Hayes memory remains strong for Ormond

The incredible turnaround season Nenagh Ormond are having in 2022/2023 in challenging for promotion from Division 2A of the All-Ireland League and reaching a first ever Munster Senior Champions Cup final is etched with great emotion as there is one man who would have loved to be experiencing it all.

There is a beautiful but haunting photo from last years AIL second leg relegation playoff between Nenagh Ormond and Rainey Old Boys where Club President Keith Hayes was celebrating Peter Coman’s try which helped Nenagh retain their status in the division.

However, just over a week later on May 8th, the club were rocked Keith’s sudden passing.

A popular man, not just within the club, but the wider rugby community, his loss continues to be keenly felt but his memory is very much alive within the Nenagh Ormond playing group as they carry the initials KH on their jerseys this season and his name is mentioned after each and every game.

“His loss last year broke the clubs heart,” admitted Nenagh Ormond Director of Rugby John Long.

“He is always remembered and spoken about at either training or after matches.

“There is a belief that Keith has been watching over us and pushing the team along and the team have been playing every second this season in his honour.”

Nenagh Ormond tap into that emotion from time to time and he certainly will be to the forefront of their thoughts when they run out onto Thomond Park this Thursday night to face Young Munster in the Munster Senior Challenge Cup final.

The turnaround in Nenagh Ormond from last season to this has been remarkable, largely with the same group of players, and while a new coaching staff has provided a fresh approach, Long, who is in his seventh season as Director of Rugby was keen to highlight the impact of the coaches with the team in the difficult recent years.

“Even when we are in the depths of the relegation battle last year, the bond that was there between the players, coaches and committee was strong and positive,” he said.

“There was no blaming anyone, everyone stood together, fought hard and thankfully we survived the season.

“The coaching staff that were there prior to this, it is the work they have put in over the years so the glory of this year isn’t down to this year alone, it has been building for the last few years.

“We have had no huge input of new players, maybe just three new faces this year, so it was slowly building all the time.

“A new coaching team has come in and changed things up and injected new variety. It just raised the bar with Derek (Corcoran) coming back as head coach, James Hickey as forwards coach has years of experience and has brought a new dimension to the forwards.

“Colm Skehan as the S&C coach has been instrumental to the season, last year we couldn’t have a training session without getting an injury. Be it luck or better conditioning, he seems to have really done wonders with the shape the players are in

“Backs coach Dan Fogarty has injected a new lease of life there, new ideas and new skills.”

John mentions just three new players being involved from last year to this but crucially all are in the front row where Mikey Doran, Dylan Murphy and Jack O’Keefe have provided Nenagh with a rock solid scrum and set-piece from which they can attack.

“Dylan coming back was great for the team, he has been brilliant all year,” Long added of the former Garryowen hooker.

“Mikey Doran has been an unbelievable signing. He is from Portlaoise and was living in Limerick and has provided a serious anchor in the front row.

“The coaches last season recognised Jack O’Keefe as a potential option as a prop and we worked on him over the summer, and he has turned out to be a diamond in the rough.”

When Nenagh Ormond re-emerged as a rugby force at the turn of the millennium winning a first Munster Junior Cup title in 52 years, adding another in 2004 before being promoted to senior rugby a year later, one wondered how Nenagh would survive at senior level and few would have thought that reaching a Munster Senior Cup final was achievable for such a small club in Munster rugby circles.

“I don’t think the people of Nenagh realise how big the club has gotten over the last twenty years,” Long continues.

“When you look at who we are now competing against, we are very much shooting about our weight.

“When you think back to 2000 when Martin Brislane captained the team to win the Munster Junior Cup, I believe that success started it all. It was a special year for the club with the under 18’s winning the All-Ireland final. “It started something and has grown in the 23 years to today.

“This game is just rewards for the work put in by the players, committees, past presidents, everyone. There are far bigger towns than us in the country that don’t have a senior rugby team and don’t have the history that this club has and it is a credit to all those who have gone before us.”

Nenagh Ormond have been on a terrific run since Christmas, winning seven of their eight games in all competitions, and drawing the other. As they have crept up the Division 2A table and currently lie in second place with three games to go, one wonders whether this Munster Cup run has been a help or could be a hindrance.

“It is very exciting, it is great to have it,” insists Long.

“We have two cup finals, also the Charity Cup final, to play along with our last three league games. There is a lot to play for yet.

“It has been a great distraction. We just take each game as it comes.”

“It’ll be daunting but exciting. Once the whistle blows, it won’t matter where it is on. It’ll be business as usual.

“Young Munster are a 1A club and will have the advantage of the experience of the big days but sometimes it is nice to be the underdog too, plus we’ll outnumber them in terms of support massively. The support this year has been phenomenal. It’s a huge thing for a team.”