Let’s get some Guinness in us

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/04/2015 (3824 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In case they weren’t sure they were going to maximize their experience on their 50th anniversary tour of Ireland, the Winnipeg Wasps have a connection on the ground when they get there later this month.

Former Wasps player and coach Jack Brogan returned to his native Ireland five years ago and is looking forward to the club’s visit. His sons Robert and Peter both live in Canada and Robert will be on the Wasps’ tour as one of the players and organizers.

“They’ll find a very fine quality of rugby,” Brogan said, reached via phone at his home in Naas. “Rugby in Ireland has really taken off in the last 10 years.”

The Irish have won back-to-back Six Nations championships (Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy) and the sport is clearly on a high in the island nation.

“It’s fantastic rugby,” Brogan said. “The fans here will be glued to the TV or at the games every Saturday or Sunday. It’s very high quality.”

It’s what the Wasps are looking to tap into.

“They’ll gain from that, including the training sessions,” Brogan said. “It’ll be different drills and kind of skills than what they’ll be used to from their regular coaches. They’ll find it a brand new way of doing things and a brand new mindset. And just seeing the different quality of coaching, that’ll be a big thing, and the atmosphere for rugby in Ireland will be way, way more built up than anything Winnipeg will have ever seen.

“You might find 100 or 200 people at Maple Grove for a game. Here, there will be 40,000 to 50,000 people at the (pro matches).”

Brogan married a Canadian, moved to Winnipeg in 1981 and lived in the city for 29 years.

He said he clearly remembers his first exposure to rugby here.

“About two days after I got there, I called the Manitoba Sports Federation to find out about rugby clubs in town,” he said. “The name Guy McKim came up. So I called him and he told me there was a game out on Saskatchewan Avenue the next day and I went to watch.

“They happened to be short a player and so the referee gave me his shorts and his boots and he refereed in runners. I played the game for the Wasps and that’s how I joined the Wasps.”

Experiencing Ireland will be as important on this tour, Brogan said.

“They’ll have a great tour, a holiday as well as some rugby,” he said. “The after-parties and the Guinness, those are important things, too.”