Leinster vs Edinburgh

Co Carlow From Left Justin Hannon, Melvin
Elmes, Michael Carbery, Ian Dwyer
the Divisions, returning to the Leinster
League where they have been toiling
away.
“At the moment, we are allowed to bring
in one overseas player. But, we are not
doing that anymore. The onus is on us to
produce the players,” he states.
In an overall context, it is a competitive
world out there where multiple sports
clubs are vying for the attention of
children.
It is not enough to simply exist and trade
on a stellar reputation. There has to be a
campaign to grow the numbers streaming
into the club and to keep them coming in.
In that regard, County Carlow has
committed to being agile in how it
welcomes in the new and existing
members and how it reaches out to make
new connections in the community.
There is a five-year strategic plan which
includes short and long-term goals to be
achieved on and off the pitch.
It is subdivided into the development
of five areas: rugby, grounds, facilities,
governance and structure.
The club is becoming a victim of its
success in that pressure on space is driven
by the increase in numbers, splitting the
minis into two groups, six to nine-yearolds
practicing from 9.30-10.30 and the
remainder from 10.30-11.30.
In minis rugby, there are in the region
of 200 kids at the club on a Saturday
morning for sessions, co-ordinated by
Robert Keady. At youths rugby, there are
100 boys and girls, spread across six
teams, currently managed by Brendan
Carbery
County Carlow also has an all-inclusive
‘Bees Squad’ managed by Aurlene
Browne and Muireann Brennan. The
attitude of volunteering back to the club
is there in the involvement of past-players,
parents and members.
“It is a family club. There are
approximately 165 families attached
to the club. There are 71 families
directly involved in the running of the
club whether as coaches or committee
members,” says Elmes.
“There are 100 volunteers that willingly
give up their free time to make County
Carlow what it is to all of us. We are not
saying we are any different from, or any
better than, any other club.”
This enables a commitment to a minimum
three-person coaching team for all levels
of youth and mini rugby in line with a mini
youth and senior player retention plan.
Director of Rugby Derek Cope oversees
the strength in playing depth from the 66
male players. The seconds are setting the
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