City of Derry coach optimistic over rugby restart but All Ireland League hopes fading

With no Ulster Branch fixtures having taken place since October 3rd due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, Ulster Rugby’s Competitions Management Committee (CMC) announced at the weekend they would not be organising any further fixtures for the remainder of the year, declaring the current season’s plan null and void. The decision was endorsed by the Rugby Committee and the Ulster Branch Emergency Committee.

The CMC said it had taken the decision to allow clubs to plan for January by which time they hoped to have a revised season plan in place for 2021. With that new plan in mind, it was also confirmed that the season would be extended until May 22nd 2021.

The decision should provide a degree of clarity but while some sports currently allow non-contact, outdoor training limited to 15 people, there has been no rugby in Ulster at any level below the professional game since the lockdown was imposed. The N.I. Executive is due to reassess that situation at the end of this week, after which there is the possibility clubs may be able to resume non-contact training.

Even in that best case scenario, however, clubs would require a minimum two week mini-pre-season to get back up to speed with City of Derry, who have not played a competitive game this season, last appearing in a friendly on September 12th. It is a situation which is threatening the very existence of local clubs and O’Kane remains adamant there is scope to return in some form before January.

“We would like to try and get something up and running in 2020,” admitted the Derry Head Coach, “If we thought we could play friendlies, if we could have a three week period to reboot things and then play conditioning games again for say, a couple of weeks in December and then build towards whatever is happening in the New Year, we would try and do that.

“There isn’t that much clarity yet about what is happening in January. From our point of view, we have deemed it very unlikely there will be an All Ireland League while there are travel restrictions everywhere. Even if things are relaxed, it’s very unlikely at this point they will be relaxed to the point where they are going to allow unfettered movement, unless the authorities do a complete U-turn on what is deemed elite level sport.

“It now depends on what decision the Executive takes this week. There has been some communication stating that as soon as the Energia Community Series is able to get up and running again, it would do so and I’ve sought clarification on what exactly that means.”

Rebooting the Energia Community Series after Christmas is one possible alternative should the AIL not be able to take place and despite the uncertainty surrounding the current state of play, O’Kane said he believed Ulster Rugby were determined to get clubs some rugby this season.

“We have to be optimistic,” explained O’Kane, “There is certainly an endeavour from Ulster Rugby to get some rugby played. They have already extended the season until May so from what I can see, there is a real endeavour to get something done.

“It’s just about how they get it done. Are they still planning to try and get some sort of AIL season played? I’m not sure how they would be given the circumstances. As things stand, on January 9th we are supposed to be at home to Bruff which would see a team travelling from Limerick. We are away then to Enniscorthy. And it is not just the logistics of games, they would also bring a cost that clubs would struggle to find in the present climate. That’s the reality.

“Saying we can play is one thing but you have to remember we haven’t been allowed to train at all now for five weeks and it will be nine weeks since we had a game of rugby. If they are expecting clubs at our level to get the go ahead on Friday and then play the week after, that is not realistic.”

Derry’s own situation is complicated further by the number of Donegal based players at the club with the south remaining in lockdown until at least the start of December.

“Yes, our situation is complicated by the fact that half our players are based in Donegal. They are in lockdown until the first week of December and because they took away the elite level dispensation for Level Three in the south - that’s now gone - our Donegal players are not permitted to travel regardless whether they have an exemption letter from the IRFU or not.

“The authorities are right in that regard. We cannot survive in ‘bubbles’. We can’t pay for testing every day, that’s not what our sport is at this level. It would be great if it was but it’s not. I think that’s what the authorities have taken to be elite, that you can live in those ‘bubbles’ but it can be confusing.”

It has been a frustrating few months for everyone involved in rugby and O’Kane admitted thoughts had already turned to next season when he believes we will see a return to something resembling normal competition.

“Our mindset would be to try and get some sort of friendlies up and running in December but what we have asked for is a starting point to work back from. We are not sure what we are aiming at and mentally, that’s been the most frustrating thing for the boys. There is nothing to work back from and no target to aim for.

“Longer term our focus is already on next season and trying to put things in place for that because, I think the reality is normality will have returned by that stage, fingers crossed.”