Relegated Garryowen must rebuild from top to regain place among elite

Cork Constitution are now the only club to remain a member of the top division in the All-Ireland League since its foundation in 1991/92, a season in which they captured the first of their four titles.

It was a record jointly held by Garryowen until this season, but now they have been relegated plans must be put in place quickly in a bid to regain their place at the top table.

Tom Tierney, the former Munster and Ireland scrum-half, revealed after his side’s shock final-day victory over Old Belvedere that he would be leaving the club after a two-year stint as head coach.

Former Ireland supremo Eddie O’Sullivan is an obvious candidate for the job having been installed in an advisory role in the final months of the campaign in a futile attempt to beat the drop.

However, he remained non committal on the subject after his side denied Old Belvedere the title, with suggestions that his services may be in demand elsewhere. Instead, O’Sullivan preferred to focus on the Garryowen display.

“This was a bitter-sweet occasion even though if you sat down today and watched that game, it was a great advert for the AIL, a fine game of rugby.

“I feel for [Old Belvedere coach] Paul Cunningham, he’s a Garryowen man himself and he did a great job this year with Belvo. He went in to the Garryowen lads and made what was a tough but very good speech. He’s a good guy.

“Is the AIL getting a fair deal? That’s a tough one, it’s the linchpin between the amateur and professional game and so managing that is always tricky.”

As to what the future may hold?

“I wish I knew,” he laughed. “If I hear anything, you’ll be the first to know.”

The presence of RTÉ’s cameras at Saturday’s game certainly added to the sense of occasion, although many people were highly critical of the national broadcaster’s attitude to the AIL. It’s failure to put results on their Aertel service was widely criticised and obviously contrasts drastically with their huge efforts to cover the final day drama.

Cunningham spoke for many when he quipped: “I’m surprised they knew how to get here!”

Cunningham could be accused of sour grapes given the result, however he never concealed his deep disappointment at the way the league is treated by the IRFU during his days at the helm at Garryowen.

“There have been some cracking games in the AIL this season,” he maintained. “Our match against Clontarf was as good as you will see anywhere and I include professional rugby in that because some of the professional games we see are pretty ordinary.

“Whether you’re amateur, pro, whatever, people should look at that — fellas putting their bodies on the line for 80 minutes in a no-holds-barred game. There are wonderful contests week in, week out, and it deserves the support of everybody.

Garryowen’s Division One demise leaves Tierney as the latest high profile rugby coach unsure as to what the future might hold.

“I’m committed to coaching, it’s something I want to do,” he stressed. “Obviously this season has been very disappointing. It’s been a huge learning curve and something hopefully that someday I can look back on and say it was the making of me.

“Every kind of situation was thrown at us this year and you had to deal with it and learn on the job.”