Lansdowne
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every member is important to us and
we will continue to work hard to maintain
our facilities, coaching standards and
off field support to continue to be as
successful as we are and want to be.
RC: Would you consider yours to be
a community club?
KW: Yes. The club is firmly rooted in
the local community. We have
over 380 local families
involved at the minis
and youths section.
The senior and
junior
teams
are made up
of many local
players, and the
membership
consists of a
large
number
of
the
local
community who
have had a lifetime
association
with
Club.
We work closely with
the Leinster Branch Community
Relation officers’ and with Dublin City
Council Sports Development Officers’
to promote rugby in the local schools
and community. We provide the use of
facilities and coaches to local schools to
further assist in developing the sport
within the local community. The club also
secured use of local Dublin City Council
pitches to expand the visible reach of the
game into the local community.
RC: What do you believe could be
some of the biggest challenges the club
may face over the next 5 years?
SC: The professional game at
Provincial, Pro 12, National and
European level has undoubtedly
improved the popularity of the game. The
numbers playing at Under Age/ Youth
and Minis levels are on the increase as a
consequence. However there is no doubt
that at Senior levels the numbers playing
into their late 20’s and 30’s is under
pressure.
20
Few if any Clubs are fielding the
number of Junior teams that were
prevalent 10 to 15 years ago. The fitness
regimes required to play the game
proficiently and competing social/
familial demands have combined to
curtail playing careers and consequent
Membership numbers.
If you don’t have Members you
don’t have a Club! Consequently it is
important for clubs, including
Lansdowne, to develop
activities
Rugby,
Fitness or otherwise
related that binds
subscription
paying Members
actively
to
the Club in a
post
playing
environment.
Another
significant issue
is the management
of Clubs which
rely
heavily
on
Volunteerism in an
increasingly
exacting
environment
of
Regulation and Health and
Safety. The standards
rightly expected in
Player
Welfare
etc. demand a
professional
approach
by
those giving of
their time and
expertise on a
volunteer basis.
The next five
years are likely
to see continued
demands of the Club
in that regard.
It is also to be
hoped that the commitment
and support of the IRFU to the Club
game and Rugby Clubs in general
will continue if not be extended. That
will secure the roles played by the
Clubs in supporting the Professional
game and the development of the game
in the wider Community.
RC: What are the club’s ambitions
for the next 5 years?
SC: In five years Lansdowne will
celebrate the 150th anniversary of its
foundation in 1872. As a Club it has
operated at the forefront of Club Rugby
throughout those years. The Club’s
contribution to the Provincial and
National game has been outstanding and
it is now additionally forging a significant
role in the Under Age game. We would
have ambitions to add to the silverware
won in season 2016/17 and previously
and record additional wins in the All
Ireland League, at 20’s and Junior/ Youth
and Mini levels. The Club will continue
to prioritise the development of Rugby
at all levels providing a pathway from
Under Age and through recruitment to
the Under 20’s and onward to the Senior
XV and Junior squads.
We have traditionally been seen
as very welcoming to players arriving
in Dublin to pursue careers or attend
third level education establishments.
Lansdowne invests heavily and rightly
in its Coaching and Rugby Management
and the coming five years will
see that continue to ensure
that players aspiring
to
develop
their
rugby careers and
skills see the Club
as an obvious
destination.
The Club’s
founder Henry
Dunlop
was
by all accounts
a
highly
enterprising
individual
and
all we could hope
for is that after the
passage of 150 years he
would be immensely proud of
the manner in which the Club has and
continues to develop.