YESTERDAY thousands of people went to Lansdowne Road, Ravenhill and Musgrave Park to see the finals of the schools' senior cups in Leinster, Ulster and Munster. Tomorrow in Galway the replay of the Connacht Senior Cup final between Garbally and Sligo Grammar School will also draw a worthy attendance.

In addition the finals of the Leinster Munster and Connacht junior cups are also scheduled. And while understandably the junior scene does not have the same crowd appeal, many thousands will, nonetheless, go to those matches. That is schools rugby in Ireland, special as it has always been and special as I hope it will always remain,

Those who participated in those finals yesterday and the youngsters who will be playing tomorrow will, whatever happens subsequently in their rugby careers, carry very special memories of their involvement in those matches.

For some the memories will be of great triumph for others the bitter disappointment of defeat. Yet you can speak to anyone in this country who has played in schools rugby, especially a provincial final, and whatever fate they had to endure, they remember and cherish the experience.

Last week I got a letter from an 80 year old man who played in a Leinster final over 60 years, ago. He made it clear that he did not wish to be named. Nor did he say whether or not he finished on the winning team that afternoon so long ago or the school for which he played.

Curiosity got the better of me so I did a little research through the medium of Decian Downs excellent reference book on the history of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup.

I discovered that he did indeed finish on the winning side and played a very significant part in his schools success. In the letter he said that he still has vivid memories of his schoolboy playing, rugby days.

"I played at club level with reasonable success after leaving school, but the most enjoyable rugby of all for me was at schools level. We have seen great changes in the game and I cannot say that they have been for the overall good.

"But there is still a purity about the schools game, and it must never be lost."

I am quite sure that those sentiments will get immense support throughout rugby in Ireland. He was, too, very modest about his own achievements. He played at senior club level with more than moderate success as he won senior provincial cup medals. He also played at senior interprovincial level. A request that I be allowed to publish his name met with a polite refusal.

"I feel that would be arrogant and I would rather not," he said. "It is just that I feel schools rugby is so important. I still enjoy the schools rugby best of all," he said.

His views are of the utmost importance and mean a very great deal coming as they do from a background of such involvement and achievement. Nor have I the slightest doubt that his opinions are widely shared in this country. They certainly have my full hearted support.

From the early stages of organised rugby in Ireland almost 125 years ago, schools rugby has been fundamental to the game in this country. The appeal of the schools game has increased through the years. Apart from the senior internationals, it draws the biggest crowds.

Schools senior cups have, too, graced the rugby calendar in some cases for well over a century. Ulster led the way in 1876, Leinster followed in 1887, Munster came next in 1909 and Connacht in 1913. The winners of all four competitions in their inaugural years are still competing. They were Armagh RS (Ulster), Blackrock College (Leinster), Christian Brothers College (Munster) and St Joseph's Garbally (Connacht).

Yesterday, CBC Cork were contesting the final yet again in Munster and tomorrow Garbally will be seeking their 41st title in Connacht. It is tremendous to see the game vibrant in so many of the colleges who were in at the start, but equally encouraging to see new schools emerging to challenge.

Tomorrow in Galway, St Muredach's, Ballina will be playing in the Connacht Junior final against Portumna Community School. Neither school has ever won a senior or junior cup.

I remember being at the Connacht Senior final in 1975 when Clifden won the cup and the scenes and excitement were, to say the least, memorable. I have no doubt they will be equally so tomorrow when a new name will go on the junior trophy.

The schools have been the life blood of the game in this country, their importance can never been overstated and most certainly can never be undervalued.

In more recent times there has been much greater awareness in clubs about catering for boys from non rugby playing schools and that is a most welcome development. It is very good, too, to see Ireland now fielding an international youths team.

The rural clubs, in particular, deserve immense credit for the manner in which they have propagated the game and have done an immense amount to get youngsters playing rugby who would not, in the past, have had the opportunity.

To revert to the schools scene, however, the game has been superbly served by generations of teachers, religious and lay. There was a time, when rugby was banned in some schools, a fact that perhaps those who are ill informed on the matter might remember when they accuse the game of elitism.

The schools cups are correctly scheduled on the rugby calendar and take due account of the academic year. Nor is it true to suggest, as it has been, that there are not other competitions such as leagues and indeed even separate competitions within the cup competitions themselves for the weaker schools. The schools set up in this country is splendid and at union and branch levels extremely we served by those who run it in most respects.

No development in the Irish game was more welcome or more prudent than the decision taken in the centenary season of the IRFU to field a team at international level.

That was vigorously opposed by some, they have been proved conclusively wrong. The record of the schools in international competition is the best of any Ireland team at any level. The number of boys who progressed from being schools' to senior internationals is far higher in Ireland than any other country.

Bearing in mind the challenges that now face rugby in this country, the schools scene is even more important to the development of the game than at any time. It must be cherished and it must be nurtured.

And while I do not like to end on a discordant note, I do wish that much greater care would be taken in relation to the appointment of referees for the schools cup matches.

The lack of sensitivity shown by some officials is dreadful. It is one of the few disappointing and disquieting aspects. I have seen a few very poor displays this season from referees that made me wonder if those who refereed had any feeling at all for the game.

The best schools referee I have ever seen was John West. To watch him officiate at a schools match was a sheer joy. I am sure it was no less so to play under him. Perhaps he could be called in to speak to the referees prior to each schools' campaign. It would be a worthwhile exercise.