Diverse club out to break barriers by making room for everyone
Whatever your nationality, there is a place for you and your family Dogos, writes Brian Lowry
One club, all countries, is the message from one of Leinster’s youngest club. The Dublin Dogos were established in December 2016 and while still in their infancy, they continue to provide rugby to expats and Irish people in Dublin. Despite not having a long history, they are an example of a “new-Ireland” club who are aiming to foster the integration of immigrants through the sport of rugby. They currently have players from France, South Africa, Italy, England, Argentina, Brazil, Spain and of course Ireland. Their emergence in 2016 came about when a group of Argentine players based in Dublin came together to form the first permanent expat club. They wanted to be an inclusive club, open to all nationalities and all levels of players. While adopting the Barbarian approach when it comes to their recruitment, they are determined and committed to competing permanently and setting down roots in Leinster Rugby. There is a big emphasis on their players and families and having a real community feel to the club. The concept didn’t take long to catch on as their member pool began to grow and their affiliation with Dublin City University (DCU) in 2017 has been immense for the club. While DCU compete at college level, they don’t have teams in the Leinster leagues and they provided both quantity and quality local players to the Dogos to make sure that they had enough bodies to add to their expats when it came to entering teams in leagues. The club are always on the lookout for new players. Whether that is experienced South Africans or Argentines or Irish-born players looking to get involved, the club has an open-door policy and welcomes all prospective players. Their league season starts this month and they are still recruiting players who are interested in joining this ambitious project. Those interested can visit their website www.dublindogos.com or send an email to info@dublindogos.com. Back in April, they held their inaugural tag rugby tournament which included a full-scale, traditional Argentinean barbeque, music and activities for the whole family. It was a massive success and it gave the club a chance to show off some of their Argentinean heritage in their new home. The social element to the club is something they pride themselves and work hard on. With a work-hard, play-hard way of thinking, they are always actively looking to engage with people and indeed opposition clubs and forge new friendships through other rugby clubs.
Venture
One such example of this is their new venture into the practice of the ‘third half’. This is a social gathering practised in places such as Argentina and France, where after every match the home team invites the opposition team to enjoy a post-match meal and furthering camaraderie among clubs irrespective of the result. The Dogos’ ‘third half’ includes Argentine asado and South African braai, a slow-cooked barbecue which is aimed to expand the Dogo concept of ‘one club, all countries’. There is a lot to attract players to the club. With Dublin being one of the most popular capital cities in Europe and the competitiveness of the leagues, the club have experienced some players choosing to come and play with them over what may look like more attractive settings or leagues across Europe. They want to take not only Leinster rugby but Irish rugby by storm and make themselves the next big thing. They don’t lack ambition and with the open nature of the club, it is hard not to see them only getting more popular. Founded with the aim of taking down the walls and barriers for people looking to play rugby, they have certainly done that. They are now a meeting point, a social outlay and a club that is fostering interaction and integration between many nationalities. There is a passion there as well. While the players in the club may not have grown up together or been lifelong friends, playing rugby forges new bonds. They had a big year in 2017. While established in December of 2016 it was really in 2017 that things kicked off. They have already had some big milestones in their short time, including a deal with Coolmine RFC to train and play their home games there in Ashtown for the season 2017-2018. For the 2018-2019 season, Dogos have struck a new deal with Monkstown FC to train and play their games in Sydney Parade. With fantastic facilities in Monkstown, the Dogos are indebted to their host club.
There is a passion there as well. While the players in the club may not have grown up together or been
Their affiliations were also a piece of history, both with registering for the Leinster leagues where they competed in Metro 3 and 11 and the affiliation with DCU that helped them expand their pool of players. More than 400 people attended their opening ceremony and tag Rugby tournament as they kicked off their tenure in Leinster Rugby as they mean to go on. Dogos will compete in Leinster junior league Division 3 for the season 2018/19 and that will give them a chance to spread their wings around the province with trips to the likes of Roscrea, Athboy and Clane on the cards. It all begins for them on Sunday week when they make the trip up to Louth to play Ardee while the first club to experience their hospitality in Monkstown will be Roscrea the following Sunday.