools' level and that is unfortunate. The Scots will not play either Ireland or Wales. It was hoped that Ireland will play annually against the French schools . A proposed fixture this season did not materialise but France may be added to the schedule next year.
Just how valuable the schools' internationals are is illustrated by the fact that no fewer than 55 players capped at schools' level since 1975 have gone to win full senior caps. No other country can match that. Indeed more Ireland schools' internationals have won full caps than the combined total of the other three countries put together since 1975.
For the record those who have been capped at schools' and senior level are: Jimmy Bowen, John Murphy, Alistair McKibbin, Moss Finn, Job Langbroek, Harry Harbison, Jim McCoy, Donal Spring, Ronan Kearney, Hugo MacNeill, Willie Sexton, Paul Dean, Donal Lenihan, Brian McCall, Philip Matthews, Ken Hooks, Kenny Murphy, Mick Moylett, Paul Collins, John Hewitt, Peter Russell, Michael Kiernan, Michael Bradley, Brendan Mullin, Neil Francis, Terry Kingston, Philip Danaher, Michael Fitzgibbon, Gary Halpin, Denis McBride, Brian Glennon, Kelvin Leahy, Mark McCall, Vincent Cunningham, Nicky Barry, Allan Clarke, Paddy Johns, Ken O'Connell, Jack Clarke, Rob Saunders, Niall Hogan, Victor Costello, Niall Malone, Paul Wallace, David Humphreys, David Corkery, Anthony Foley, Jonathan Bell, Conor McGuinness, Jeremy Davidson, James Topping, Denis Hickie, Eric Miller, Kieron Dawson and the most recent, Ciaran Scally.
Eight of those players went on to captain Ireland. They were Lenihan, Matthews, Bradley, Mullin, Kingston, Danaher, Saunders and Hogan. Matthews of that eight has the distincion of being the only player to have captained Ireland at schools' and senior levels.
And what one may ask is being done for the boys who do not go to rugby-playing schools? An immense amount and that is something well worth elaborating on in the near future.
