Sam, too, sensed there was a need to perform better and was certainly a lot faster getting the ball back from the first ruck of the second half. Unfortunately, Eoin was so preoccupied that he lost concentration for a moment and the ball slipped from his grasp and he knocked it forwards.
As the scrum formed Eoin glanced across to the touchline where he saw Joe Kelly stripping off his tracksuit.
He slapped his thigh and warned himself to concentrate. He needed to make the most of what little time he might have left to keep his place.
Oisín Deegan was quick off the mark and collared the Castlerock scrum-half before he could get the ball away. The Ireland pack swarmed around him and Charlie Bermingham funnelled the ball back to Sam. The scrum-half took a dart to his left but as he was tackled he turned and fired the ball straight and true into Eoin’s hands.
With the extra second or two his team-mate had earned him, Eoin set off on a break, beating two men before he offloaded to Paddy O’Hare who was playing in the centre. The Ulsterman was just as quick-witted and slipped the ball out to Kuba who stormed past the last of the defenders to score.
The Ireland players swarmed all over the winger, delighted that so many of the team had contributed to such an excellent try.
‘Great break, Eoin,’ came a call from the sideline as Eoin prepared to take the conversion.
Eoin looked across and saw Alan jumping up and down wearing a green and white bobble hat. He smiled to himself and thought how he would always have one die-hard supporter, no matter what.
‘You’ve great support there – and here,’ came a voice from behind him, and Eoin whirled around to see Brian Hanrahan standing there, his black, red and yellow hooped shirt making him look out of place on a field where only the referee wasn’t wearing a combination of green and white.
‘Concentrate on this kick and then get yourself back in the game quickly,’ Brian said. ‘Neil thinks you’re the best out-half but some of the other coaches are in his ear about the Connacht lad. Just show them you’re the man.’
Eoin slotted the ball over easily, and the scoreboard showed that there was no real chance of the Castlerock side making a comeback.
Eoin was terrified to look towards the touchline as he waited for play to restart. The Castlerock No 10 overdid his kick and the ball came comfortably to Roger Savage, who turned and found Sam. The scrum-half flipped it on to Eoin who had spotted that Ollie McGrath had his hand in the air on the far wing. He hoisted the ball across the pitch, where it tumbled down towards Ollie, who plucked it from the air and ran unchallenged under the posts with his arm still aloft.
There was a huge roar from the touchline as all the squad members and coaching stuff cheered what everyone said was a brilliant move.
When Neil called Eoin ashore a few minutes later as part of a large reshuffle the young out-half wasn’t put out at all. He knew he had made an important point and could now be reasonably certain that he would be starting against the Baby Blacks.
Joe Kelly and Rory Grehan came on as the new half-back combination and did OK, but Castlerock were fading badly and surely Neil would take that into account, hoped Eoin.
‘Thanks, lads,’ said Neil as they wound down the day’s activities. ‘Now there’s only six days to the first game and we won’t be getting together till the day before. Keep working hard at your fitness and your drills.’
Eoin packed his bag and walked out to the car-park, where the Castlerock bus was parked.
‘Any chance of lift, lads?’ he grinned, as he led Charlie, Rory and Dylan aboard.
He took a few hits from rolled-up socks – and a stream of slagging from Devin Synnott – but no harm was done and they were soon back at the school.
Chapter 25
The rest of the week was spent in a blur. Every teacher wished the Castlerock contingent well and every time Eoin wandered out of a classroom there was a first-year wanting him to sign an autograph book. He didn’t mind that at all, but he got very fed up of the constant request for selfies.
When school finished for the Christmas holidays on Thursday Eoin, Charlie and Rory packed up their bags and headed down with Dylan to the headmaster’s office to where they had been invited. The rugby coaches were there waiting for them.
‘This is such a fantastic honour for the school,’ smiled Mr Finn. ‘We’ve never had as many as three men in the green shirt at one time before at any level … and with a fourth man in readiness in case he’s needed. You’ve done yourselves and the school proud.’
The headmaster added his own words of praise and Eoin struggled to keep his smile fixed as the fourth and fifth speeches in their honour floated by his ears. The headmaster presented them all with a special school tie and they all then tucked into sandwiches and drinks before Mr Carey called the boys aside.
‘Right lads, we’ll have to leave shortly. I’ve promised the IRFU I’ll deliver you to Belfield for six o’clock and traffic will be heavy. Drink up and make your farewells.’
Dylan was a little grumpy as he saw them off. ‘Give that Ollie fella a kick any chance you get,’ he sniffed. ‘I’ll try to get down to watch the games anyway.’
‘Look, Dyl, if half of what they say about these New Zealanders is true then we’ll all be stretchered off and you’ll be warming up at half-time. Just do what Neil said and keep the fitness programme going.’
Dylan grinned. ‘I’m sure I could play out-half if you, Paddy and the Connacht lad are all crocked.’
Eoin wagged a finger at his pal. ‘You’ve more chance of playing prop,’ he called through the window as the car pulled away.
Mr Carey got them to the Leinster Rugby HQ just in time, and the boys lifted their kitbags out of his boot and thanked him before he drove off. Inside the hall there was the same array of shirts, bags and training tops as he had seen in the summer, but this time the blue had turned to green and there was green blazer hanging on a hook with each boy’s name written on an attached piece of card.
Eoin collected his kit, swopping banter with Ollie McGrath as they lugged the heavy bags into the middle of the hall.
After a speech of welcome from an IRFU official, a man from World Rugby who called himself Fitzy also talked to them about the competition and what was expected of them. He handed them each a booklet about the event, which included a timetable that told Eoin where he needed to be every fifteen minutes for the next week. They also got a plastic card to hang around their neck which told the world that they were a ‘PLAYER’ at the World Rugby U-15 World Cup. Eoin stared at his photo and realised just what it meant to be there.
After more mini-lectures – including one from Neil – they were told to find their name on the list of bedrooms at the back of the hall, and to meet up for breakfast at 7.45am.
Eoin found he had been billeted with Paddy O’Hare, James Brady and Jarlath Vasey, a good mixture from all over the country. He liked Paddy a lot, and the other two seemed good lads too. They were all exhausted, especially those who had had to travel a good distance, and there was little chat before they all settled down for the night.
Eoin woke during the night with a nagging pain in his head. He got up for a drink and stood at the window while he sipped from the bottle. The building overlooked the sports fields, which were lit by the moon. And there he spotted, walking quickly, a white figure with old-fashioned shoes topped with a shiny buckle that glinted in the moonlight. As the figure strode on, seemingly searching for something, he suddenly stopped and turned to stare straight at Eoin in the window.
He mouthed something at him, but as soon as it escaped from his lips he disappeared. Eoin was disturbed at the clearly agitated vision, but even more so by what he thought had said. He couldn’t be certain, but William seemed to be asking him for ‘Help’.
Chapter 26
There was a small, low-key opening ceremony for the tournament ahead of the opening fixture at the Belfield Bowl, which proved more irritating than exciting for Eoin. With the most important game of his career less than an ho
ur away, the last thing he wanted to be doing was marching around a rugby field with nearly three hundred and fifty other lads and standing listening to speeches.
As he suppressed a yawn his eye caught a boy three rows in front who was wearing a bright yellow blazer, and seemed to be waving. But who was he waving at?
‘Eoin,’ he heard the boy hiss. The stranger’s head was completely shaved, but something about him was familiar.
‘Who … is that … Charlie?’ he eventually realised.
‘Yes!’ came the reply, with a thumbs-up. ‘Catch you later!’
Charlie Johnston was a team-mate at Castlerock until the summer before, when he and his family emigrated to Australia. He had obviously made a quick return though, as a member of the Under 16 Wallabies.
‘Does that make him a Joey?’ Eoin wondered to himself.
He shuffled from one foot to the other, impatient for the ceremonies to be over so he could prepare for the game. The Irish and New Zealand sides were allowed to wear tracksuits, under which they wore their match kit, while the rest of the countries wore suits or blazers. The tournament timetable also told them they could leave the ceremony with thirty minutes to kick off, and Eoin was relieved when Charlie got the nod from Neil to lead his side off and back to the dressing rooms.
The Ireland fifteen that started against Castlerock was unchanged and Eoin sat beside Sam to chat about their moves and signals.
Neil gave them a final run-through, but he told them that all their work was done, now all they needed to do was follow the plans and show off their skills as the best fifteen rugby players of their age in the country.
Eoin caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror, and was a bit taken aback to realise that he was wearing that famous green jersey with white shamrocks sprouting across his chest. It was the first time the significance of what he had done was brought home to him.
‘Wow,’ he said to himself. ‘Picked for Ireland at a sport you had never even played three years ago…’
He put that thought out of his mind and joined the queue of players heading for the door. He nodded to Rory, who was one of the replacements, and followed Charlie as he trotted out onto the field at the head of the Irish team.
Eoin took one look to his left as they did so and was astonished to see how big their opponents looked. His grandad had warned him that the New Zealanders used their all-black kit to intimidate opponents, and that psychologists said it made them look bigger than they were. But there was no getting away from it: Ireland were going to need to find a way to win this game that didn’t involve height and strength.
Eoin also noticed that some of his team-mates were looking rattled already. He went over and shook Noah by the shoulders and reminded him of how quick and battling he had been in the interpros, and how it was those skills that would help Ireland most. Noah grinned back at him and nodded.
The stands at the university ground were full, and the green banners and replica shirts swamped all the others. He waved to his parents – and his grandfather Dixie – and mouthed a ‘thanks for coming’ to them.
There was a huge cheer after they sang ‘Ireland’s Call’, and every Irish player’s name was greeted with a shout of support. To hear his name called out – and cheered – gave Eoin a tingle up his spine.
As the teams lined up in formation before the kick off, Eoin glanced over to the front of the stand and saw that a little platform had been erected on which sat two trophies. One was the Under 16 World Cup trophy, a picture of which was on their identity cards, but it was the other cup that knocked Eoin out of his stride. Was that what was causing William to be so worried? Hadn’t he mentioned it when they first met back in his bedroom in Ormondstown?
Sitting on the table, shining in the winter sunlight, was the prize awarded to the winners of the senior men’s Rugby World Cup.
The William Webb Ellis Cup.
Chapter 27
Eoin didn’t have any more time to think about the trophy, or William, as the referee’s whistle blew and the New Zealand out-half kicked the ball towards the lines of forwards converging to his left.
Roger Savage leapt to gather the ball, but was taken out of the air by a barrelling Kiwi forward.
The referee blew his whistle, signalling a penalty to Ireland.
Roger was flat out, and as he was helped to his feet Eoin could see he was dazed.
The medic signalled to Neil that he would need to send on a replacement.
‘No card?’ asked Sam, astonished.
The referee turned away.
‘They never send anyone off this early,’ grinned the Kiwi captain. ‘It’s a free hit, basically.’
Eoin was appalled that anyone would go out to do damage to an opponent, and to do it for such a cynical reason only made it worse.
Roger was helped from the field as the big second row from Connacht came on to replace him. Jarlath Vasey wasn’t as good a player as Roger, but he was bigger and stronger.
Eoin kicked the penalty into the corner and jogged over to take his place in the set-piece.
‘These arrogant Kiwis need to be taken down,’ Sam smiled, before whispering a plan into Eoin’s ear.
Eoin held up four fingers to the backs – code for one of their moves – and awaited the line out. Vasey made an initial impact, his extra height allowing him to compete with the All Blacks and he caught the ball cleanly and the ruck formed around him as he returned to earth.
The New Zealand power began to tell as Ireland were driven back a couple of metres, but the ball came out to Sam who flipped it on to Eoin.
Facing the right wing, Eoin swivelled on his heels and chipped the ball delicately towards the opposite corner. The defence was caught on the wrong foot and were stunned to see Ollie McGrath charging down the left wing like a turbo-powered cheetah.
As the ball bobbled towards the touchline, Ollie scooped it up and took one step inside before diving over the try-line to score Ireland’s first points of the tournament.
There was an enormous roar as the Ireland supporters who packed the stands were carried away with delight.
Eoin and Sam exchanged huge grins, overjoyed that their plan to replay the try against Castlerock the previous weekend had come off so well.
The roar echoed as Eoin added the two points and he smiled as the scoreboard sprang to life to show ‘Ireland 7 New Zealand 0’.
But the setback only seemed to make Ireland’s opponents even more determined and their greater strength and power began to tell. One of the Kiwi props went on a forty-metre run that took him close to Ireland’s try-line, and a slick handling move between the back-row forwards saw them score under the posts. Another try before half-time left Ireland trailing by five points.
‘Forget the score, that was an excellent first-half,’ said Neil. ‘I’m very proud of how you stood up to the early set-back. Brilliant try, Ollie, and a very clever move Eoin. It’s that sort of quick-thinking and skill that will allow us to compete with their strength. Keep it up.’
However, it got harder and harder to absorb the heavy hits of the powerful New Zealanders, some of whom had the physiques of grown men. Eoin went through the plays Neil had suggested, but the Kiwis were able to soak up most of them. Neil emptied the bench of all his forward options, but still Ireland found it hard to break through. Eoin’s kicking kept them in the game, and the score display unit blinked out ‘19-13’ as the clock ticked into the last minute.
New Zealand were controlling a ruck around half-way, but Oisín Deegan was still prepared to battle all the way. He drove into the pile of bodies, and emerged with the ball in hand. The momentum was with Ireland and Sam fired the ball out to Eoin who spotted the Kiwi backs were a bit disorganised.
He thumped the ball high into the air towards the wing and charged after it. He arrived just as the Garryowen returned from its trip to the clouds and gathered it in his hands. He had a clear run to the line and made for it, but as he dived he was hit by what seemed like an iron rhinoceros.
Seconds later he opened his eyes and was alarmed to see the faces above swirling in a jumble of features.
‘Are you OK, Eoin?’ asked Sam.
‘I… I… I don’t know’ replied Eoin.
‘Lie still son, we’ll have you checked,’ said the referee, which made Eoin even more worried that he had been injured.
The doctor came over to him and checked him before asking him his name and age, and to count her fingers.
‘OK, I’ll take you off, you seem fine, but there’s only a few seconds left so it’s best to be safe,’ said the medic.
Eoin was helped onto a stretcher and he stared at the clouds as he was carried from the field.
‘Who’s going to take the conversion,’ he heard Kuba call, only then realising that he had scored a try.
‘Will you take it, Joe?’ asked Charlie, tossing the ball to Eoin’s replacement.
Joe was only just on the field and hadn’t expected to be facing such a crucial kick. With the score at 19-18 to New Zealand and a huge crowd waiting for his conversion the pressure got to him.
As Eoin was lifted into the ambulance he heard the crowd let out a huge sigh, followed by a tiny cheer, which greeted the long whistle to signal full-time.
Chapter 28
Eoin lay on a trolley in the ambulance and checked his shoulders and arms for signs of pain. The ambulance had not pulled away yet, and people kept coming to check on him.
His mum and dad called in, too, anxious and concerned, but relieved that he was in good hands.
‘OK, son, we’ll take you away to get checked,’ said the ambulance man as he dropped his holdall under the bed on which Eoin lay. He kicked it in further against the wall and disappeared again to start the vehicle.
‘Is he concussed?’ asked his worried mother.
The ambulance man returned a blank look. ‘Eh, eh,’ he stammered. ‘I wouldn’t be able to tell you that. But they’ll do all the tests in the hospital.’
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