Lansdowne
“I joined the Club in the summer of 2011. I had moved
to Ireland in 2010 when the IRFU appointed me Head
Coach to their under 20 team. A year later Lansdowne
asked me to coach their All Ireland League 1st XV Squad
and as they say in Ireland, I decided to “Give it a Lash”!
Thinking back it was quite an easy decision to join
Lansdowne. They are one of the oldest and most
famous clubs in Ireland with an incredible history of
developing successful teams and nurturing outstanding
players. Its history combined with its city centre location,
adjacent to the Iconic Aviva Stadium, makes it an easily
recognisable and powerful Rugby Brand.
The Club culture is twofold - at age grade level
it’s all about skill development and enjoyment. It’s
about developing players in the Lansdowne ethos
with a particular set of skills, values, behaviours and
‘Trademarks’. At under 20 & senior level the culture
transitions towards achievement and winning. It’s about
hard work and perseverance. It’s about ‘being the best
we can be’ whilst also striving to enjoy every moment
that we represent this famous old Club.
When Lansdowne asked me to work with their newly
promoted 1st XV I jumped at the chance to get involved.
Six seasons later we have been lucky enough to finish
top of the Ulster Bank League three times, winning two
All-Ireland titles and also the Leinster Senior Cup in 2017.
Matt Healy (Connacht), Craig Ronaldson (Connacht),
Tom Farrell (Connacht) and a plethora of Leinster stars
like Jordi Murphy, Tom Daly and Dave Kearney.
We pride ourselves on our role of assisting talented
players to showcase their talents and also our ability
to promote a number of our ex under 20 players into
1st XV roles. Like many other teams at Lansdowne FC,
our under 20 team has been hugely successful, winning
the All Ireland Cup twice in recent seasons. With such a
strong player development model the future continues
to look bright.
Behind the scenes the Club has many outstanding
individuals and guys like Colin Goode (Chairman of
Rugby) and Stephen Rooney (Director of Rugby) are
tireless workers for the cause. Each one of our Club
Presidents has added value to the combined effort each
year and overall everyone works hard on and off the
field to make the club a success. It doesn’t just happen
by accident and the Club is extremely well governed by
the Club’s Executive. I know I am biased but this is an
outstanding rugby club with a large number of hard
working people at its core. The Club thrives in a very
competitive environment because everyone involved
rolls their sleeves up (on and off the field) and gets
stuck in. I should know, I’ve had more Clubs than Rory
McIlroy!”
Mike Ruddock OBE, Head Coach, Lansdowne FC
During that time numerous ex 1st XV players have
gone on to gain professional contracts e.g. Marty Moore
(Wasps), Tadgh Beirne (Scarlets), Clive Ross (Ulster),
www.sportip.biz
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