When Presentation College Bray Junior Coach and teacher Kevin Conroy greeted his two opposing coaches before a recent Junior (U-16) League game both Mike and Jeremy seemed pleasant lads. Familiar faces mind. Few minutes later a penny dropped.

That the opposing team were being coached by a recent enough Grand Slam winning coach (Mike Ruddock) and a former Irish international (Jeremy Staunton) would have surprised, perhaps even intimidated, a less experienced coach. Conroy, a ten-year veteran of this level, was neither.

“Leinster schools rugby is littered with former professional players, coaches, internationals, Lions etc.” says Conroy. “In fact it’s probably more unusual to meet a team coached by a teacher these days.”

That the Pres U-16’s remained unaffected the calibre of the opposition coaching line-up was evident in a close encounter which saw them lose narrowly (6-10) to a bigger side who employed their size advantage well. Pres Bray is the only voluntary (non-fee paying school) still regularly competing at the top table in Leinster Schools’ Rugby and it seems to be fighting against pretty impossible odds.

In a world which has recently been described as “professional in all but name”, Pres still largely rely on the voluntary efforts of teachers such as Conroy. Director of Rugby Johnny Russell, Head of Strength and Conditioning Olan Savage and Conroy are the main pillars these days and are all teachers at the school, putting in shifts of between 15-20 hours on rugby on top of their full-time jobs.

“It would be easy to look at the financial resources of some schools and throw the hat at it. We choose to look at it differently and see the advantages. All of us are hugely committed to this and bring a lot of expertise and experience in dealing with adolescents to the table. We’re here because we want to be and no other reason,” says Russell, a past pupil as is Savage.

That Pres are taking some big scalps across the age groups recently seems to testify to the success of that approach. The 2nd year “A” team that has beaten Clongowes, Belvo and Terenure this term and only surrendered their unbeaten run to Rock in a tight game recently are perhaps the jewel in the crown.

Last year’s JCT heartbreakingly lost their Cup match to Clongowes in injury time. This year’s JCT go into the cup with good form and hopes of progression (at the time of going to press they were due to take on Roscrea in the quarter-finals of the Junior Cup).

The First Years are close to top of their League group also and with close to 200 players playing rugby in the school, Pres are once again becoming a force to be reckoned with.

“Our players chose to play rugby for their school. They are not compelled or forced to play in any way. We offer very one who wants to pull; on the white jersey a chance to regardless of perceived ability. We recognise the benefits of team sports and rugby in particular to the school. Our players like our coaches are here because they want to be, no other reason.”

Almost 140 primary school boys pull on the Pres jersey every Saturday to either play or train even though there is no Junior school.

In 2010, Russell launched Pres Cubs which gives boys of primary age enrolled to attend the school a chance to play rugby for Pres. They started with just about a team and a set of jerseys but soon blossomed to the current numbers. Regularly competing with the likes of Willow, St. Michael’s et al this has been the single biggest shot in the arm to Pres rugby over the last few years. As well as providing the next generation of Pres player a chance to develop a love for the game and their school the Cubs has also proven to be an academy for emerging coaching talent. The coaching staff is drawn mainly from current or recent past pupils. All qualified mini coaches they give freely of their time, expertise and enthusiasm every Saturday morning from 8.30am.

The star graduate of that system is current Head Coach of Pres first years Jason Curran. A sprightly 20-year-old currently playing for Greystones RFC in the AIL Jason cut his coaching teeth at the tender age of 14 where he helped out with summer camps and later the Cubs. Displaying an obvious talent for coaching he was always keen to learn and attend any course available. Having recently qualified as a Level 1 coach he harbours ambitions to make a career out of this.

Jason is not alone in filtering through from Cubs coach to the school itself. First Year assistant Matt Thompson and Second Year assistant Jak Lawrence are both highly capable young coaches who are motivated by a desire to give something back and help to keep their school moving forward.

A somewhat less recent past pupil Ger Glover is also heavily involved. A Junior Cup winner in 1975 Ger runs operations for the Cubs. He says, “It’s wonderful to see a new group of leaders emerging to offer us great hope for a bright future.”

Another return is former JCT captain Stuart Hannon. After over a decade in the private sector Stuart returned to the teaching profession and his old school this year. “It’s a pleasure to be back and working in such a positive environment,” he said. He also takes great pleasure in watching new playing and coaching talent emerge in his current role as Head of First Year Rugby.

Anoraks of Leinster schools rugby will tell you that the last school outside the elite top six to win a Leinster Schools Cup is Pres Bray (Junior Cup 1990) and that nobody has managed to break the cartel at Senior or Junior since. Could Pres be the team to do that?

“Success in these competitions have become increasingly restricted in the professional era,” states Russell, a Junior Cup winner in ’88. Our primary objective is to provide ALL players the opportunity to develop physically and personally through the game. However, of course we’d love some more silverware. Perhaps League titles are a more realistic target for the moment.”