The man who replaced Paul O’Connell as Munster captain agrees that rugby is still very much behind GAA and soccer in children’s interest and participation levels.
Earlier in the week O’Connell said a child in Kilkenny is more than likely going to want to win an All Ireland than play for Ireland and not getting to at least a semi final at the World Cup was a chance missed is raising rugby awareness. Doug Howlett was a guest speaker at the Web Summit agrees and brought us his observations from around Blackrock in Cork where he now lives. "In New Zealand, every five year old kid you see has a rugby ball. In my neighborhood there’s a hurley, there’s a football, there’s a soccer ball and then there’s a rugby ball".
Ewan MacKenna and Trevor Hogan joined off the Ball on Tuesday to discuss how difficult it is to make it to the top without going to a fee paying school. The stats back MacKenna and Hogan's ascertains up, with the majority of players in the Irish squad at the World cup educated in private schools while 18 out Leinster's 22 man academy panel last year were educated privately.
Howlett who spoke to us yesterday afternoon before that conversation told us that increasing the rugby playing population would help Ireland’s hopes of going further at World Cup. “Same as anything if you throw numbers at it you’re going to get some results. You see it in rugby now, it’s not just the rugby schools but all schools have access.” He adds "Munster a big region. We need to get into Waterford and get into Kerry and Clare and have a look and try to find some stars”.
Henry Shefflin and Brian Cody were the people Paul O’Connell referenced when talking about great brains and athletes lost to rugby but Howlett points to Joe Canning. The former All Star was on stage with him at the Web Summit and Howlett says “Joe in the backline somewhere, I’m sure he could do s good bit of damage”.
You can hear Howlett speak on growing rugby, a great derby between Munster and Ulster and his former teammates Dan Carter and Richie McCaw.
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