Roscrea RFC director of Rugby Robert Dempsey has confirmed that John Maher will return to manage the Roscrea RFC senior team for the 2020/21 season. After leading his team to an unprecedented clean sweep of the Leinster league Division 3 for the 2019/20 season and subsequently gaining automatic promotion to division 2B, John Maher will resume his role with Ray Moloney returning as assistant coach. In a truly memorable year for the club, John and his management team were universally applauded for their positive approach to training and match preparation. One of Johns hallmarks as a coach has been to develop and nurture a sense of togetherness and comradery within his teams. This was evident throughout last season and was the fundamental foundation for success.
Roscrea RFC has experienced a revival in recent years where playing numbers at minis, girls, youths and seniors have increased. The exploits of the senior team have inspired and captured the imagination of the local community. Johns commitment to the club and his careful management of the senior teams progression has been a huge factor in the clubs rebirth. His endeavours and his dedication to the most honourable virtues of rugby have been evident on and off the pitch, most notably as he made national headlines last year after welcoming Phenyo Ketsitlle from Botswana to join the senior team. Phenyo subsequently became the first asylum seeker living in direct provision to play rugby in the leinster league.
John is looking forward to getting his players back to training in the coming weeks to start building for the oncoming campaign. All at the club wish him the very best of luck and look forward with anticipation to another exciting season.
