Our Purpose

Through-out my career of chasing the oval-shaped ball around the field and trying to tackle my fellow opponents as they sidestepped me with some sprightly footwork or bulldozed over me with brute force and ignorance, I have been lucky to travel to countries that most will only experience through the marvel of satellite T.V.

South Africa, Australia, Hong-Kong, Thailand, Bermuda, France, Italy and now Laos are just a few of the breath-taking lands I’ve had the pleasures of visiting, and whilst I may not have fully comprehended how lucky I was at the time, these experiences are now something I look back at with much pride and honour.

On this particular excursion, I had the pleasure of being accompanied by fellow Irish international Grace Davitt who was in Ireland’s 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup squad in France and also played in the World Cup’s in 2006 and 2010. There are not too many who can say they played in three World Cups.

Backing up Grace we had Tamara Taylor who captained England in the 2015 Women’s Six Nations Championship and was the 2017 RPA Player of the Year. Incredibly Tamara has played more than 100 times for England.

Batting for the boys I had the daunting task of trying to keep up with the flowing locks and sculpted body of Todd Clever who was the first American to play Super Rugby. He was captain of the USA national team and is the most capped player in United States rugby union history.

The purpose of the visit was for us to coach an assembly of eighty or so kids from neighbouring towns and villages (boys & girls) aged between fourteen and fifteen. Most of these kids had experienced some form of the game either through tag or sevens but now that the Laos federation are looking to gain full accreditation from World Rugby, they need to transgress into the fifteen a side format.

I don’t want to harp on too much about the conditions because when you travel to third world countries you know exactly what you’re going to get however, I will tell you that the sessions took place in the most oppressive heat I have ever experienced in all my times.

At 7.30am the thermometer was showing a timid 33°C and by the 2.00pm it was screaming somewhere between 42°C(109°F) and 45°C (113°F) The humidity was constantly in the high 90’s and when the wind blew it was like someone pointing a hairdryer in your face.

The journey to the training grounds each day took about fifty minutes and the surfaces varied from pothole-ridden concrete tracks to dusty boreens that you’d be afraid to ask a Massey Ferguson to tackle.

Anyhow, it was what it was, and through downing a few dozen gallons of water on an hourly basis, covering our pasty white Irish skin (Todd Clever excluded) with layer after layer of factor 50 and spraying on insect repellent like it was going out of fashion, all the sessions were completed, and no one missed a single minute.

Now for the kids of Laos themselves who in truth were the real legends.

In the modern and what I would call softish society we live in today where we see our children coming and going from school, it is very hard to make any kind of comparisons to those who took part in these camps but there is a lesson to be learned where I think we can all benefit. Running water, basic medical services, flushing toilets, Sky TV, food, clothing, beds, phones, I-Pads and education are all facilities that the majority of kids in Ireland and the U.K take very much for granted.

Yes, I know that not everyone eats from the same table or can avail of the same kind of medical intervention and I am also fully up to speed with the housing crisis that exists on our island however, to see how the Lao kids just get on with life without throwing tantrum after tantrum is the one abiding memory that is now chiselled deeply into my brain.

As parents and guardians, we work bloody hard to provide to the best of our capabilities, so we can give our children the best start in life however, where I will now throw caution to the winds is by asking the following question. Are we really doing the right thing by giving them all they want or are we just killing them with kindness that will leave then ill-prepared for the times when they must go it alone?

Respect is a word I don’t chuck about that often because it is something that no money can purchase and to have earned it in someone’s eyes is for me the highest accolade anyone can ever afford you.

For sure someone can address your manners, help you realise your expectations and show you the difference between right and wrong albeit, ultimately there is only one person who can determine whether the word “RESPECTED” can be etched on your tombstone and that is the person who the stone is depicting. i.e. yourself.

If I was to be granted one wish in life it would be that all our children are afforded the opportunity to visit places like Laos and just witness with their own eyes just how fortunate they are to be living in an environment where turning on a tap and watching water flow would be viewed as a miracle in other regions of the world.

If you could only have witnessed the level of commitment that each and every kid put in during their five-day camp, it would have left your jaw dangling somewhere just below your neither regions.

Whilst we the coaches struggled to talk in the heat and cope with the four different languages that were present, the kids never once refused to get involved, if they failed in a drill or dropped a ball they just got back in line, rectified the error and moved on. Never once did they look to blame someone else or get upset. No matter what you threw at them they soaked it up and kept on coming back for more. In contact situations, they just launched themselves at anything that moved and yes, their level of commitment left three players requiring a trip to the hospital, thankfully all three were back in camp later that evening.

On the final day, everyone participated in a full fifteen aside game of rugby and to see how they had progressed and grown not only as players but as people in such a short time was heart-melting.

Now’ I doubt it very much that any of these kids will ever be as lucky as to make a living from the game and some may not ever play again because of their family’s needs and their cultural demands however, I can assure you that each and every participant who took part are far better people from when the week started, coaches 100% included in this statement.

I guess the moral of this story is as old as time itself and that no matter how bad you think things are, there are others who would love to be in your shoes.

Can I just finish off by thanking the main parties that made this experience happen.

The 100 World Legends (100worldlegends.com) The Lao Rugby Federation (www.laorugby.com) and most importantly the kids themselves who through their dignity, humbleness, gratitude and dogged commitment will own my respect forever and a day.

Would I go back? In a heartbeat but just let me cool down for a few weeks first.

Thank you for reading.

A far humbler David Corkery.