Devlin continues to spread rugby gospel around Kilkenny

Rugby around Kilkenny continues to go from strength to strength and that is, in no small part down, to the impact of Leinster Community Officer Noel Devlin.

Noel works alongside Kilkenny Rugby Club as he helps promote the sport in schools around the county.

“I’m with Leinster Rugby for the past eight years and I’m a club community officer with them,” he added when explaining his role.

“I work in conjunction with Kilkenny Rugby Club and I get funding from Kilkenny County Council.

“The job sees me going around to 15 primary schools a week in Kilkenny and that is just under 3,000 students a month that see a Leinster Rugby designed coaching programme in the schools.

“My basic job is to promote rugby around the county.

Unlike some bigger neighbouring counties where there is more than one rugby club, there is only one community rugby officer in Kilkenny so the job Devlin entails on a daily basis is a huge one as he aims to grow the game around the county.

“There is only one rugby club in Kilkenny and as a result of that there can only be one club rugby community officer associated with the county whereas in Wexford they have four rugby clubs in Gorey, New Ross, Enniscorthy and Wexford so they have four community officers,” he said.

“In Kilkenny alone there are 87 primary schools and 11 secondary schools, so I do three schools a day. After the midterm I will be dealing with the likes of Graignamanagh, Paulstown and all that area.

“For the term just gone I was in the Presentation primary and secondary schools in Kilkenny city as well as Loreto, St Canice’s, Burnchurch and Callan.

“I’m all over the place really and it’s very hard to get around to everyone so you have to sort out everything geographically.

“When I start out in September, I begin with North Kilkenny and cover the Castlecomer, Moneenroe, Muckalee and Coon area of the county.”

Despite the mountain of work involved, the Kilkenny man has nothing but praise for the schools around the county while also acknowledging the outlet that the programme offers to children from all walks of life.

“Everything is very positive and the best thing about the programme is that it is all-inclusive and nobody gets left out,” he said.

“I work with kids from all various kinds of backgrounds from ethic to the travelling community and kids with disabilities.

“The programme is very good for children with Autism and in St Patrick’s De La Salle they have an autism building and as a result they engage well with the kids especially in fourth, fifth and sixth classes.

“The kids take part along with everyone else in the programme.

“There is also various amputees in some of the schools and we teach them to catch a rugby ball just as much as we would with an able bodied person.

The big thing for Devlin, who is now in his eighth year in the job, is that it is not drills based and it is more about providing fun and entertainment for the kids.

“There are various different games that the children participate in and that’s the way we do it, it’s not about drills ,” he explained.

“The games are designed so nobody has an excuse not to participate. There is always a different rugby skill involved and the focus of the games is to focus on evasion which can complement you in rugby as well as other sports such as Hurling, Gaelic Football, Basketball or Soccer.

“Communication is another thing that we also focus on as well as teamwork but keeping active and having fun is still the main part of the programme.

“There’s a lot of work going on but it’s absolutely brilliant and it’s a dream job really.

“I’m been involved in Kilkenny Rugby Club now for 22 years and I’m currently head coach with the under-16 side so there’s always great support there.

“We’re not going chasing superstars; we just find that if you can set up the right environment they can become in time important people at club level and that’s where Kilkenny steps in.”

The community officer is also hugely involved in Kilkenny Rugby club and with the Foulkstown-based location being the only rugby club in the county it offers the chance for huge numbers to come running in the gate with the number of girls participating going through the roof in recent times.

“The numbers in Kilkenny Rugby Club are huge and it has one of the biggest mini youths sections in Leinster at the moment,” he said.

“It’s unbelievable and there is over 500 children training five or six days a week out there and in the girls section alone has grown hugely.

“They are really enjoying it as a result of the environment that I’m creating in the schools and we take kids of any age as it is never too late to start - we even had a few lads from Callan CBS join us this year at under-16 and under-18 level which is fantastic and the majority of the girls at those same age brackets are made up of Pres and Loreto students in the city.

“The great thing about rugby is that no matter what shape or size you may be, there is a space for you on the team.

“Nobody gets left out as a result and that’s what I love about the sport.

“Women’s rugby is the fastest growing sport in Ireland at the moment and the social side of it is something that the girls love and it’s just unreal at the moment.

Keeping up the numbers is a task that faces all sports around Ireland but after they kept training during the pandemic, Kilkenny Rugby Club saw a surge of new participants and it looks to be bearing fruit now.

“Kilkenny Rugby Club kept everything going throughout the pandemic as they complied with the regulations.

“Other sports stopped around that time and that’s where the numbers really grew from there for us and the support from the schools in Kilkenny has been fantastic and that’s why the club is doing so well .

“We are seeing a number of our players getting trials for Leinster teams as a result so there is a great development there and it’s all good so we just hope we can continue the progress over the next few years,” Devlin said.

Rugby in Kilkenny is certainly on the rise!