Boxing in Moyross, chips from Donkey Fords... then AIL glory at the Aviva
Hayes is loving life at the coalface of Irish women’s rugby
APRIL 28, 2024 is a date which live long in the history of UL Bohemians rugby club.
It was a day when the All-Ireland League Women’s Division final was afforded the grandest stage for the first time at Aviva Stadium.
Railway Union provided the opposition and, suffice to say, both teams did the occasion justice, with Bohs securing a thrilling 4838 victory, sealing the club’s first league title since 2018.
It was a proud day for Fiona Hayes, their head coach. The former Munster and Ireland prop is prominent on the punditry circuit these days and is regularly heard across radio and TV.
This is her hometown club. Along with the likes of Fiona Coghlan, Lynne Cantwell, Niamh Briggs and Joy Neville, she was part of a stellar Bohs side which was central to the Ireland team which landed a Six Nations Grand Slam in 2013.
After a few years coaching with Ballincollig, Hayes returned to the helm at the Limerick club this season and immediately guided them to silverware. The celebrations after their recent triumph at Ireland HQ have just about simmered down.
‘Crazy. I’m still not right,’ says Hayes.
‘We had a good old time of it. We went back to Limerick that night and then we got up early and did the pubs.
‘So we brought the cup around to a few mad places around the city on a Monday but it was great craic.’
For Hayes, it was pure relief at the final whistle that this squad stepped up on the big day.
‘The girls had never played in the Aviva before and we weren’t sure how much nerves would kick in, but they attacked brilliantly.
‘It was just a great testament to women’s AIL rugby. You couldn’t have asked for a better game and a few auld lads around Limerick in the pubs that you wouldn’t have expected to be watching the game, they said they watched it and they thought the standard was unbelievable.
‘We were delighted with that. Stressful for me, but brilliant to watch. If I wasn’t a coach, I would have really enjoyed it!’
For anyone involved in coaching in the amateur game, there is no shortage of sacrifice which goes into this demanding role. Long commutes, dark winter nights in the driving rain, losing players to representative action and finances are just some of the many challenges.
At one stage this season, Hayes lost her entire starting line-up to the Celtic Challenge competition, a representative tournament designed to get players up to speed for the Six Nations. Not ideal midway through an AIL campaign, but Hayes had her own way of keeping the show on the road.
‘I thought we started the season really well and then the Celtic Cup happened in the middle of it,’ she explains.
‘All in all, I think 16 or 17 of our players were gone to that. That was huge for us. That was the majority of our starting team, including some of our subs.
‘When they came back, we struggled for a few weeks with getting back into that rhythm of the club game and enjoying it.
‘They went from a high-pressure situation to playing club rugby. They were putting themselves under massive pressure if they made errors.
‘One day, I didn’t tell them what was happening but I cancelled training and I just dropped them a pin (on Google Maps).
‘So, we went to Corpus Christi in
Moyross and we went boxing. The movie ‘Rocky’ was our theme for the season so we did 45 minutes of boxing. They loved it.
‘Then we went inside to the Treaty Brewery and they had a little glass of beer right beside the casks. We got chips from Donkey Fords. They got a good experience of Limerick.
‘I think after that we got back into our flow. People were connecting again. With the whole disruption in mid-season… people will be in, people will be out and those connections are huge but if you have them off the pitch, it’s more easier to have that on the pitch as well I think.
‘It was good for us. I’m from the north side of the city and most of them are stuck over on the Annacotty side of Limerick so it was great for them to experience the other side, my town.’
The sheer talent on display in the AIL has been striking this season. And Bohs have no shortage of bright prospects. Flying wing Chisom Ugwueru, who scored a brilliant hat-trick in the final, has already been in Ireland camp. Outhalf Kate Flannery has shown real promise while Aoife Corey is a superb young full-back.
It shows the value of this tournament in the wider context of the women’s game. Where it fits into the grand vision for the national team remains a work in progress, however. The lack of clarity from the IRFU is a continuing source of frustration for coaches.
‘I couldn’t tell you what’s happening next season with the club game,’ Hayes admits.
‘There no decisions. I’ve read that the Celtic Cup is being expanded so I presume that maybe some of the players will be gone (from the AIL).
‘That impacted us in two games last year. If it was five or six games (next season) for the club, that would be absolutely huge.
‘I feel like they’re heading towards a URC type of competition where clubs aren’t really looked at. It’s the provinces because the IRFU will be able to control all the athletes. They will have full control.
‘From my point of view, I’d love to hear that said out loud, what that means for the club game.
‘I’m in Bohs all my life. I coached for a while down in Ballincollig but I played for Bohs and now I’m back coaching them so the AIL is huge to me. We performed in the AIL and then you were brought through to Munster and then up to Ireland.
‘That doesn’t seem to be the way it is now.’
Whatever the future holds, Hayes and her players can be proud of what they achieved this season.
Off the field, she is one of the most prominent female rugby pundits on the circuit here. A selfconfessed rugby obsessive. It’s a dream gig for Hayes.
‘I love it. I don’t love the grief I get sometimes. Not everyone loves hearing a Limerick accent,’ she says, with a hearty laugh.
‘I watch every league. I’d sit down and watch the French league, the Premiership. I’d watch Super Rugby. I’m obsessed with it.
‘When I go on Off The Ball, people would say, “oh you have to do loads of work and research”, but I say, no I watch all those games anyway. I take it all in.
‘Obviously, I’d look over some stats but it’s so enjoyable I don’t find it any way stressful.
‘I’d sit down and talk to anyone about it. I’ve burnt the ear of many a person in the pub talking about rugby.’
‘YOU COULDN’T HAVE ASKED
FOR A BETTER GAME, IT WAS BRILLIANT’