I only got into rugby coaching when my eldest was in the U11s and his head coach appealed for help. Standing on the touchline and watching, I figured “ah – he means me…”. Initially, I just put out cones, held tackle bags and blew a whistle (lots!) [Ed: the Karl is strong in this one.]
A few years on, I’m part of a group of four coaching 30-40 U14s that combines the two age groups of U13 and U14.
Kerry is very much GAA – especially Gaelic football – country. But rugby has a history here, and actually pre-dates the GAA. The 1880s to 1920s were a time of huge turbulence in Ireland, and part of that led to the abandonment of rugby as a ‘foreign sport’ in favour of the new ‘Irish’ game (soccer, cricket and hockey were also regarded as ‘foreign’). Historically, a football game called ‘caíd’ was played in Kerry, but there’s very little evidence of how it was played: we can surmise it might be closer to the Shrove Tuesday games played in England than any modern code of football. There are theories that it might have been akin to Aussie Rules, as that seemed to spring up on the gold fields in the 1850s, where many Irish had headed off to make their fortune.
Rugby in Killarney goes back to the 1880s, and the club notes an official founding of 1929 – but it’s been re-founded on at least 3 other occasions: 1937, 1953 and 1983. With our own field and two decent pitches (and a third … well, it needs work…), we’re in a position to grow rather than just survive. In September 2019, we even hosted a Munster pre-season training session.
As a club at U14 level, which is the first competitive level (full-sized pitch, fifteen a side – hopefully), we compete in what is termed West Munster – essentially this is the other clubs in Kerry plus one other. We only get to play clubs from Cork and Limerick in friendlies or challenges slotted in between regular fixtures. In an ideal world we’d break out of this, as we end up playing the same local rivals three or four times in a season. In September, it’s all healthy competition; by March they hate each other’s guts. Doesn’t help that same group of lads also run into each in schools and club football and soccer over the same period.
Our season breaks into two parts. Before Christmas, there is a local league decided by a premiership-style knockout format (1 v 4 and 2 v 3) to eliminate the vagaries of no home-and-away. After Christmas, the West Munster teams split into an upper and lower section, with a home and away format. We took this opportunity to split our squad in two. The competition rules initially were that you could name an extended panel, and play all the subs in a non-competitive ‘3rd half’.
However, several clubs were struggling to make fifteen, so the rules reverted to two halves and a maximum squad of 23. That left us with ten not getting any game at all, plus subs only playing five to ten minutes at the end. The three-thirds is well-intentioned, but it’s really aimed at clubs with maybe 23-25 players to ensure everyone plays. It’s well-nigh impossible to play 15+ subs: you end up trying to replace the whole team without giving them adequate time to ‘gel’ as a unit.
We bit the bullet, knowing that we’d be stretched for numbers at times, but also knowing that we had the option to start with as few as twelve if numbers got sticky. The real restriction was having to separate the two squads: that meant a few hard decisions.
We wanted a ‘Black’ team to have a chance at winning their competition, but we didn’t want a ‘Red’ team comprised only of inexperienced – and in many cases smaller – 12-13 year olds who’d have to face up to teams made up mainly from the age grade above. A couple of the older lads were asked to step down to the junior squad to help provide some experience and sheer size.
The smaller size of clubs down here means that we don’t have a dedicated U13 competition, which means our younger players can be faced with bigger and more experienced U14s at a time when they’re really just learning to play the ‘adult’ game. It was a risk, but the alternative was standing on the sideline getting cold or not playing at all.
In our first Black game, we lost away to what was regarded as the best U14 in our region, but the seeds were there. 38-14 was final score, but we were beginning to see our strengths (and weaknesses) and to start to recognise the opposition’s.
Strengths: good scrum (if not a lot of use at U14 as limited pushing is allowed), strong, fast ball-carriers, good kicking game.
Weaknesses: looking for contact, over-carrying, weak support running.
Red started off badly, run ragged by a combined club with a couple of gifted individuals. Their second match, a return fixture, was much the same until we persuaded the opposition to ‘retire’ their No.8. Thereafter it was much more even, and you could see the inexperienced players beginning to develop their teamwork and understanding: where should I be? who’s my man? Attack the ruck or stay out?
Their remaining two games were close – a one-score difference in each game – and unlucky not to win one or both of them. But overall, despite the disappointment of losing, they all got to play an hour’s rugby in four games, and there’s a development in actually playing that you can’t get from all the training sessions in the world.
Meanwhile, in Black world we had 2 good wins: 26-17 and 28-7, the first win from 12-0 down and for much of the game playing 13 v 15 when the opposition conveniently ‘forgot’ that all clubs had agreed to match numbers. There’s a bit of thrill when you comprehensively defeat a team whose mentors are trying to pull a fast one. The second win was against a club we’d lost to twice earlier in the first half of the season by 5 and 3 points – basically losing both games from a place where we should have won.
In both wins, there was a pleasing degree of – dare I say it – ‘T-CUP’. Carrying the ball against the wind, and in the second half kicking long and chasing like demons. Then came a defeat: 12-5 and a wake-up call that we’re weren’t going to bulldoze everyone. Our final – not that we knew that at the time – game was a return versus the Tralee team who’d handed out two thorough beatings to us before. Tables were turned this time as we defeated them 36-5.
So it looks like we went out on a high. The lads themselves were recognising their strengths and trying not to play to those of the opposition. We helped them by moving our usual 8 (quick, strong but not excessively big) into 10 and letting him get into the face of the opposition 10 … who didn’t get the armchair ride he was used to.
For me, the main takeaway or ‘learning’ (as my international work colleagues might say) is that we need to get lads playing. We can train them with drills to develop the skills, but they need to play, and play together, to build up their knowledge. Five, ten or fifteen minutes as a sub doesn’t help that development. It’s certainly a bugbear of mine to see a visiting club arrive with 23 or 24 players, knowing that numbers 16-23 will get a few token minutes when the game is already won or lost. We’d be better off to play 12 v 12, and adjust the rules slightly.
I get irritated by coaches for whom winning is obviously the priority. Winning is great, but the long-term view is to have as many as possible playing – and enjoying playing – our game. Hopefully, some of them will be standing on a touchline in 30 years’ time, having replaced me….
Courtesy of Triskaidekaphobia.
Ovally Balls 
Very good, trisk.
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TomP – it’s lovely, isn’t it? I especially like the aspect of the Real Spirit of Rugby being passed down the generations.
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Trisk
thanks very much – takes me back nearly 60 years to when I first started as an 11yr old at school – autumn term…………..the pitch had a good surface but a wicked slope from one touch line to the other for the full length.
the bottom side line was marked around half way by a very large oak tree – about two feet in from the touch line.
We neither noticed nor cared………………..
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Wonderful stuff, Trisk! Thanks for that.
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Good stuff Trisk, it must be very difficult to know how to gauge these things and it’s lovely to hear from someone putting so much thought into it. My memory of playing rugby at school is that this level of consideration of how to make it work for the kids didn’t come into it to such an extent. Or indeed any extent whatsoever.
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This is truly excellant Trisk. I’d just like to say that the quality of the ATLs has been immense recently. Presumably the bar was set by my England 6n’s prediction piece…
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Does anyone else think that Kier Starmer looks like Richard Spencer but older? Ok, I Googled it and someone else does:
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But I like what he says so far.
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Kier Starmer, not Richard Spencer.
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I’m not that RoS guy.
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Words Trisk. Same for Claw and Thaum recently.
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Lovely stuff Trisk
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Very insightful. Thanks Trisk
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That looks like a belter of an atl, I’ll get into it in a minute, but first I must post this Blues Birthday Slight Return
Paul Robeson born 9th of April 1898. There are two terrific clips that I found and I’m not sure if I can post two at the same time, so I’ll do one after the other – the language in the commentary is of its time, I suppose
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Great stuff Trisk, really good atl.
Up Killarney!
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What a voice that man had!
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What politics that man had!
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Hi all
Thanks for the kind words – glad you found it interesting.
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Years ago played an away game on a pitch with a similar slope from end to end and a lesser one from side-to-side. Couldn’t get out of 22 in the first half..second half we penned the opposition in the same area. I’d reckon 70 mins of the game was spent in the left corner as you looked down the slope. Final score – 6-4. Yours truly got the equalising try and by some hook-or-crook our 9 managed to make the conversion from the touchline for the win…..
Bonkers game…..
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Yeah… I’m a reasonable singer (if I’m careful with my choice of material) but boy to be able to sing like that …..I’d never shut up….
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Ticht – have you seen the Graun’s list of Dylan’s 50 Greatest songs?
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/09/bob-dylans-50-greatest-songs-ranked
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Oooh, cheers BB.
It difficult to argue against any of the songs that are there but I’d have to have You Ain’t Going Nowhere in any top 50 from Dylan, probabaly top 20, though I guess it could be argued that although he wrote it, others released it first
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Lovely ATL, Trisk – as someone who isn’t familiar with NH rugby at the amateur and age group level, it was so interesting to read!
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Obvious omissions (for me) -‘ Shelter from the Storm’ and ‘Stuck inside of Mobile…’ and maybe less controversial “Lily, Rosemary etc” (which I know is ‘marmite’)
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Best version of a Dylan song?
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One from the same album reportedly about Bob.
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*daily religious whack-job update*
‘The Reverend Tony Spell, the controversial Louisiana pastor already facing six misdemeanour charges for ignoring social distancing rules to hold services, says: “True Christians do not mind dying.”‘
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Referring back to Paul Robeson’s birthday…also Tom Lehrer …
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That’s not “whack-jobbery”. Chimpie. It’s one of the building blocks of the religion – the promise of eternal life in paradise.
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Having said that, it’s a shit business model and he should be drummed out of the pastors’ union tout suite.
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How depressing that these idiots are allowed to destroy lives because of their lust for money. Should be treated like ISIS.
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It’s also the late great Les Gray’s birthday today
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Damn fine song, that, OT. Was going to claim him for Epsom, think he lived there when I was a kid, but I see he was born in Carshalton.
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Enjoyed the Dylan list though one that only went as far as about 1978 would easily be better than the one that they gave us, but so it goes. I’d have the rest of Blood on the Tracks and about half of Highway 61 on there that seem to be missing. Picking a best cover of a Bob song is as easy as picking Like a Rolling Stone as No.1 for the article – it’s obviously Hendrix. Pleased Visions of Johanna was in at 2, Idiot Wind too high, Shelter From the Storm should be in the top 10, but isn’t there at all. Changing of the Guards is much better than Jokerman as I have argued on here before. But an impossible task, got them a lot of clicks and hard to begrudge as it was good fun.
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Masters of War and When the Ship Comes In fairly notable omissions I guess though of course Joan Baez did her best to spoil the latter by telling us it was written in some sort of ‘Don’t you know who I am’ fit of pique. She doesn’t really make up for that by murdering Simple Twist of Fate even if the impression of his voice in one verse is quite funny.
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CMW, guess we will have to agree to differ. I always thought Dylan was an insufferable prick, and Joanie something of a goddess, which may affect my musical critiques.
Avs, good to hear you are getting by well. Long may it continue. It not too bad here on the virus front, and I live on the outskirts of a small run down industrial town with empty roads north and west, so can still get out and about fine. The worrying thing is the general atmosphere, and rumours from other friends on the East coast. There are huge numbers of people with no work at all, and no money coming in. CT are saying it is going to be at least 5 weeks to even start to process new unemployment claims, and there have already been a spate of robberys. NYC is even worse with 30 year old computer systems, the government really doesn’t know how to get it sorted. You can feel the tension, and the town is small enough that you notice out of towners driving around scoping the place out. More scrap trucks running around already than 2009/10. Everyone is locked and loaded. Literally.
Current Netflix binge is Deadwind. Helsinki cops doing it the Finnish way. 11/10
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No real quibble there. I’ve a grá for Bryan Ferry’s “Hard Rain” and most fun is Fairport’s “Mais Si Tu Doit Partir”
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https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/apr/10/coronavirus-stars-bbc-sports-commentator-andrew-cotters-dogs-olive-and-mabel-go-viral
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Demonstrated the versatility of Scottish commentators.
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@SBT
Thanks for that – just worked through Picard (Amazon – which was fun) . Was trying to pick up the threads on the Expanse again, but we’ve missed our ‘Nordic Noir’ since the last Bridge.
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CJ’s favourite Bob Dylan cover.
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Trisk – I love Ferry’s version of Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.
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‘Helsinki cops doing it the Finnish way’
Imagine Killsy will be keeping them awfy busy.
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Have you ever wondered what a latin-tinged version of a Bob Dylan classic sung by Cliff Richard would sound like?
Luckily, Science has provided an answer:
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@OT – I’d never thought of it as a paean to Thatcherism before, but, you know, better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone and all that…
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Rarely think of anything else….. :-D
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@tomp
The production on that Cliff Richard version is outstanding. It’s as if someone was commissioned to arrange a Bob Dylan cover that could be used as backing music for “pages from Ceefax” late at night on BBC2
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‘Peak medical groups have criticised the Australian celebrity chef Pete Evans for suggesting that a $15,000 “subtle energy platform” could be used to treat coronavirus, saying such claims are baseless, ill-informed and dangerous.
Evans, a television host and paleo diet enthusiast who has previously promoted anti-vaccination ideas, was selling the BioCharger NG Subtle Energy Platform – dismissed by the Australian Medical Association as a “fancy light machine” – for $14,990 on his website.
Evans’ ad said the machine was a “subtle energy revitalisation platform”.
“Four transmitted energies stimulate and invigorate the entire body to optimise and improve potential health, wellness, and athletic performance,” the ad says.’
Woo-tastic
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