A CERTAIN GROUP of Leinster players must feel very left out. People like Shane Byrne, Reggie Corrigan, Keith Gleeson, Victor Costello and Denis Hickie exited the provincial scene just before the province started making their arduous ascent to the summit of European rugby, and despite being recognised by Leinster fans for their great playing careers, they left the professional game with little in the way of trophies.
With his trademark mullet, Shane Byrne has become a cult hero of sort for Leinster supporters, which was never more obvious than during the province’s Heineken Cup semi-final win over Munster in 2009, when he was shown on the big screen almost as much as the match itself.
Byrne loves days like that as a spectator, but found moving from the pitch to the stand to be a difficult journey.
“I would have preferred to be on the pitch [in 2009],” Byrne said.
“When you retire it is very hard to make the transition from player to supporter. It is really hard. You look out and think you could still be playing and then you look down and say, actually no I can’t.
“Being associated with Leinster and anything good they are doing is fantastic. The problem in 2009 was that I kept having to hide my pint of Guinness when they cut across to me.”
Games like Leinster vs Munster this weekend make Byrne long for the ultra-physical encounters he used to contest against people like Peter Clohessy and Mick Galwey. Byrne used to see interprovincial clashes with Munster as a chance to catapult himself into the national set-up, so he made extra sure to get one over on his opposite number.
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“Getting a chance to take a cut at Keith Wood was very nice,” Byrne said.
“There was also Eddie Halvey, Anthony Foley and Alan Quinlan. I remember some ding-dong battles down in Thomond Park in the mid-90′s when the rain was howling left to right instead of down on top of you. Those big Canterbury jerseys were like tents on you and you would come off about two stone heavier.
“You always had to watch every part of your body when you played against Claw (Peter Clohessy). He would have been around for a good few years before me but you would still want to flipping kill him if you could get your hands on him.”
Byrne loved coming up against international rivals when he played Munster. INPHO
INPHO
Byrne’s career spans both the amateur and professional era so while he does remember the grand clashes against Munster – he ranks Leinster’s victory in the inaugural Celtic League final in 2001 as his favourite – he also remembers the days where the two teams could barely draw a crowd, something that is impossible to fathom today.
“Chalk and cheese doesn’t even do it justice but the passion was still there,” Byrne said.
“We used to play interpros in front of one man and his flipping dog. It was basically just the parents. But when the game went professional everything was geared towards the provinces and all of a sudden Donnybrook became a bit of a cauldron.”
Before Leinster’s Heineken Cup, the perception of a Leinster vs Munster match was that Munster would always have the physical juggernaut of pack while Leinster’s front eight were soft at their core and would wilt under the pressure. The term ‘ladyboys’ was used by Neil Francis to describe the Leinster pack and Byrne says insults like that used to infuriate the Leinster forwards.
“It used to be all about the physicality of the Munster pack and everybody dismissing the Leinster pack,” Byrne said.
“That drove us mad. As far as the players were concerned that label [ladyboys] was never bloody there.
“In the mid to late 00′s people just stopped saying it. Success is the only way to lose a mantle like that. Look what it woke up. It is now one of the biggest supported clubs in Europe.”
Before the game went professional, Byrne had planned on being an engineer. And while the players weren’t being rewarded monetarily during the early stages of his career, Byrne never questioned why he was putting so much of his time and energy into rugby. Wins over Leinster’s arch-rival certainly helped in that regard.
“There were no questions, we were beating Munster for god’s sake, what more could you want?,” Byrne said.
“We were playing a game we wanted to play long before it went professional and it just so happened that it did go professional when we were playing it.
“I had gone back to college and halfway through the season the game went professional and I was gone like a shot. There wasn’t much thinking about it but in fairness to them, they did say they would hold my position but I was just thinking ‘Great, good luck’.”
'It's very hard to make the transition from player to supporter' - Shane Byrne
A CERTAIN GROUP of Leinster players must feel very left out. People like Shane Byrne, Reggie Corrigan, Keith Gleeson, Victor Costello and Denis Hickie exited the provincial scene just before the province started making their arduous ascent to the summit of European rugby, and despite being recognised by Leinster fans for their great playing careers, they left the professional game with little in the way of trophies.
With his trademark mullet, Shane Byrne has become a cult hero of sort for Leinster supporters, which was never more obvious than during the province’s Heineken Cup semi-final win over Munster in 2009, when he was shown on the big screen almost as much as the match itself.
Byrne loves days like that as a spectator, but found moving from the pitch to the stand to be a difficult journey.
“I would have preferred to be on the pitch [in 2009],” Byrne said.
“When you retire it is very hard to make the transition from player to supporter. It is really hard. You look out and think you could still be playing and then you look down and say, actually no I can’t.
“Being associated with Leinster and anything good they are doing is fantastic. The problem in 2009 was that I kept having to hide my pint of Guinness when they cut across to me.”
Games like Leinster vs Munster this weekend make Byrne long for the ultra-physical encounters he used to contest against people like Peter Clohessy and Mick Galwey. Byrne used to see interprovincial clashes with Munster as a chance to catapult himself into the national set-up, so he made extra sure to get one over on his opposite number.
“Getting a chance to take a cut at Keith Wood was very nice,” Byrne said.
“There was also Eddie Halvey, Anthony Foley and Alan Quinlan. I remember some ding-dong battles down in Thomond Park in the mid-90′s when the rain was howling left to right instead of down on top of you. Those big Canterbury jerseys were like tents on you and you would come off about two stone heavier.
“You always had to watch every part of your body when you played against Claw (Peter Clohessy). He would have been around for a good few years before me but you would still want to flipping kill him if you could get your hands on him.”
Byrne’s career spans both the amateur and professional era so while he does remember the grand clashes against Munster – he ranks Leinster’s victory in the inaugural Celtic League final in 2001 as his favourite – he also remembers the days where the two teams could barely draw a crowd, something that is impossible to fathom today.
“Chalk and cheese doesn’t even do it justice but the passion was still there,” Byrne said.
“We used to play interpros in front of one man and his flipping dog. It was basically just the parents. But when the game went professional everything was geared towards the provinces and all of a sudden Donnybrook became a bit of a cauldron.”
Before Leinster’s Heineken Cup, the perception of a Leinster vs Munster match was that Munster would always have the physical juggernaut of pack while Leinster’s front eight were soft at their core and would wilt under the pressure. The term ‘ladyboys’ was used by Neil Francis to describe the Leinster pack and Byrne says insults like that used to infuriate the Leinster forwards.
“It used to be all about the physicality of the Munster pack and everybody dismissing the Leinster pack,” Byrne said.
“That drove us mad. As far as the players were concerned that label [ladyboys] was never bloody there.
“In the mid to late 00′s people just stopped saying it. Success is the only way to lose a mantle like that. Look what it woke up. It is now one of the biggest supported clubs in Europe.”
Before the game went professional, Byrne had planned on being an engineer. And while the players weren’t being rewarded monetarily during the early stages of his career, Byrne never questioned why he was putting so much of his time and energy into rugby. Wins over Leinster’s arch-rival certainly helped in that regard.
“There were no questions, we were beating Munster for god’s sake, what more could you want?,” Byrne said.
“We were playing a game we wanted to play long before it went professional and it just so happened that it did go professional when we were playing it.
“I had gone back to college and halfway through the season the game went professional and I was gone like a shot. There wasn’t much thinking about it but in fairness to them, they did say they would hold my position but I was just thinking ‘Great, good luck’.”
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All-Ireland Senior HC Leinster Munster Shane Byrne The mullet