THE FIRST WEEK of May 2022 won’t be forgotten in Nenagh Ormond RFC.
The Tipperary club started that week celebrating their survival as a Division 2A club in the All-Ireland League, having won their relegation play-off. But then they were hit by sadness.
Club legend Keith Hayes, who was president at the time, had passed away suddenly and Nenagh went into mourning.
People came from far and wide for the funeral at St Mary’s Church in Nenagh, a sign of how many lives Hayes had touched during his time as a player, captain, coach, manager, committee member, fundraiser, and president for Nenagh, but also in life beyond rugby.
“He was a big part of the club and he is sadly missed,” says Nenagh’s current captain, Kevin O’Flaherty.
Rather than letting the big blow of losing such a beloved figure drag them down, Nenagh set out to pay tribute to Hayes with their performances on the pitch. Having only just clung onto their spot in 2A, they decided to go after Division 1 rugby.
“It hit home with a lot of people. With things like that, when something bad happens you have to rally together and pull through,” says O’Flaherty.
“From the season after that, we have lived off a motto of ‘One Club.’
“You’re playing for him but it’s more than just the first team, it’s all the way down to the minis.”
Nenagh finished third in 2022/23 and then earned promotion last season as they claimed the Divison 2A title, ending a decade-long stay at that level and earning a place in 1B for the first time since they were promoted into the AIL from junior rugby in 2005.
Named Munster Rugby Senior Club of the Year for last season, the Tipp men have started this campaign superbly. They beat reigning 1A champions Cork Con in the Munster Senior Challenge Cup and sit atop Division 2A ahead of Saturday’s exciting home clash against second-placed Old Belvedere.
Bonus-point wins against Trinity and Blackrock, as well as a draw away to Old Wesley last time out, mean Nenagh’s momentum has kept on rolling.
On top of the playing success, the club recently unveiled their new facilities at New Ormond Park, including a state-of-the-art artificial playing surface.
The upgrades are a “game changer,” according to O’Flaherty.
Not only do the AIL team have a guaranteed high-quality surface for home games but the minis swarm in on Sunday mornings, with parents taking advantage of a coffee station alongside the clubhouse. The new gym is popular too.
“I’ve never seen it being used as much because of the standard it is,” says O’Flaherty.
Nenagh has a proud history, including through some of the players it has produced. Tony Courtney won seven caps for Ireland, Trevor Hogan won three, and Donnacha Ryan had a glittering career as a player before becoming a coach.
Hogan coached Nenagh and is now a provincial talent coach for Leinster, but he remains a constant presence around his club. Ryan has come back many times to do coaching sessions with another Nenagh legend, Pat Whelan.
“When they come around the club, everyone is still in awe of them,” says O’Flaherty, who plays in the second row just as Hogan and Ryan did.
The likes of Ryan and Hogan must be feeling proud right now. These are good times to be a Nenagh man.
31-year-old O’Flaherty has been playing senior rugby for the club since he was 18 and plans to keep going until his body says no.
The majority of Nenagh’s AIL team are homegrown. The club has a strong underage set-up, with many youngsters earning East Munster representative honours, and they’re doing a fine job of holding onto those players when they leave school.
Some players travel from Dublin, Cork and Limerick for training and matches, several of them having turned down offers to join other AIL teams.
“The sense of coming home on a Saturday and playing with your friends you grew up with, that’s a big thing within the club,” says O’Flaherty.
This theme of playing for the community is something Nenagh are big on. It’s a small town of around 10,000 people but they’re proud of their patch and want to represent as much of the surrounding area as possible.
There are three sets of actual brothers in the senior squad – O’Flaherty’s brother, John, plays in the back row – but they all feel like family.
“The 23 who go out on a Saturday fight for each other like brothers, it’s an emphasis we play off. We do everything as a group. On a Saturday after the match, we go out as 30.
“There are no cliques. That’s a big thing if you’re an 18-year-old starting to break in, you’re treated the same as everyone as long as you make the effort and try your hardest in training. People will embrace you.”
The coaching staff have been pivotal in Nenagh’s rise. In that crucial summer of 2022, long-serving player Derek Corcoran took over as head coach and continued playing, while Dan Fogarty and James Hickey came on board as assistant coaches.
Colm Skehan joined from Young Munster as a player but also an S&C coach, driving a big improvement in that side of Nenagh’s game.
Corcoran and co. have encouraged a player-led culture within the squad, with players trusted to get their three or four gym sessions done each week, as well as doing video analysis by themselves on the Hudl platform.
While the squad is heavily homegrown, there have been key additions from outside. Ex-Connacht and Ireland 7s player Josh Rowland – who hails from New Zealand and is now a Garda – is a key man at fullback, with the 36-year-old bringing experience and pace.
Australian centre Angus Blackmore, who was involved with the Brumbies before, has been an impressive addition this season, settling in quickly and delivering class in everything he does.
Nenagh are fortunate to have loyal support from the people in the area. Home crowds are big and they regularly bring strong travelling support, sometimes nearly outnumbering the home crowd in the places they visit.
Financially, there is great support through sponsorship too. Having sold their old grounds at Tyone, Nenagh were able to build the facilities at New Ormond Park with zero debt and even have some funds remaining for maintenance in the future.
So while players like O’Flaherty give a huge amount of time and effort to keep plugging away for the club on the pitch, they are hugely grateful to those behind the scenes who allow them to experience the joys of being a club rugby player.
He recalls running out at Thomond Park for the Munster Senior Challenge Cup Final in 2023. Young Munster won it with a last-gap penalty but the feeling of playing in front of a huge Nenagh crowd will stay with O’Flaherty forever.
“To do that with your home club, it’s second to none,” he says.
“The friendship is unbelievable. When the season is over, you can sometimes feel a bit lost. When you’re in the season, you’re playing with your buddies, you’re playing for your community.
“We go out on a Saturday and you’re playing for everyone who wore the jersey before you. You want to put respect on that jersey.”
