Dylan and Eddie excelling a long way from home
OVER THE last few weekends a number of Wexford sportsmen have represented us with distinction on the world stage at various sports. Unless you have been living on the moon or have no interest in sport, you will have witnessed the incredible performance of Tadhg Furlong against the world’s best, the All Blacks.
Yet again this incredible young rugby player excelled at the highest level and left every ounce of effort that he could drain from his body on the Aviva Stadium pitch.
Last Saturday another young rugby star from Wexford, Dylan Fawsitt, made a dream come true by also playing international rugby at the Aviva, with the U.S.A.
A large contingent of family and friends made the pilgrimage to Dublin to support the former Blackrock College player, who slipped through the system here before gaining recognition in the states.
I remember only about five years ago I saw Dylan play a District Junior football final with St. Martin’s, so it just shows how things can change in a short time with a lot of hard work and determination.
Incidentally, in 2018 Dylan played a number of games for the Colorado club Glendale Raptors, and met up with Billy Walsh who went to support him at one of their home games.
Speaking of success and how things can change in a short time, another Wexford native who left our shores to pursue his dream had some amazing success last weekend.
Former Irish coach and C.B.S. clubman
Eddie Bolger, now residing and coaching in Germany, brought unprecedented success to the country in the women’s elite world boxing championship in India.
Eddie (pictured right) coached two of his athletes to a gold and silver medal, the first time Germany has won a gold at the women’s championships. To cap a memorable weekend for the Wexford town man, a former Irish Senior champion himself, Eddie was also crowned best coach of the tournament, a proud achievement for him and his family.
Yet another talented Wexford coach with an outstanding pedigree and vast international experience in coaching and talent recognition, Eddie was allowed to leave the Irish set-up two years ago.
At the same tournament his former mentor, Billy Walsh, helped his U.S.A. girls pick up three bronze medals to add to his tally of international achievements.
Both men were delighted to see Kelly Harrington win her gold medal, as they would have had a significant input into her development before they departed the Irish high performance unit.
The two Wexford coaches have continued their friendship and working relationship since they took up employment with their respective adopted countries. Both have hosted each other with training camps for men’s and ladies’ teams, and take part in training camps together with other top nations prior to major championships.
This ties in with the belief of both coaches that you have to train with and against the best to be able to compete with the best. Their mantra was certainly proven to be credible as, prior to the tournament in India, Germany, Ireland, Ukraine and the U.S.A. trained and sparred together for ten days.
The four teams won eight medals between them, surely no coincidence and surely a message that can be transferred to all sports. The two men flew home together from India for a few days of welldeserved rest, before they head back to begin the task of plotting a way through the difficult qualifying route for the 2020 Olympics.