Enniscorthy seek eighth Provincial Towns title
Enniscorthy seek eighth Towns Cup
THE EIR Sport cameras will be in Wicklow at 4.15 p.m. on Sunday when Enniscorthy take on long-standing rivals Tullow in the Provincial Towns Cup final.
The Slaneysiders are aiming to bridge a three-year gap by collecting the coveted trophy for the eighth time in all, and they will be in quietly confident mood after the emphatic success last time out against league winners Ashbourne.
Head coach Kieran Hurrell played with his native Waikato in New Zealand before moving to Ireland and winning A.I.L. titles with Old Belvedere and Old Wesley.
He was later player-coach with Wicklow when they won the Provincial Towns Cup in 2016, and is employed by Leinster Rugby as a coach development officer.
And Hurrell has a very talented squad at his disposal, with the following players aiming to end another fruitful campaign on a real high:
Angelo Todisco, David Murphy, Paddy Waters, Tony White, Tom Farrar, Tomás Stamp, Joe Bulmer, Tom Ryan, Timmy Morrissey, John Daly, Nick Doyle, Jim White, Brian Bolger, Arthur Dunne, David Shore, Killian Lett, Ivan Poole, Hugh O’Neill, Daniel Pim, Ivan Jacob, David O’Dwyer, Ross Barbour, Richard Dunne.
Enniscorthy R.F.C., a club steeped in history, is totally immersed in enjoying the success of the modern game in Leinster and especially in the south-east.
The club, founded in 1912, celebrated its centenary year in 2012. Enniscorthy chose this momentous occastion to achieve its sixth winning of the Blue Riband Provincial Towns Cup. It is worth mentioning that E.R.F.C. was also the very first winner of this prestigious trophy way back in 1926.
The club enjoys membership and participation from the town of Enniscorthy and its hinterland.
During the rugby season, the biggest turn-out every week is for the Sunday morning minis session.
Led by minis’ co-ordinator David Bolger, a large team of hard-working and rugby-loving coaches take care of all ages from Under-7 to Under-12.
This includes under-age girls’ rugby. The last few years have seen a mushrooming of interest and activity.
It was not surprising that this started to bear fruit last season, with the club’s Under-16 and Under-18 girls’ teams bringing home Leinster trophies for the first time.
The time and inspiration which has been led by Myra Kelly at youths level and Jane Mythen at minis level is fantastic. They are open to new recruits at all ages and involvement is growing by the day.
They have brought some of the best coaching talent in the club on board, led by John Bolger. The club looks forward to John’s influence on women’s rugby in the club equalling his contribution to youth rugby in the 2008-2010 period.
At the same time that Tadhg Furlong was coming in to sight in neighbouring New Ross, John Bolger, Pat Kelly, Paul McCrea and Liam Spratt were the central figures in a golden era for Enniscorthy R.F.C. at Under-16 and Under-18 level, including wins in the Under-16 McCauley Cup and the Under-18 Culleton Cup (overall Leinster champion cups).
Larry Mackey and Mark O’Donohoe are the two people who in recent times and today take on the key role of co-ordinating the boys’ youth section, helped again by many hard-working coaches.
They give the opportunity to so many young players to enjoy everything that is so special about rugby as a sport and build the future of the club for the years ahead.
This success was the foundation of the most recent purple patch for the club at Senior age level. A number of the players on our firsts and seconds today come from those teams, and the club prides itself on one of its foundations of success being the ability to grow and retain homegrown talent as the foundation of the team.
Last year’s captain, Daniel Pim, along with Tom Ryan and David O’Dwyer, are perfect examples of this really good homegrown talent. They are of course joined by other younger talent like Jim White (Irish under-age international), Nick Doyle, Joe Carley, and also very importantly by some more experienced hands, led by this year’s captain, Ivan Poole.
Killian Lett is another player who brings a depth of experience and service to the club, having also represented Ireland and played in the top echelons of the Senior All-Ireland League.
John ‘ Spud’ Murphy, capped for Leinster and for Ireland, is the director of rugby in the club.
Alongside him, Declan O’Brien, also capped for Leinster, has played a huge part in his capacity as player and coach in the recent successes of the Senior squad.
These successes are: Provincial Towns Cup, 2012 and 2015 (seven times in all); All-Ireland Junior Cup champions, 2014 and 2016; Leinster League Division 1A champions, 2016; Provincial Towns Seconds Cup, 2016.
This same period saw regional and provincial success for other adult teams, especially the seconds.
This season, there is still a lot at stake for the club. At under-age level, teams are going well at many age grades in the league and cup.
At Senior level, the firsts finished second to Ashbourne in Division 1A, and they will be aiming to swap the role of runners-up for victors in Sunday’s eagerly-awaited final.