Shining a light on girl’s rugby

By Thomas Conway

Drive along the M7 on a dark evening and it’s hard not to notice the beaming white floodlights of New Ormond Park in Lisatunny. The switch is almost always turned on, leaving motorists to contemplate the action from afar. Streams of dazzling neon illuminating a playing field in early spring - a common sight across the Irish countryside in this day and age.

For several reasons, however, the events in Lisatunny last Wednesday evening were a little unique. For a group of young and energetic girls, this was a first taste of playing rugby under lights. It might not seem all that special, but it was a novelty which may, in time, embed itself in their memories and inspire them to pursue sport, in whatever form at whatever grade, into the distant future. If nothing else, it will serve as a happy memory.

And not only for the children. Eimear O'Keeffe, coach of Ormond's Under-14s and mother to player Ailbhe, recounted the experience as thoroughly exhilarating and slightly surreal. She isn't exaggerating. Even the most composed among us have occasionally got sucked away in the febrile excitement of a seemingly ordinary everyday sports outing. It doesn't have to be the Aviva on a Six Nations Saturday.

Sport can conjure a spectacle out of just about any game at any level, and for all involved in Lisatunny last Wednesday night, this was very much a spectacle in its own right.

The game itself produced a tussle between Ormond and one of their nearest regional neighbours, Scariff. It panned out in competitive fashion, the home side running seven tries past the East Clare outfit, captain Isabelle Ryan landing a hat-trick, Amy O’Dwyer with a brace, and a contribution each from Niamh Kelly and Lily Morris. Still, the direction of the game wasn’t linear.

Scariff showed their worth, responding to two early Nenagh tries with a duo of their own, before the Lisatunny residents hit them for three in the lead up to the interval. Leading 25-17 at half-time, Nenagh turned on the burners in the second-half, coasting ahead with two further tries, Ailbhe O’Keeffe clipping over a conversion to add to their total.

While the game itself provided a first taste of playing under lights for both sides, there were a number of other notable firsts. Taking charge of his first competitive fixture, referee Aidan Doyle was grateful of the opportunity to debut in front of a relatively hospitable crowd, which, to their credit, never descended into complete chaos, though the excitement did reach fever-pitch at times.

Amongst the spectators was long-time Nenagh Ormond stalwart Mary Ryan, who had previously never witnessed a girls’ rugby match. There was a poignant side to her experience. Mary would have grown up in an era in which rugby was almost exclusively a man’s game. Women and girls may have been involved, in some shape or form, but their presence on a pitch would not have been a common sight, nor, in many cases, an acceptable one. Hence, for Mary, the significance of watching young girls flinging an oval ball and dodging tackles cannot be understated. It probably represented a watershed moment - a realisation that the opportunities afforded to young female athletes - while still not on par with their male counterparts - are rapidly expanding.

With another contest against either Fethard or Killarney scheduled for the coming weeks, Nenagh Ormond’s ambition now is to build on the enthusiasm which last Wednesday’s spectacle under lights produced. Consistency is key. Two years ago, the 20×20 initiative, devised by Sarah Colgan and Heather Thornton, sought to increase female participation in sport, elevate attendance figures, and enhance media coverage - each by a rate of twenty per-cent. The pandemic arrested some of the momentum which that initiative had begun to generate, but the movement to promote women in sport has once again started to gain traction. In recent months however, women’s rugby has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Hence the importance of highlighting positive moments like last Wednesday’s game.

This is just one story, from one pitch in one club in one province, but it deserves to be acknowledged and documented.