RUGBY: FERGUS MCFADDEN FEATURE INTERVIEW
The Wearer Of Suncroft, Clongowes, Cill Dara, Leinster And Ireland Shirts
By Daire Walsh
IN the six months since he officially brought his career to a close, Suncroft’s Fergus McFadden has come to terms with being out of the professional rugby spotlight.
Having agreed to stay on until the end of the 2019/20 campaign, Leinster’s surprise Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final defeat to Saracens on September 19 of last year (a fixture he played no part in) signalled McFadden’s retirement from the game.
He had only just returned to full training following a troublesome calf injury, which ultimately ruled him out of the closing weeks of the eastern province’s march towards a third consecutive Guinness PRO14 title. This effectively denied him a final swansong on the field of play – his last appearance was a pre-pandemic league encounter with Glasgow Warriors – but he is more than content to now be on the opposite side of the fence.
“I’ve probably gotten a little bit more used to watching. Of course, I miss the boys and I miss the environment in a way, but I’m happy to have become a supporter now from the sidelines,” he acknowledged.
McFadden finished his time with the Blues on 184 first-team appearances and an impressive scoring tally of 444 points. He lined out on just six occasions in his final campaign, but his contribution didn’t go unnoticed.
In virtually his final act as a Leinster player, he lifted the PRO14 trophy – in unison with a fellow Clongowes Wood College alum – in the aftermath of their league final triumph over Ulster at a barren Aviva Stadium on September 12.
“That was a really special moment. I went through school with Rob Kearney and then through the Leinster system together all the way up,” McFadden recalled.
“To finish and have that memory together, on behalf of those 53 players who were involved in that year, and the coaching ticket and backroom staff, it was a classy touch by Johnny Sexton and Garry Ringrose to give us that honour. I’ll be forever grateful.”
Whereas most of Kildare’s representatives in professional rugby union have gone through the underage club system at either Naas or Newbridge, McFadden enjoyed a different introduction to the game. Like former Munster and Leicester utility back Johne Murphy, he is a product of Cill Dara RFC in Dunmurry West.
“Loved my rugby there. I was always quite small for my age coming up through the grades. I was lucky enough to play on a team that had a half-time game against Ballina. It was half-time of a Welsh game and we beat them. I think it was 2 or 3-1 in tries and I scored a try, which I was over the moon with.
“That was a great memory I have playing for that club and that was the grassroots for me. Because from there I would have predominantly played Gaelic football with Suncroft until I went to Clongowes. That’s kind of when the rugby took over.”
Nonetheless, McFadden credits his GAA upbringing as being crucial to his development as a rugby player.
“A lot of my identity was from playing for that club [Suncroft]. Some of the qualities that I took into rugby, of toughness, humility and working hard, would have come from there. The coaches right through the years like Seamus Dillon and John Moore, Christy Brennan. I would have had such great memories with some lads from there.”
Following a succession of impressive displays for Clongowes, McFadden was offered a spot in the Leinster Academy. He went on to make his debut at outside centre for the province against Cardiff Blues on September 28, 2007 and retained his starting place for a subsequent clash with the Scarlets a week later.
In stark contrast to their arch rivals Munster, Leinster were viewed as underachievers during this period. This was all about to change with the Blues’ Celtic League victory at the end of the 2007/08 term being supplemented by a maiden Heineken Cup success 12 months later.
“2009 is actually the first year I was fully contracted with the club. I remember I would have been surrounded by the likes of Shane Horgan, Malcolm O’Kelly and Gordon D’Arcy. Even Bernard Jackman, guys that had been around for an awful long time. Shane Jennings, Leo Cullen. Just going ‘God, the talent in this room’. I was hoping something special could be on the horizon.
“I think there was a nice mix of those older guys and very ambitious younger guys. The likes of Luke Fitzgerald, Rob Kearney, Johnny Sexton, Sean O’Brien, myself. Devin Toner, Cian Healy. Those two age demographics getting married together with an awful lot of talent and an awful lot of ambition. It was just a nice concoction on top of a great coach in Michael Cheika.”
Having travelled over to Edinburgh as 23rd man for the 2009 final win over Leicester (a match day squad of 22 was allowed in those days), McFadden went on to feature in the back-to-back Heineken Cup triumphs of 2011 and 2012 – primarily as a winger in both campaigns.
2011 also saw him earning a call-up to the senior international fold under then-head coach Declan Kidney. He proceeded to score 10 tries in 34 caps for Ireland, including a hat-trick in a summer test win over Canada in 2013.
His penultimate appearance in the green was as a late replacement in the famous away victory against France at the beginning of the 2018 Six Nations. On the brink of a demoralising defeat, Jonathan Sexton stepped forward to nail a stoppage-time drop-goal after a remarkable 41 phases of attacking play to give Ireland a precious opening round victory.
Joe Schmidt’s men stepped forward from this point and McFadden ended the campaign with a second Six Nations title to go alongside the one he had previously accrued in 2014.
“I feel like I’ve been very lucky with some of the games I’ve managed to be involved in. That one was such a pivotal match in the grand scheme. To win a Grand Slam, teams need to be lucky at times.
“Maybe it was luck. Maybe you make your own luck. You need that when you’re going through a competition of five really tough rugby matches. That one in 2018, it was just so special. I was only on the field for around eight minutes and I had a few involvements.
“To go through that many phases in that sort of weather over in France and then for Johnny to just have the bottle to be able to knock that kick over from that distance. It was just an amazing thing to be a part of really.”
As he reflects on his 13-year career in the professional game, McFadden has a lot to be grateful for. In addition to a brace of Six Nations victories, he played his part in helping Leinster to win 11 major trophies under four different coaches – Michael Cheika, Joe Schmidt, Matt O’Connor and Leo Cullen.
Since retiring, he has dipped his toes in the Irish media by becoming a regular face on SportsJoe’s House Of Rugby podcast alongside Ireland women’s international Eimear Considine and his former Leinster compatriot Ian Madigan. However, having studied part-time for a bachelor of business studies degree at Griffith College Dublin while under contract at Leinster, McFadden always had his sights on a career outside of sport.
“I enjoy having a small involvement in rugby still. Not a very large commitment, but I do that podcast once a week. Aside from that, I’m working for a company called Kirby. A construction company, they’re mechanical and electrical contractors. I’m working in Dublin for them. Very happy to be in a role with a great company like that,” McFadden added.