RUGBY: On Saturday Old Wesley host Greystones at Donnybrook, a match of vital importance to both teams. Ten years ago the combatants were competing in Division One of the All-Ireland League, contributing several players to provincial and internationals teams. This weekend both chase the promotion escape route from the Division Three.
Greystones head the table, and victory would guarantee them one of the promotion places with just two rounds of matches remaining. Old Wesley are seven points back, four adrift of second-placed Dublin University. A win would put them into contention for promotion.
In the inaugural year of the All-Ireland League (1990-'91) Old Wesley won the Division Two title. The following season marked their centenary and arguably their finest hour as they beat the Barbarians - with stars such as Tony Underwood, Pierre Berbizier and Eric Rush - 37-36.
In their first season in Division One, Wesley finished as the top Leinster club, in fourth position, and kept a place among the elite until the end of the 1996-'97 season. They spent a couple of years in the second tier before slipping to Division Three - there were four divisions at the time - for a season.
In 2000-2001 they managed promotion to Division Two but last year saw them plunge back down. This year the arrival of former Carlow coach Jim Lowry and South Africans Kurt Steinbach (number eight and a Germany international) and hooker Glen Van der Vyver (who has an Irish passport) and New Zealand-born centre Paul Burrell (who also has an Irish passport) has seen a turnaround.
The average gate has increased and lunch has been sold out for Saturday's game. The fact that Leinster play their home games in Donnybrook means that Wesley derive a healthy income from bar revenue.
Club official Robert Deacon said: "We do have ambition to be where we once stood - we have very good under-20 team coached by Ray Walker - and Saturday's game is a key contest in trying to realise the first steps on that road."
Greystones enjoyed a fleeting relationship with Division One, having been promoted as Division Two runners-up following the 1991-'92 season. They managed to stay there for two seasons and in 1993-'94 they won their first four games to lead the league. There were whispers of a title, but they lost the next seven and were relegated: Old Wesley had a better points differential and stayed up at Greystones' expense.
Greystones stayed in Division Two until relegated last season: they seem set for a quick return under the guidance of former internationals, John "Spud" Murphy and Johnny Murphy.
Nine players were capped by Ireland while playing with the club: the two Murphys, Tony Doyle, Paul McNaughton, John Robbie, Tony Ward, Brian Rigney, Nick Popplewell and Reggie Corrigan.
"The support is still there in terms of the community," says Ken Ging, a former club president and current Leinster team manager. "We would get about 400-500 for home games, which isn't bad when you consider that we're in Division Three."
He adds: "The team is going well this year. There are some good young players, like Australian centre Kieran Shepherd who played against the Lions last summer."
On Saturday, the proud history of two clubs won't matter a jot, just the outcome. Times have changed.
