129 Not Out

So Brian O Driscoll’s final season has begun in Test rugby with a win over Scotland. But I suppose we must start at the beginning for this incredible sportsman. He made his Test debut against Australia in 1999 before even making a senior appearance for Leinster , which I think is incredible because it would not happen now in most sports that a player would play for his or her country before playing for his or her club.

He announced his arrival on the world stage in 2000 against France in the 6 nations with a hat trick and he was part of the first Irish team to beat France in Paris since 1972.Since that day in Paris “BOD” has become a global superstar of Rugby Union on a par with the likes of Lomu , Cullen and Wilkinson. He has made his mark very quickly and was made Irish captain in 2002 becoming full time captain in 2003.

The one thing that will come as a surprise to many people is that Brian has never won the IRB World Player of the Year, despite winning numerous league and cup titles including a Celtic League and 4 European trophies along with a Grand Slam in 2009. So at least he has some silverware to look back on when his career comes to a close at the end of this season. New Zealand’s Richie Mc Caw has won 3 World Player of the Year awards so from a European perspective one wonders why “BOD” has not won this particular accolade.

He has led Leinster and Ireland from the front for the past 14 years and in that time has scored 46 tries for Ireland to date and also played on a record 4 Lions tours which will not be matched in the modern era. He has also captained The Lions on that unsuccessful tour of New Zealand in 2005.

In the 6 nations he has broken Ian Smith’s record of 25 tries by scoring 26 tries so far in the Championship. He has been a mainstay of the Irish side in all 14 6 nations campaigns. So as his last season begins its final few months I encourage anyone that can to come out and support this genius and admire his class while we still can. Because as is always said you only really miss something when it is gone for good. To Brian I sincerely  thank him for all the memorable moments he given the fans over the last 14 years. So it is 129 not out.

By Cian Mc Gibney. 04-02-2014.

Schools Rugby

I have been against the idea of Schools rugby being the only way into the professional game, but after many years of being against the Schools system, I have to say after going to my 1^st game yesterday between Crescent and CBC I have to say my opinion has slightly changed. The quality of the game was fantastic and also the officiating on the day was also of a very high standard. My younger brother is now in the system that we were against for a long time, but as the saying goes “if you can’t beat them join them”.

The level of training that is required for a Senior Cup campaign is also of a very high standard. Players have to train 6 days a week along with doing their own individual work which requires a level of concentration and dedication that has to be admired.

I also have to commend the school for the way that both school work and playing sport for the school goes hand in hand. Also I think the supporters deserve a mention. Both sets of supporters from Crescent and CBC made it a colourful and memorable occasion by getting behind their side from the start to finish.

The coaches that are brought in to coach at schools level are also of a high standard, Conan Doyle and Peter Melia were the coaches yesterday, both quality coaches and they had their teams well  drilled and this made for a good spectacle.

The game itself was a very one sided affair, with Crescent winning by 39-0 against a CBC that included Munster Coach Rob Penney‘s son Alex and a few other quality players. Crescent are the defending champions and looked like a team ready to defend their crown with some fantastic displays in attack and defence. Their discipline in defence was a sight to behold and was a mark of a team really in tune with each other and showed the trust that they have in each other.

To sum up my opinion of Schools rugby has slightly changed and cooled but I shall reserve judgement until this campaign comes to a close.

By Cian Mc Gibney.

30-01-2014.

Fanatical Support

Is fanatical support a thing of the past, in the last few days Ireland captain Paul O Connell has called on supporters to get to their seats before the game starts and not 5 minutes into the game. With a week to go before the 2014 6 Nations begins I think Paul O Connell has sent a clear message to all supporters to come and support Ireland and turn The Aviva into the fortress that it once was.

People will ask how do you do this, well here are a few solutions, Close the bars 10 minutes before kick off , Ask people via the PA system to get into their seats at least 5 minutes before kick off , Turn off the PA system after the team announcements and leave it up to supporters to set the atmosphere. They are just 3 ways of changing the atmosphere at big games. This year marks the start of the build up to the 2015 World Cup. Joe Schmidt will now have a real chance to stamp his authority of the Irish squad.

What is the true mark of an Irish supporter, a real knowledge of the game they are at, and a real sense of timing as to when they are needed by the team during the game. So in 2014 and beyond take Paul O Connell’s advice and get to your seat on time and get behind the team from minute one and turn the Aviva into a place where visiting teams won’t want to visit.

Cian Mc Gibney 24-01-2014.

Munster Storm Kingsholm

So for the 15^th time in 16 seasons, Munster have made the quarter finals of the Heineken Cup, an incredible achievement for a team that has gone through so much change in the last few seasons. After defeat in last season’s semi-final to Clermont and the retirements of both Ronan O Gara and Doug Howlett , it was felt that Munster would again go into a period of transition but after only 3 defeats in 17 games this season , People are beginning to sit up and take notice of Munster again after another fantastic set  of performances in Heineken Cup rounds 4 and 5. After the heroics of JJ Hanrahan in Perpignan when the game seemed dead and buried after a try in the 77^th minute looked to have put Munster on course for Heineken Cup elimination for only the 2^nd time in 16 seasons, then something truly special happened and Munster did what they have so often done in past seasons and they summoned up this tremendous spirit that they have to come back and score the winning try and keep alive their hopes of qualifying for another quarter final.

They then headed for Gloucester and to fortress Kingsholm  to try and storm the place that they hadn’t been since 2008. Simon Zebo made a welcome return to the 23 along with Conor Murray. Munster have struggled at times this year in attack but to make up for that in defence and that is one of the main reasons that they won on Saturday along with strong performances in both the scrum and line out. To this end both Damian Varley and Paul O Connell have to be commended for putting the work in along with Dave Foley and James Coughlan. In the backs both James Downey and Johne Murphy put in huge efforts in both defence and attack.

Munster are now in with a real shout of the double top of the Rabo and top of Pool 6 in the Heineken Cup. So after storming Kingsholm they can now look forward to a quarter final in April. Also a mention for the terrific supporters in Gloucester on Saturday, they have a brilliant reputation and they again enhanced it with some wonderful singing and very vocal support to the dismay of some very disgruntled locals.

Munster yet again did what they always do and saved the best until last with another memorable performance that will go down in Munster rugby history.

By

Cian Mc Gibney.

15-1-2014.

Has Rugby lost its way ?

Has rugby lost its way since the 2012/2013 season began? In the last few weeks I have seen a number of pros making major gestures when they are being obstructed or when they are looking for penalties. This particular phenomena has become a major bug bear for me. I know that people will turn around and say I am going a little bit over board but I just believe that rugby is such a tough game played by what I believe to be some of the world’s best athlete’s. I just feel this needs to be said that rugby needs to stay true to it values of honesty of effort , and being able to leave it all out on the playing field.

Having played other sports I feel that rugby has led the way in terms of the way that players treat match officials and their fellow pros on the field of play. In GAA, we have seen match referees being treated very badly by players, supporters and team officials. And also in football the level of abuse that is directed at referees has gone through the roof. In rugby what the referee says goes and in 99% of cases the players just get on with it and don’t complain. This is one tradition that rugby has begun to lose with players making more out of certain incidents and I urge the IRB to stamp it out before it gets any worse than it is at the moment.

In Thomand Park last Friday during the Munster vs Connacht game, when either JJ Hanrahan or Dan Parks was lining up a kick at goal, a number of kids in one of the terraces and also a few inebriated adults started to heckle either kicker and as we know long has been the tradition down the years of silence in Thomand , for which the supporters have gained a wonderful reputation. So to those few that don’t seem to know the meaning of the word tradition , look it up in a dictionary before you travel and maybe just maybe if this tradition can be restored to its former glory then maybe just maybe we can regain the honest integrity of the game that I know and love !!

By Cian Mc Gibney -30-12-2013.