Galwey’s glint of steel

Diarmuid O’Flynn looks ahead to the domestic rugby season with the new Shannon coach, Mick Galwey.

PICTURE the scene. Thomond Park, October 2000, Bath are in town to take on Munster in a vital Heineken Cup game.

The visitors and former Heineken Cup champions have a star-studded side, there’s a bit of nervousness in the air but still, the cheers of the wall-to-wall faithful reverberate around the storied old ground.

Team captains Ben Clarke and Mick Galwey walk to centre-field for the coin-toss. Gaillimh is a legend, with a permanent smile that sedates many an unwitting opponent, a smile disguising a will of iron, an unbendable will to win.

“Teams coming to Thomond Park can be a bit nervous, and Clarke was,” he recalls. “There was a strong wind blowing straight down the field; we like to play against it in the first-half, keep the score down, then do what we have to do in the second half, with the crowd and the wind behind us. I always called heads, but this time, harps came up. ‘Right so,’ I said, immediately, ‘we’ll play that way,’ pointing into the wind. ‘Fair enough,’ said the ref, and I ran straight off. Behind me, I could hear Ben, who was just coming around to the fact that he’d been done, starting to protest, ‘but, but, we won the toss!’ It was too late, there was no way I was going back.”

In a storming 31-9 win, Munster scored three second-half tries. He smiles now, at the memory.

Decision-making, leadership, thinking on his feet, that’s what set Galwey apart from his peers. Not that there was anything amiss with his rugby-playing. The 6’4”, 18 stone, Currow native was a Kerry All-Ireland medal winner at 19, a member of what’s regarded as the greatest Gaelic football team of all time. He switched to rugby, became an outstanding second-row, won 10 Munster Senior Cup medals and six All-Ireland Division One titles with Shannon, was capped a record-breaking 140 times for a ground-breaking Munster team, and won another 41 at international level. Of course, that should have been doubled, had his leadership qualities been recognised by a succession of myopic managers. Another day, perhaps.

As a captain, Galwey excelled. In most other team sports, the captaincy is simply a titular role; in rugby, in Galwey’s time, it was significant, and in close games, critical. Time after time, with Shannon, with Munster, with Ireland, Galwey’s decisions were decisive; not alone that, they were seen to be decisive. Penalty awarded, minutes to go, game on the line, the big man very firmly and very definitely indicated to the referee what his intentions were. “We’re not interested in the posts; we’re kicking to the corner.” Thing was, he wasn’t indicating just to the man in the middle.

“You signal your intent, not just to the ref, but to the crowd, get them behind you; you’re also signalling to the opposition. You’re throwing down the gauntlet to them, and to your own team; this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to take the lineout, and we’re going to score a try. When you make a decision, you must also make a statement, and it should never be taken lightly.”

This year, Galwey has made another big decision. No, he hasn’t finally retired from rugby: “I’ve never retired from anything; I didn’t retire from Ireland, from Munster, even from Shannon. I came on the scene, left the scene, without ever wanting to make an issue of it.”

He has decided to become a coach, and what more natural place to start than with his beloved Shannon. Already they have a few games under their belt, in the Munster Senior League they qualified for the playoffs; this weekend, however, sees the first round of the AIB All-Ireland League.

Ironic as the comment may appear, Galwey has some pretty big boots to fill. In his three years in charge, outgoing coach Geoff Moylan led Shannon to three Munster Cups, three Munster Senior League titles, and most impressive of all, two AIL crowns, including last season’s success. Quite a challenge then, for Galwey, though as he sees it, he is merely continuing a tradition.

“Shannon’s success is no secret. Continuity is what it is, continuity, and always from within. There has never been an outside coach in Shannon, and every coach they’ve had has been a former senior player. There was Geoff, Pat Murray, Rhys Ellison (‘a most under-rated player’); there was Niallo (O’Donovan), Denis O’Sullivan, Ger McMahon, Briano (O’Brien), all fellas who played with Shannon, then put it back into the club. Tradition is very important, no matter what game you play. Shannon have it.”

ONE of the biggest challenges that faced Moylan is there again this season, for his successor - the loss of players to the provincial set-up. It doesn’t bother Galwey any more than it bothered Moylan.

“Even in Shannon, there are those who complain that Munster are taking all our players; I don’t, I think that’s great, in fact that’s almost the object of the exercise. Give players the opportunity to learn good rugby, to play good rugby, give them the opportunity to go on to the next level, for Munster, or whoever.

“It’s a breeding ground, and if it occasionally comes at the cost of club success, well so be it, the club has produced on one part of its agenda. Sure we’ve even lost people to the top in management; look at Brian O’Brien and Niall O’Donovan, both involved with the Irish team. They came through the club system in Shannon, and they cut their teeth in the AIL. Even with all the losses and disruption, we’ve still held our own over the last few years, and I’d be very proud of that.

“We’ve lost more players again from last year, Johnny O’Connor, Brian Touhy, Trevor Hogan; Mushy Buckley, a prop in the same mould as John Hayes, is training with Connacht, but so what? I’m staying positive , and I think we’re still looking good. Look at the players we have, experienced guys like Andrew Thompson, Johnny Lacey, Eddie Halvey, Tom Hayes, Colm McMahon, David Quinlan; then we have youngsters like Mossie Lawlor, Stephen Keogh, and so on.

“As a player, I was always very ambitious, wanted to play at the top; as a coach, I’m the same. The top level for me at the moment is Shannon; I know what I want from the lads, I know what they’re capable of, and so far, there have been no problems. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

And if Shannon succeed, if he succeeds, would he then look to go further? “Hopefully we will succeed, and if opportunities arise, I want to go for them, yes, of course. For now, however, the focus is on Shannon, and this week’s game against Blackrock. Let’s win that one first.”

He smiles, and is gone. Behind that smile however, the glint of steel.