‘Rugby is floundering at club level, especially in the rural areas’

There was little to suggest that when Bob McGann, a hurler and sportsman of some renown, left Monivea to join An Garda Síochána many decades ago that he would set in train a sequence which would see his own son become an Irish international out-half and, in turn, lead to the foundation of a rugby club back in the little Galway village that he left behind.

That club, Monivea RFC, nestled between the hurling stronghold of Athenry to its south and reigning All-Ireland club football champions Corofin to its north, is this week celebrating the selection of Caolin Blade in the Irish Six Nations squad, the first man from the club to achieve the honour.