Population, volunteerism and success: Johne Murphy on the rise of rugby in Kildare

Andy Farrell initially named five Kildare players in his squad for the Six Nations – Tadhg Beirne, Sam and Cian Prendergast, Jamie Osborne and Jeremy Loughman - before Billy Bohan became the sixth when he was called in as loosehead cover. Remarkably, those initial five all started the opening game against France; so, where exactly has the spike come from in terms of Kildare players reaching the elite level?

One man uniquely placed to answer this is Rathangan's Johne Murphy - formerly of Munster and Leicester Tigers, current Head Coach at AIL side Naas and Director of Rugby at Newbridge College. He spoke to The Kildare Nationalist this week and gave his appraisal of the situation:

“Well, I suppose there's been a level going back a long time, you know, with the likes of Jamie (Heaslip), Fergus (McFadden), Geordie (Murphy). I think over recent years, the progress from Jimmy O'Brien, Jordan Duggan, the Osbornes - there's a fairly simple answer to it, and that's population.

“Being part of the commuter belt, and you look at the clubs and the minis that have really started to boom over that time - Naas, Newbridge, Kildare, Athy, Clane, North Kildare, they all have huge amounts. So, it's that North Midlands catchment area that is really starting to come to fruition. You even look at a club like Portlaoise, there's I think there's 23 or 24 Portlaoise ex-minis playing in AIL Division 1A or 1B.

“Then also the work that's going on in the clubs, the volunteerism that's allowing Naas, for example, to have 450 kids every Saturday morning - weather permitting - and the volunteers that are standing up to do it every week.

“And then, like anything, Leinster's rise since they won their first European Cup in 2009, kids want to support success. That's the wrong phrase, but success breeds people seeing something that they believe they can achieve that. They want to push on and be part of that Leinster franchise 

“So, it's an accumulation, in my opinion, of those three things, population, volunteerism and success.”

There are currently 12 men from Kildare playing regularly in the URC and in European rugby, but only half of those are with Leinster, while there are three with Munster and another three with Connacht. So, what is it that makes Kildare players a little more willing to bet on themselves and take the chance of leaving Leinster?

“I suppose it's just a pathway perspective,” Murphy said. “There's so many guys within that Leinster system that there can be a backlog and that backlog goes back a long time. You look at Bernard Jackman, not from Kildare but from Carlow, he went Lansdowne, Sale, Connacht, and then back to Leinster.

“There is starting to be a shift in that view, that the rugby institutions in Dublin and the schools probably were producing players that had a level straight away out of school, where the Kildare lads that are within that structure were probably a bit more raw at that time and took a bit longer to develop.

“That is starting to change now with what's going on in a number of schools outside of the top six. But again, population dictates that there's only a certain number of spots, but the population is skewed towards the the east side of the country, so, it's just going to create that backlog. And to get those opportunities, you need to be open and avail of what other pathways that are there.”

Murphy has had quite a hand in the rise of this latest batch of Kildare talent, guiding many through their formative years at Newbridge College and Naas. Cian Prendergast and Jimmy O'Brien were before his time, but he has brought several names through, including Sam Prendergast, Jamie and Andrew Osborne, Billy Bohan, Diarmuid and Ciaran Mangan, as well as Connacht prop, Jordan Duggan, who Murphy played alongside at Naas. 

"Jordy came to Naas straight out of school, so, I would have been his defence coach for a couple of years, and I actually played with him as well. He's still assigned to us in Naas. Great fella and has worked really hard - another one like Cian (Prendergast) that went the road less travelled," Murphy noted.

“I came back into Newbridge (College) in 2019/2020. I suppose it was just a couple of small changes around basic standards within the playing group. I nailed my colours to the mast very early with that younger group, which would have been Sam (Prendergast) and Diarmuid (Mangan) when they were in fifth year.

“I'm personally invested in Newbridge College as a school - I'm a third-generation past pupil there. So, I really want to push that on and continue to push it for years.

“I'm lucky in the sense that I played with so many different nationalities through my time, particularly in Leicester and also Munster, so my viewpoint on the game would be very much a blend of all of those things and all of those players that I played with, and I try to impart that.

“And a big thing, without being too holistic on it all, my goal ultimately is to produce high-quality rugby players that can understand the game and understand the different styles that are played - that's what we try and do. Players that can fit into any environment, whatever way certain coaches want to play, and that they have a really good understanding of the game so that they can fit into those environments well and they understand what standards are needed and pushed.

“I was very lucky that I played in Leicester at a time where they were one of the biggest clubs in Europe, and from a performance perspective, we won a lot. I got the tail end of that golden generation of Munster and the standards that they set, and still to this day I'd be quite friendly with those guys.

“So I just try to impart that to anyone I coach and particularly at those schoolboy level, because it gives them a really good grounding and just a good foundation to kind of kick on - whatever way the cards fall, be it a professional, AIL, whatever.”

Murphy currently has a new crop of talented, exciting players coming through the ranks at Newbridge College, including prop Jamie Bohan, younger brother of Connacht star, Billy. Along with young Jamie Bohan, several members of Murphy's current crop are involved with Ireland U18 Schools team, including hooker Brion Donagh, fly half Michael Kenny, winger Luke Kelly, full back Johnny Martin and centre Tom Martin. 

“(The IRFU) brought back the schools youths programme, which is a mixture of the youths players and the schools players, which is broadening the pathway and keeping people within that U18s pathway longer. So instead of having just one group of 26 guys, there's now going to be 26 guys going to the school Six Nations but then another 26 guys that get to go play Scotland.

“That's to help those late developers and make sure that they're kept within the system and they're being continually monitored and watched from the provincial perspective. So it just broadens the funnel at an age where the last number of years they've tightened the funnel.”