A training ground for world-class rugby

FLAGMOUNT may not be a renowned rugby heartland yet a local rugby coach played a major role in developing the talents of five of Ireland’s Rugby World Cup squad.
While the nation lamented Ireland’s exit from the rugby tournament thanks to their unexpected 22-10 defeat by resurgent Wales on Saturday, rugby coaches in a Limerick secondary school can look back on the tournament with a great deal of satisfaction, having honed the skills of several players at college level.
Remarkable for its size – just over 500 boys – and almost unique as a non-fee paying rugby school, St Munchin’s has provided a veritable conveyor belt of talent for the Irish rugby team.
John Broderick from Flagmount was one of the rugby tutors who helped Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray, winger Keith Earls, forward Donnacha Ryan and hookers Damien Varley and Jerry Flannery fine-tune some of the basic skills of the game at St Munchin’s College, Limerick, where almost half its pupils come from South-East Clare.
The senior forwards’ coach was part of the St Munchin’s backroom team that guided the school to a thrilling 20-19 win in the Munster Senior Cup in 2002 against Ronan O’Gara’s old school, Presentation Brothers, Cork in Musgrave Park.
Donnacha Ryan was part of that all-conquering cup side in 2002 in a team that boasted Damien Varley, Killaloe and several of the recently successful All-Ireland winning Bruff team. It also included prop-forward David Horan, brother of former Ireland and Munster prop-forward, Marcus and Philip, who is a coach in the school.
That team brought the Bateman Cup to school, one of several cups brought to St Munchin’s last year by nostalgic students eager to return to their rugby nursery. The Magners Trophy also made an appearance with six of the starting players that beat Leinster in the final coming back to their school. This came on top of the Heineken Cup in 2006, brought in by Munster captain Antony Foley whose performance in the No 8 shirt for St Munchin’s is still the stuff of stories.
Interestingly, John Broderick remembers Donnacha Ryan, who played senior rugby in the school for two years, as being an outstanding hurler. A week after the 2002 Cup final, he won a Munster Schools Senior B Hurling medal.
“Donnacha Ryan had a huge engine, great workrate and was very competitive on the field,” he said.
John also noted that Damien Varley actually started out his rugby career as a back-row forward but it was felt he hadn’t a long-term future in this position, so he was converted into a hooker.
He recalled Damien took the long route before he became a full-time contracted professional. Varley played club rugby for a few years in Ireland and transferred to an English club before he came back to line out with Munster.This was in sharp contrast to some players who go straight into the Munster academy before they are discarded.
Keith Earls didn’t join St Munchin’s until he was 16 and in 2006, he won a Munster Senior Colleges medal as a substitute when they, again, defeated Presentation Brothers in Thomond Park.
Broderick started coaching Keith Earls while he was part of the Thomond Rugby Club and at U-18 level, the flying Moyross featured as a centre out-half and occasionally as a wing-forward. His father, Ger, played wing-forward for Munster. Keith also played with the Ireland schools rugby team and with the Ireland U-20 side in the World Cup.
He went on to wear the Lions shirt following in the footsteps of former pupils Bill Mulcahy, Colm Tucker and Keith Wood, with Jerry Flannery unfortunate to miss out through injury after being selected.
Conor Murray is considered a late developer and only joined St Munchin’s when he was U-16, having excelled as a hurler at underage level.
“He was a tall, skinny, bony lad who was very brave and determined. He was a sub scrum-half on the senior college’s team and to break into the senior squad at such a young age was a huge achievement,” he said.
John took a break from coaching at the college and was coaching the Young Munster U-20 team in 2007 when Conor joined the team. He played two or three games and then went into the senior squad.
Another St Munchin’s teacher, Pat Cross, who is a backs’ coach, did a lot of work with Conor, who subsequently transferred to Garryowen.
Jerry Flannery, who was forced to leave the Irish team because of injury before he was replaced by Damien Varley, reached the Senior Cup final alongside out-half Jeremy Staunton in 1997.
Philip Horan recalled another past pupil, George Clancy, was a skilful out-half. The Bruff man subsequently decided to follow the path laid out by David McHugh, one of Ireland’s finest men in black, who also went to St Munchin’s. George is now in the very exclusive club of 10 World Cup referees.
Last year, McHugh and Clancy spent some time in the college assessing and advising future whistleblowers among the student body.
John Broderick said the school was very proud of its contribution to the Irish team in the World Cup.
“For a non-fee paying secondary school to have so many players on the Ireland panel is phenomenal. If Jerry Flannery hadn’t got injured, it would have been unbelievable.
“Presentation Brothers Cork, St Mary’s and Blackrock in Dublin are all fee-paying schools and we have a lot more representatives than any of these facilities.
“There is tremendous spirit and enthusiasm around all sports and all the Munster players have also fared very well academically, which is very satisfying,” he said.
Residing in Clonlara, John’s parents, Michael and Bridget (nee Kennedy), hail from Flagmount where his uncle Paddy Kennedy still lives. John spent practically all his childhood summers in Flagmount. The owners of Brodericks’ Furniture Store are first cousins of his father, while Clare Intermediate All-Ireland winning manager and former St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield manager, Kevin Kennedy is his first cousin.
Among the college coaching staff are four teachers who played rugby for the school. The youngest of these, chemistry teacher Fintan Cross, now plies his trade with Thomond.
This year’s U-15s coach, business teacher David Quinlan, while not a past pupil,  shares a dressing room that is top heavy with them when he lines out for Shannon.
Likewise, the senior forwards’ coach, Irish teacher John Broderick has more than a few familiar faces from his former students lining out for Young Munster in the top flight of the AIL.
Currently senior coach, German teacher Niall McDermott is the Munster U-18 schools coach where St Munchin’s have four players on the panel, with an equal number on the U-19 panel. In all, 14 members of staff coach rugby in the school along with a host of past pupils, for whom St Munchin’s rugby is still taken very seriously.