By Podge O’Donnell
Sometimes maybe.. Being a
big fish in a small pond can pay off!
For me, the take away point from
proceedings so far this week has to be that, playing rugby at the highest level
is more important to where you play it.
This was evident, not only from Declan’s Kidney’s 39 man training squad
named last week, but also, the team he has chosen to take on the English
Saxon’s tonight.
It was much speculated during the
week that Connacht and Buccaneers Robbie Henshaw would be named at full back,
along with Connacht team mate Dave Mc Sharry in the centre. Today those young
men’s careers take a major step toward full Irish honours as they line out for
the Wolfhounds.
Carr‘s Now In Reverse!
As these young pro’s careers take
a major step towards senior international honours, Fionn Carr has made a major
U-turn (Sorry for the lousy car puns but it’s fitting) back to Connacht in hope
of revitalising his career. This move to Leinster comes very soon after his
one-time team mate Mike McCarthy moves in the opposite direction.
Fionn Carr left Leinster to join
Connacht at the end of the 2008 season after failing to break into the
professional ranks. Carr was plying his trade in the AIL first with UCD, then
later with Blackrock College. His years in Connacht saw him fast become one of
the best finishers in the Celtic League, scoring 34 tries in 73 games and becoming Connacht’s
leading all time try scorer. During his time in Connacht he earned 2 caps at
Ireland A level. At the end of the 2011 season, Carr turned down a lucrative
offer from Connacht and returned to Leinster to what he believed was to kick on
his career further. This in my opinion was a very brave move at the time, and I
do admire him for taking on a challenge and to try make it at his home province
yet again.
However, the dream move for Carr
would turn out to be a bit of a disaster. Carr has been a very much a bit part
player for Leinster, playing only 33 times scoring 7 times and confined to
mainly Rabo appearances. It must be highlighted also, he was not the only
player to make the move East and not see the benefits. Jamie Hagan has made
minimal progress and is way down the food chain it seems, while Sean Cronin and
Ian Keatly’s (Munster) progress has plateaued somewhat also since leaving.
One must also admire Carr’s
decision to return West, tail between legs a bit may be.. It’s seems a good
move for everybody involved. Carr may be limited defensively and can be prone
to an odd drop or two. Putting this aside, he is still a player that can turn
games and his blistering pace will be a welcome addition to Pat Lam’ side
adding some proven experience.
Connacht’s success this week in
the format of Henshaw & Mc Sharry shows that players (If good enough) can
get international honours playing in Connacht. Heineken Cup rugby of course has
been a huge help to the Connacht cause. It is a real shame that we may not see
it for a while in Galway, as players like the two mentioned are very capable at
this level, along with other quality young players such as Browne, Marmion,
McKeon, Griffin and O’Halleron. These players are making the Connacht brand very
attractive and fashionable, along with key play maker Dan Parks.
It was very interesting to listen
during the week to comments from certain people, both in the media and not. One
question that was raised interested me. Should Robbie H have signed for Leinster,
Munster or Ulster if he is as good as everyone says?
I was intrigued to hear the
response from Noel Mannion & Gerry Thornley on OTB Wednesday night. Both
laid home the point I am trying to make here and on air previous about the lure
of Leinster and the other provinces for young Connacht players.
Noel Mannion:
“It’s not the be all and end all,
I mean there is a lot of backs up there in Leinster at the moment, they have
their own academy players coming through all the time, he has found his niche
down here, he is comfortable with the players he is playing with and he is
comfortable with the set up that he is. So it’s not all about moving to
Leinster all the tim as regards being a back”
Gerry Thornley reiterated the
point I am making above about Hagan, Carr & a little lesser perhaps,
Cronin.
Gerry Thornley:
Big Fish Small Pond?
I know I know… hindsight is
always great. I must however play devil’s advocate too! I wonder if Fionn Carr
wishes he could change the decision he made a couple of season back, along with
Jaime Hagan? Perhaps it isn’t entirely the players fault solely and maybe some
people in branch office have some
answering to do here perhaps! That’s for another day!
The only way now for them to
change their decision unfortunately is to get the lend of the DeLorean from Doc
Brown and Marty McFly and “Go back To The Future”, sit down with Gerry Kelly
and Co and sign the dotted line.
I might be wrong, but I bet they
would stay have loved to lead Connacht into the two greatest seasons in their
history. This is unfair I know, and they have done better than some of the
other players who went East from the West. Can anybody remember South African
Stephen Knoop? He did similar to Jaime Hagan with similar results.
Would Carr & Hagan be playing
tonight, in his “home” ground with the brightest new talents in Irish back play
at the moment? Who knows?
That’s both the beauty and beast
of pro sport, things change so fast, some decisions and gambles can pay off,
sometimes they don’t. However, it appears that the biggest decision a young
rising talent must consider at the moment is. Where am I going to be in the
shop window the most?
Let me also be clear too.
Connacht has made great strides in the last couple of years, developing and
grooming young talent. U20 Inter Pro wins back this up. Connacht players making
the Full Irish Schools from the Marist in Athlone, also backs this up further.
Winning 3 Heineken Cup pool games adds further basis to progress.
Strides are also being made down
West! Let me make it very clear to on the flipside! In the past they have
failed on numerous occasions to bring talent through and many players were
right to leave or not join Connacht!
An ex-pro, who will remain
nameless, once said to me that Connacht was referred to as “an elephant’s grave yard”
amongst some players. This point was made on the basis that promising players
careers were also halted when playing in the sports ground. There is some basis
to this point alright and I can see the evidence to suggest this too. This can
be said of all provinces but very often this happens in Connacht and I have to
example to spring to mind personally.
Players of great underage prowess
such as Aidan Wynne (Ferbane Irish Schools, U20, Youths) never got the backing
his talents warranted. I watched Aidan punch toe to toe with Jean De Villers
against South Africa for Connacht one evening and come out with his head high.
Another player, Danny Riordan
(Irish u21’s 2003 Ireland A) was let go after making numerous Ireland A
appearances, after fine performances for Connacht under Michael Bradley, later
embarrassingly to be picked up by Munster, and even more embarrassingly
Leinster for a brief stint. Danny is one of the greatest natural talents I have
ever personally witnessed on a rugby pitch and it really bugs me to see him not
still playing pro.
In the meantime, Leinster
continues to churn out talented back after back and Munster are producing some
nice forwards too. Young talented players such as Brendan Macken, Andrew Conway
and Noel Reid may have to wait and sit tight in the highly competitive Leinster
ranks, while Connacht rattle the apple cart further perhaps! Remember there are
only 15 spots on a rugby team and the shop window is very small. Reports this morning also link former Ireland 20s winger Andrew Conway with a move from Leinster to Munster, it'll be interesting to see whether a move south could provide him with more gametime...
Sometimes
maybe.. Being a big fish in a small pond can be pay off!
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