Rugby Club ISSUE 87 | Page 5

Cork Constitution Cork Constitution RUGBY CLUB Cork Constitution enjoyed a fantastic season last time around and the club’s recent success is a testament to all of the hard work that is put in on a daily basis. Rugby Club Magazine caught up with many of those involved in their superb set up, the first of which was Kevin Fielding who told us, “I joined Cork Con in 2007 when I moved with my family to Cork from Dublin. I have three sons who were all playing rugby at the time and my neighbour Michael Bradley, the ex Con and Ireland scrum-half, suggested I take them to Con for under-age rugby. It is a very vibrant under-age section and the boys loved it immediately. An old friend of mine asked me to get involved with coaching that first Saturday, and that was the start of a great seven years of juvenile rugby in Con. “The mood is buoyant to say the least. Our current President, John O’Mahony, is exhausted from handing out medals after a really enjoyable and very successful year across all three age categories: adult, youths and juveniles. While winning the AIL in the Aviva for the sixth time was an obvious highlight, John was possibly even more proud to hand out a winners medal to his son Cian (brother of Munster captain, Peter) who was part of a very successful U18 squad in Con this season. “There are always challenges and what marks out a successful club is having the depth of talent around the club, players and especially administrators, that can respond to these challenges. The position of the AIL, as the next level below professional rugby in the provinces, is something that is being debated at present, and has had a number of false-starts over the past twelve months. “We are centrally involved in working with the IRFU and Munster rugby, to try to bring about a new structure that preserves both the ethos of the traditional club game, while also providing a platform for our players to reach their full potential, be it amateur or professional. I’ll admit it is not an easy balance to find, but I hope we can achieve a workable solution for the good of the game in Ireland. “From a senior rugby perspective, our ambition is to ensure we continue to play in the top level of rugby in Ireland, which is Division 1A of the AIL. Con is the only team to have had a continuous presence in the top division since the inaugural tournament, and that is a precious record to us. Our youth and juvenile sections of the club are thriving but we would like to grow our numbers over the next five years. To achieve that growth, we need to find a good balance between schools and club rugby; something we need to achieve across the entire province if Munster rugby is to grow its player base. “Finally, we, along with most other club, are looking at an aging membership, and we need to find a way of getting fresh faces into the club, to grow our membership in order to ensure the baton can be passed to a new generation.” www.rugbyclubmag.com 5