MY CLUB: WANDERERS FC
65 Merrion Road,
Ballsbridge,
Dublin 4
Ph: 01 2695272
www.wanderersfcrugby.com
By DAIRE WALSH
FOLLOWING a two-year absence, the upcoming 2014/15 Ulster Bank League season will herald the return of Wanderers Football Club to senior club rugby. After topping Division 1A of the Leinster Senior League last term under the stewardship of Greg Lynch, their promotion was secured thanks to consecutive play-off triumphs over Clogher Valley, Kanturk and OLBC.
As a club that pre-dates the foundation of the IRFU in 1874, it was a major set-back when they were relegated at the end of the 2011/12 Division 2B campaign, but as Chairman of Rugby Liam McDermott explains, they have bounced back quite effectively.
“For a club of Wanderers’ standing, given that we were one of the founding members of the IRFU all of those ago, it was a bit of a shock to the ego (to be relegated). But we worked around that, and worked positively to change the structures and fill the gaps that were there,” McDermott explained.
“The first year in the Leinster League, we were probably caught on the bounce a little. In the second year, we were well up and running.
“We won the Leinster League by 22 points, which was a huge margin. That presented a problem in itself from a rugby point of view, keeping people focused till the key area came up, which from our point of view was the AIL play-offs. We’re back in the AIL, and we’re now planning to kick on from there, both on and off the pitch.“
Although he spent some time as captain of Galwegians (and recently completed a spell abroad), McDermott has been involved in with Wanderers for several decades – he has performed various duties both on and off the pitch in that time.
“I was in the club in the mid-60s, and I played, people would say, for far too long! I’ve had many roles, from being fixture secretary to being chairman to being fundraiser to being tour manager to being whatever!”
With the Aviva Stadium acting as a joint-home base along with their facilities at Merrion Road, the importance of Wanderers retaining their senior status cannot be underestimated.
However, the development of underage structures is also pivotal to the continued success of the club, and McDermott is eager to offer equal emphasis on minis rugby in the immediate future.
“On the planning side, the minis – in a lot of clubs – tends to be a separate entity. We’re trying to bring them completely under the umbrella of the rugby section of the club to work with them. We do have a history of getting people that have come through the minis.
“Last year on our first team, we would have had about four people that came through our minis, and we would have had two or three that came through our Under 20s. So, we have to home grow. That’s the plan,” added McDermott.