Irish Exiles Rugby was established in 1989 by the IRFU to identify any Irish-qualified players living in England, Scotland and Wales and develop potential Irish professional players. You must have at least one Irish grandparent to qualify to play for the Exiles. I have been attending Irish Exiles rugby festivals and selection camps over the last couple of years, then after a regional festival at Sunbury in March 2014 and a national selection camp at Stowe school in April 2014 I was selected for the Irish Exiles u18 squad for their annual Provincial tour of Ireland.
The squad gathered for a 3-day training camp at the Reading Oratory which ended with the first of the Provincial matches, and the only one to take place outside Ireland, against Leinster. I was proud to be chosen as captain of the Irish Exiles in that game which ended with a 38-5 win for Leinster. The score does not tell the full story of how the game went though. Despite only having been together as a squad for three days, the Irish Exiles were evenly matched against the more experienced Leinster team for most of the game and we matched Leinster for long periods of the game. This first game was a fantastic experience for me: the quality of the players and the pace and intensity of the Leinster game was a huge step up from anything I had experienced before and it was great to be playing at such a high standard.
On Sunday August 17th 2014 the squad travelled from all over the UK to Ireland to begin the tour. I joined half a dozen other members of the squad for a 7.15 am flight from Manchester to Cork to kick off the tour with a match against Munster at the Mardyke Arena.
It was another tough match against Munster who ran out victorious 32- 6. It was a frustrating game for us, with plenty of chances being created, especially in the first half, but some poor decision-making and handling let the side down. If tries had been scored during periods of Exiles domination then the result of the game might have been different. It is clear that at this level you have to take chances when they arise and, as in the Leinster fixture at Reading, the more experienced side took their chances when they appeared and ended the game as deserving winners.
Four days later, on Wednesday 20th August, Connacht were the Exiles’ next opponents at the Galway Sportsground. Hard work done on the training ground after the Munster game made vast improvements in performance and despite conceding an early score the Exiles showed great fight and challenged Connacht from the very start. The breakdown was much improved and the forwards laid a more than solid foundation for a well deserved 15-10 victory. Exiles held a 10-7 advantage until a disputed penalty to Connacht brought the scores level at 10-10 with only 2 minutes left. From the restart Connacht kicked long to the Exiles’ right wing corner and a superb 85 metre break from our winger set up a try in left corner with the last play of the match. The final whistle went after the missed conversion with feelings of a well-deserved victory.
A long cross-country trip came next to take on Ulster in Belfast. On the Thursday afternoon we had the pleasure of having our field session taken by
former Ulster Head Coach and Ireland Skills Coach, Brian McLaughlin. The squad thoroughly enjoyed the experience and we put what we had learned into our game against Ulster on the following Saturday. With our confidence high following our victory over Connacht and our ever improving performance, the Exiles hit the ground running and tore into our opponents from the off and a score line after 20 minutes of 3-3 certainly did not reflect the Exiles’ dominance. The second half continued in same vein and the Exiles cruised into a 10-3 lead. However, going into final quarter Ulster fought back to 10-9. A strong finish from the Exiles squad was needed and this was delivered, with the Exiles victorious at 18-9.
At all times during the tour we behaved, and were treated, like a professional rugby team. In between games we had recovery pool sessions as well as video analysis and field sessions. The coaching staff, all employed by the IRFU, expected high standards of us, and the team thrived off this professional environment. In our free time we explored the different cities we were staying in-Cork, Galway and Belfast-where we relaxed as a team.
All in all a successful tour was had by all, and the hospitality shown in Cork, Galway and Belfast was brilliant. I was really lucky to have the opportunity to spend time with a squad of such talented players and to be part of such a professional and focused set up. If any other rugby players at NSB have any Irish heritage I would definitely encourage them to think about exploring the possibility of playing for the Irish Exiles.
Contact John O’Ryan at irishexilesnorthregion@yahoo.co.uk if you are interested in coming to the upcoming regional festival in October half term.