Brian O’Farrel’s contribution to the sport of rugby in T&T is nothing short of legendary, but his commitment to the resurgence of school’s rugby remains priceless. The Irish-born T&T-national, who was credited with repairing the fracture the sport suffered after almost a decade when the nursery was left to crumble in the early 80s, was honoured by his peers on Monday at Jaffa Restaurant at the Oval on Tragarete Road in Port-of-Spain.
It was back in 1965 that the late Bill Bason along with a team of enthusiasts introduced schools rugby on the local sporting circuit and moved to have it well constituted with the establishment of the T&T Schools Rugby Union (T&TSRU). This year marked 25 years, since the O’Farrel initiative for schools rugby came into being. O’Farrel, a former national rugby captain and coach, who was selected for the first West Indies 15-a-side team that toured in England in 1976, was not alone in the spotlight, however. He had familiar company in his wife Pamela and sons Sean, Brendan and Kevin.
Fondly referred to as the first family of local rugby the O’Farrel boys developed a passion for the sport too, that took them all the way to playing positions on the national rugby team. It was 1988 when O’Farrel felt he could stand by no longer as the compliment of athletes depleted at an alarming rate and simultaneously clubs disappeared. History recalled that nine clubs including Exiles, Growlers, Rebels, bad Jacks All Blacks, Santa Cruz Warriors, Roebucks, YTC and Eastern Graduates folded and two Falcons and Guevara merged with the hope of staying alive. O’Farrel stepped in to stave off further fracturing in the sport.
As the story goes, O’Farrel turned to long standing friend Justice Gregory Rousseau and together they enlisted the talents of the late Lou Barrow and Patrick Gittens with the singular aim of breathing new life in the T&TSRU. But as Justice Rousseau recalled on the night, financing, as in almost all cases, was a major challenge. “I left financiers for last because our rugby fraternity’s indifference and its sometimes don’t care attitude, continue to take for granted these tremendous sacrifices and organising of Brian. The schools’ union and indeed the entire rugby fraternity owe a huge debt of gratitude to the only family I know, who devoted much of their time to the development of the game,” he said.
“Every Saturday morning they turned out to ensure that our school games were properly organised. Yes, Pam with sandwiches, drinks oranges, bananas (out of pocket); with Kevin, Sean and Brendan refereeing, putting up post, running lines, coaching and mentoring young athletes. To fully appreciate this tremendous sacrifice, just shift your thoughts to the anger of most families when one person had to leave home on Saturday—market and grocery morning or home chores—or some of the many domestic responsibilities. Yes. It was obvious to some of us that Brian consciously mobilised his entire family to serve at the expense of their own domestic needs.”
Six years ago, O’Farrel successfully negotiated and agreed a deal with Digicel to sign as the exclusive sponsor of schools rugby. For 19 years he used his personal funds to sustain the nurturing of schools rugby. The broader rugby fraternity, in Justice Rousseau’s view, needed to stop and think about how O’Farrel managed his personal affairs, while providing clubs with recruits in order to preserve the games longevity. “So Brian, thanks! You have been a comrade, brother and mentor to me and a father figure to many school boys. When the history of rugby football in T&T is written, as a matter of right, you will occupy a very special chapter,” Justice Rousseau said.
