Enniscorthy
Liam Spratt is a radio presenter on South East Radio Ireland.
He recently spoke to Rugby Club Magazine about his positive
association with Enniscorthy Rugby Club, saying, “I am a current
coach of the U15s which I enjoy very much and will continue with
the lads up to U18s. I started my own playing career through the
school and then on to club rugby through the encouragement
and tutelage of the excellent Sydney Murphy who fostered a
magnificent rugby foundation at the time.
From the age of 17 I continued my playing career as scrum half
or full back, considered by some at the time to have a safe pair
of hands. This is a skill I noticed the lads who play GAA bring to
Rugby in their off season when they change sport.
I managed to hang on playing till the age of 40, captaining 3rds
and 4th teams on the way as I entered the latter stages of my playing days. The club has really developed over the last ten
years and produced their fair share of international players like
Tag Furlong. The huge underage section is a credit to the club
and town and coaches Declan O`Brien and Keiran Hurrell do a
magnificent job with the seniors.
Enniscorthy Rugby Club are a very family friendly club who are
fortunate to have many great members like John Bolger, a great
player, coach and still stalwart over many years. As far back as I
can remember the Enniscorthy ethos has always been to play fast
running ball rugby and I’m sure if they continued to play this way
next season, backed by the great coaching and member setup
they have, the All Ireland Leagues will pose no great hurdle to
their progress!”
local town and catchment area. We also have an excellent
relationship with other sports clubs, especially both our
next door neighbours Enniscorthy Athletics and Rapparees/
Starlights Hurling and Gaelic football club.” to a legacy from a former president and outstanding clubman
in Tom Hastings who would have been so proud of the club’s
recent achievements. The new Tom Hastings Training Centre
will be officially opened in Alcast Park at the start of the new
season.”
Challenges
“The club has many challenges historically and more in
the future and we have always meet these head on. The most
important challenge is embracing change to keep up to speed
on our members expectations and to increase our playing
base, all of which require additional funding. Thankfully we
have secured generous ground and main sponsor through
Padraic Donohue’s companies Alcast Motor Factors and
HILLAUTOS committed for the next three years at least.
The other challenges are to keep our under age
programmes to have a fun and enjoyable context so these kids
want to come and be part of their local club. We have also
recently completed a modern gym and training area thanks
Ambitions
“The club as a whole are committed to driving forward
and improving each year on all aspects as improvement is
always possible in sport with the right people involved in
coaching and development, something we believe we have.
Four our senior squad we hope to enjoy our experience
in senior rugby through good planning and preparation
and our aim is to achieve further promotion and move up
the divisions in the All Ireland League with Alcast Park a
fortress that visiting teams will find daunting on the pitch but
welcoming afterwards in our comfortable clubhouse.”
John Bolger recently spoke to Rugby Club
Magazine, saying, “I played school rugby and
at the age of 18 I ventured along to my local
Rugby Club which was Enniscorthy. I played
mainly 1st centre or inside centre as it’s known
today for the senior first XV.
After I stopped playing I continued to coach
the boys teams and three years ago, after quite
a lot of encouragement, I started coaching my
daughter Ruth’s team. Although Ruth never
played last season as she was committed to
playing Camogie, an Irish stick-and-ball team
sport played by women; it is almost identical
to the game of hurling played by men and
is played by 100,000 women in Ireland, she
has told me she will be returning to rugby this
coming season. I helped coach the unbeaten
U16 girls team and a few of those girls have
been selected for the Ireland U18 squad which
is a fantastic achievement for them, their club
and country.
This year’s teams have excelled and a lot of hard
work has gone into developing Enniscorthy
RFC, particularly over the last eight years. Our
facilities, coaches and overall structure are in
great shape and the goal is to maintain this and not become complacent or rest on our laurels and continue to grow.
My company Bolger Brothers have sponsored the club for quite a few decades and we have always enjoyed supporting this
great club. I would like to congratulate everyone at Enniscorthy Rugby Club on a great season, wishing them all the very best of
continued success – let’s keep our eye on ball!”
www.rugbyclubmag.com
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