CLUB RUGBY ‘UNLIKELY’
Enniscorthy update paints pretty grim picture
ENNISCORTHY RUGBY Club officials have informed members that there is little or no prospect of any competitive action taking place for the remainder of the 2020-’21 season.
Their regular newsletter, issued to members Saturday morning, said ‘it now looks unlikely that we will have any meaningful competitive Rugby before the commencement of 21/2 season’.
The club Chairman, Paul McCrea, expressed a hope of getting back to the AIL in September ‘which will be predicated on the efficiency of vaccine roll out on the whole island’.
The re-start date for collective training will also be influenced by this, he added. ‘In the meantime, as advised by our covid sub committee, who have shown leadership and done sterling work during the pandemic, members can train individually while maintaining social distancing and adhering to all rules.’
That committee is chaired by Stellah Sinnott, and also includes Liam Walsh and club President Niall Wall.
In the absence of any competitive activity, the club has also appealed for membership to be paid by those who may have deferred or simply forgotten to do so given that priorities clearly lie elsewhere at present.
‘Our main items of income last season were subscriptions, sponsorship, rental, bar, boxing, junior discos and signs,’ the newsletter explains.
‘For this season income from these sources combined is 51% down on last season. Realistically the only potential source of income for the rest of the season is subscriptions.
‘The club is asking members to step up to [the] plate in this regard so we can come out of this in [a] strong position to fulfil [the] club’s ambitions and workload when we get back to somd kind of normality.’
The newsletter informed members that while club income sources have ceased, including reduced sponsorship, fixed outgoings still have to be met despite trimming costs where feasible.
Membership forms should be returned to Ray Hemmingway, Clonjordan, Enniscorthy, or Paul McCrea, Munster Hill, Enniscorthy, with the club available to provide further information on 085-1859948 or info@enniscorthyrugby.com.
The Enniscorthy senior side had high hopes of competing in the AIL for the second year running after restrictions were lifted to offer some window of opportunity during the summer.
However, all competitions involving cross-country travel were suspended, and replaced by the Energia Community Series which provided matches on a provincial basis before it too was put on hold in October.
Enniscorthy only managed to play two matches prior to the shutdown, losing 25-10 to Wanderers in Merrion Road on the last Saturday in September before going down 29-15 at home to Malahide in Alcast Park one week later.
However, those results weren’t the cause of any concern given that Wanderers play a division above them in the AIL, while Malahide were top of Division 2B when the first lockdown happened.
If the current lockdown hadn’t intervened, Enniscorthy would have been hosting Cork club Sunday’s Well in Division 2C of the AIL last Saturday.
And Well coach David Corkery, the former Cork Constitution, Munster, Bristol and Ireland player, voiced some interesting opinions on the current situation for clubs in an interview with Simon Lewis in the ‘Irish Examiner’ on Saturday.
‘What they should do is put everyone out of their misery and just pull the season completely,’ he said.
‘Others may disagree but because it’s so stop-start, you’re on one week, off the next because someone’s got Covid.
‘The Community Series was okay, it kick-started the season and players had something to train for, because if they’ve nothing to train for they just will not train.
‘Players have to have a goal, and we’ve had the Under-18s and U20s making up our numbers before it all got shut down again and even then they could only train in pods of 15 with no contact.
‘It’s tough on the players because you’re basically a running club.
‘The last thing you want is for it all to open up and then we get shut down again. You can’t plan anything and for a club like the Well where every single player is gold, you lose one or two and you’re struggling.
‘So let the IRFU come out with a date for the start of next season so clubs at least have something to plan for. At the moment there’s nothing.’
The restrictions disrupting the entire season also came as a big blow to the new Enniscorthy women’s team as, seven years after previously fielding at that level, their games were cancelled after just one outing in Division 4 of the Leinster League: a 31-15 home win over Wicklow on October 4.
Rugby at elite level survives, and the big draw this coming weekend is the Guinness Pro14 clash of Munster and Leinster on Saturday at 7.35 p.m. The game will be televised live on eir Sport.
Greg McGrath, a product of Wexford Wanderers and the latest local to make an impact with Leinster, featured in the back row in their 37-14 defeat to Ulster in an ‘A’ game on Friday night.