ENNISCORTHY RFC DEFEATED Clougher Valley 10-9 in the All-Ireland Junior Cup final at Coolmine this afternoon and were understandably overjoyed.
Evan Lett scored a vital try on the 58th minute and Jack Kelly slotted over the conversion to edge the team 7-6 ahead. Kelly’s penalty, with seven minutes remaining, made it 10-9. Enniscorthy captain Sean Wall lifted the cup soon after the final whistle sparked scenes of wild celebration for one side and devastation for the other.
The agony
Clougher’s Rodney Bennett dejected after being yellow carded in the closing stages. INPHO/Donall Farmer
The ecstasy
Enniscorthy’s Evan Lett celebrates at the final whistle. INPHO/Donall Farmer
Really interesting insight, and it tallies with the outlook of some of the best coaches in world rugby. Graham Henry and Schmidt both focus on key skills and structure.
Is there a route in Ireland for a guy like this to get into top level coaching anymore? A lot of the top coaches from the last 15 or 20 years – Henry, Schmidt, Kidney – were teachers who didn’t actually play the game at the top level. Nowadays there seems to be more an emphasis on ex-players becoming coaches. What about giving people who actually know how to coach an opportunity?