Irish Tour 2014

Football, basketball, and baseball are just a few of the numerous sports played here at SHC. But there is one sport that hides behind the scenes, and  that is the ruthless and intense game of rugby.  Even in the broad sports world,  rugby does not easily attract the average fanatic and may appear to be peculiar and mysteriously intriguing. Many people in the SHC community may not know this, but rugby has attracted a good portion of SHC students and athletes.

Danny Barrett ’08 is currently on the U.S. National 7’s team Olympic Residency Squad and has had a successful career so far.  He played for the San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Club (SFGG) in his youth and moved on to play in college at the reputable University of California, Berkeley. Barrett is only one of the many SHC alumni who participated in rugby. Between 15 and 20 students from SHC currently play for SFGG and range from freshmen to seniors.  Some of the students include Danny Lalor ’12, Eoghan Hurley ’13, Jerry Peralta ’13, and Billy O ‘Driscoll ’14Many more SHC athletes in the past have played for the renowned club, which is one of the most prestigious clubs in Northern California.

This past Spring Break, the SFGG High School team toured Ireland. The 11-day trip through the Irish counties of Dublin, Galway, and Limerick consisted of six games and though SFGG did not have the best season in Division I of Northern California, they hung in they performed well, going 4-2 against elite Irish teams. The high school students were even fortunate enough to attend a professional match

Ronan Murphy ’16 toured Ireland with the team and is the only sophomore to start on the varsity squad.

“We did well, the other teams were not as big as us, but they were a lot more skilled and played with good tactics…but we held our own and we came out victorious in two out of the four games,” said Murphy about their success on the tour.

While traveling, the team was also able to see able to see the Cliffs of Moher, some notable castles, Aviva Stadium where the Leinster Rugby Club and the International Ireland teams play, and the Munster Rugby Club Stadium.

“It gives a new perspective on what other countries are like. It also enriches awareness of the global community,” commented Murphy, regarding the benefits of traveling other countries with the SFGG.

During their time in Ireland, the team received professional coaching and got to experience the true Irish lifestyle.  “A Hurling Experience” was one of the special events the whole team got to partake in, where they got to meet a hurl maker and learn the basics of the native Irish sport. It took an arduous effort for the SFGG Club to raise the money for the trip and organize such events. Many Irish players from the other teams traded jerseys with the SFGG players and built friendships. The players conducted themselves well while representing their city of San Francisco, and also their country of America. So many SHC students play rugby, that the team is already a close and tight-knit group of young men.

Murphy talked about the effect of having so many SHC members on the team: “We get along with each other, and there is truly a great comradery. We go to the same school and play football already, so we already had that bond and good chemistry.”

The tour was a success and the SFGG boys came back with a new and long-lasting life experience. The Club plans to do more tours in the future, going to places such as France and Canada. This trip will be a stepping stone and lead to other great trips in the future. Aidan Downes ’14 described the trip as “one of the best trips he has ever gone on”.

Rugby has always had a large influence on SHC. The very first Bruce-Mahoney game between SH and SI was a rugby game, in which SH won 14-7. Rugby will never seem like a significant factor to the school community, but it has always contributed to shaping good, well-rounded SH and SHC student athletes. Anyone is welcome to join the SFGG club. They have teams as young as seven years old and under, and the season runs from February to April. The sport of rugby is continuing to grow and attract many people throughout the world. It almost seems inevitable that there will be future rugby students at SHC for quite some time.

A picture of the entire team.
A picture of the entire rugby team.