‘Lexus’ leads Bulls from the front

FRONTING UP Brendan McLoughlin is pictured at Westport RFC last week. Pic: Conor McKeown

Interview
Michael Gallagher

FAMED Welsh rugby hero Tasker Watkins hadn’t much time for anyone wearing jersey numbers higher than eight. He had no time for the fleet-footed merchants who ran with the ball. Instead, he admired the men who powered the scrum, battled in the line-out and went to war on the ground for possession of the football.
In 1979 he uttered the quote which encapsulated his admiration for the warriors who go to battle on the rugby pitch - "In 1823, William Webb Ellis first picked up the ball in his arms and ran with it. And for the last 156 years forwards have been trying to work out why."
Tasker’s famous phrase has been repeated ad-nauseam ever since and there’s a young man in Tiernaur who would have got on very well with Glamorgan native.
Brendan McLoughlin, inhabits the mystical world of prop-forwards.
The tight-head will pull on Westport’s number three jersey in Galway next Sunday afternoon and trot onto the field for another chapter in his rugby story. He won’t get too excited and won’t let the occasion get to him, but he most certainly will enjoy every second of the experience.
“I enjoy every game. There’s no point playing otherwise. I started out when I was 12 or 13 and loved it straight away and that enjoyment meant I stayed with it,” the Tiernaur man told The Mayo News.
The trainee accountant played football with Burrishoole all through the underage ranks, but rugby was his game and, when it came to choosing a sport to play in adulthood, nothing could beat the pull of the oval ball and the pitch in the shadow of Croagh Patrick.
“There was no tradition of rugby in the family, but as I said, I enjoyed the rugby straight away and played with the club and Rice College through the age groups. There were a few lads from home playing too, so that made it even better.”
McLoughlin’s first season with the senior squad arrived in 2017 and he soon established himself in the engine-room as the Bulls embraced the ups and downs of Connacht junior rugby.
“It was definitely a learning process, and I’ve made a lot of great friendships through rugby. There’s a really good culture in the sport where people support one another off the pitch and that has a big impact.”
Brendan’s love of rugby has had a very positive impact on his siblings. Both sisters, Mary and Lauren, play the game with the same gusto as their brother. Lauren plays locally and Mary is in America enjoying a rugby scholarship at Notre Dame University where she is also a tight-head prop.
On Sunday next, no matter where they are in the world, the McLoughlin clan will be fully focussed on a patch of grass in Galway where Brendan and his Westport team-mates will go in search of Junior Cup glory.
The man himself is well aware of the task facing Westport but says they’re determined to give it their best shot against the men of Creggs.
“We played them earlier in the season and they beat us by a score, but there’s no doubt they’re a talented bunch.
“They’re young and quick and have beaten Connemara two or three times already this season which says all you need to know about them. They won the league a few weeks ago and will be coming into the cup final full of confidence, deservedly so.”
However, Westport are no shrinking violets themselves. They’re in the final on merit, with a very healthy chance of bringing the beautiful trophy back to Carrowholly.
The Bulls finished fourth in the league table and their cup run has set hearts racing as they battled their way to the last day of the season.
“We’ve had a great run and the semi-final in Tuam was a real battle,” McLoughlin explained. “It was a tight, physical game and we played really well on the day. The body was a bit stiff the day after but I went for a walk in the tide and the salt water remedied that. We didn’t want the season to end that day. We wanted to get to the final and the last day of the season because we enjoy playing together so much and some of the lads are only back from injury for the last few months and they’re raring to go. It’s as if they’re just starting the season and they were determined to get in as many games as possible before the curtain came down. “Now, we can focus on Sunday and give it everything we have. I don’t intend to do too much running though. That’s not the job of a prop,” he concluded with a smile.

Fixture
Connacht Junior Cup Final
Westport v Creggs
Sunday, March 26
Sportsground at 3.15pm