As part of a new series on JOE, we talk to some of rugby’s biggest names and ask them about their time in schools rugby and the influence it had on their career. This week, Jerry Flannery goes under the spotlight.
It mightn’t attract the attention of its Leinster equivalent, but the Munster Senior Cup is a huge deal.
Just ask Jerry Flannery. The former Munster and Ireland hooker packed a lot into his career but he can still recall the 1997 Munster Senior Cup final defeat to CBC (Christian Brothers College) Cork with remarkable clarity, including a ‘wonder try’ from his St. Munchin’s colleague Jeremy Staunton that nearly managed to stop the CBC ‘dream team’ but ultimately came up just short in the end.
One of the members of that ‘dream team’ was a man Flannery would come to know very well over the years, although his first impressions of the tall second row from the People’s Republic weren’t exactly flattering.
“I played against Donncha (O’Callaghan) at the start of that year and he was about 19 stone, and not a good 19 stone,” Flannery says.
“I didn’t think much of him at the time, but as the season went on, he played with Munster schools and he got fitter and fitter and by the time the Senior Cup came around he was a machine.”
The Senior Cup Final didn’t exactly to plan, but Flannery has overwhelmingly positive memories of school rugby with Munchin’s. The school’s rugby reputation was one of the prime reasons for Flannery going there in the first place and when he arrived as a scrawny first year, no less of a man than Anthony Foley was the Senior Cup captain.
By the time he got to that level himself, Flannery was joined on the team by Jeremy Staunton (who retired from rugby last year after spells with Munster, a host of top English clubs and five Irish caps) and Frank Roche, who also earned a professional contract with Munster after his school days.
The Senior Cup Final itself stands out, but when it comes to Jerry’s standout recollection from his school days, it was an inspiring message from a mentor which sticks in the memory.
“I remember before we went out to play the final, our coach Sean Conneely, who was also a teacher in the school, came into us and told us that we should really cherish the day because it’s very rare that we will play in a team with this dynamic, where you’re playing with your friends and it’s the be all and end all.
“I didn’t really understand it at the time, but in hindsight I understand because when it comes to club rugby everybody has different things going on, whether it’s a job or a wife and kids, whereas schools rugby is a very pure thing.
We couldn’t find a picture of Jerry playing for Munchin’s, but here he is in his Ireland under-21 days back in 1999
“I’ve been lucky that I’ve been in professional set-ups where it’s the same thing and everyone has the same goal and is driven to be successful and that was the same when I played schools rugby. That’s what makes it so special; it’s such a pure thing and everyone is 100 per cent into it.”
While Munchin’s had an excellent set-up when he was there, Flannery has noticed a big step-up in the development of schools rugby across the board since he stopped wearing his uniform.
“I think it’s got a better structure now,” he says.
“The profile of the game has improved and lads have a better foundation if they want to go on and play professionally. Coaching is better, players are better looked after, strength and conditioning is better and there’s a better format.
“The competition has become a lot more widespread, a lot of schools that wouldn’t have been the strongest rugby schools are coming through and it’s good because it broadens the player base and makes the game more accessible. Kilkenny beating Blackrock in the Leinster Senior Cup a few years back, for example, was a really big deal.
“You can see it down in Limerick as well. Munchin’s are still very strong, they have very good coaches and a very good set-up, but Castletroy College have come through and won a Senior Cup and you see young fellas out in the street with a rugby ball in their hand which is really encouraging for the future.”
Flannery sees a lot of good in the schools rugby system as it is but he is also of the belief that it is in that area that Irish rugby can make a significant leap forward and have a positive effect on the provincial and international stage.
“If I was to look at anywhere where Irish rugby could advance I think the schools system is where we can take the biggest step,” Flannery says.
“The higher the standard in the schools system, the less of a jump it is to the professional level when they come out of it and although the standard of the schools system is good, we don’t consistently beat the top teams in the world at that level.
“It’s great if fellas develop a good work ethic at a young age; it’s easier to develop a tangible work ethic when they’re in school and they’ll soon realise that the more they put into something, the more they’ll get out and sport is really good like that.
“For me, I just started putting more and more effort into rugby when I was in school and I started seeing the rewards from it. It’s easier to derive that attitude and tangible work ethic from sport and lads can apply it to their studies and other areas of life as well.”
Schools rugby obviously had a huge part to play in Flannery’s career and that big, overweight second row from CBC Cork didn’t turn out too bad either.
