Rugby Runner

by Siggins, Gerard;

  The Ireland doctor hopped in just then, and explained a little more to the Maddens about what would be happening. She chatted away to Eoin as the ambulance drove him at high speed to the nearest hospital, wincing as the vehicle took a sharp series of bends and speed bumps.

  ‘We lost, didn’t we?’ Eoin asked the doctor.

  ‘Yes, Joe just missed the conversion. It’s a pity as it was a brilliant performance to stay so close to them,’ she replied.

  ‘Will I be OK for the next game?’ asked Eoin.

  ‘That depends on what they say here. We’ll have to keep an eye on you for a day or two to check you haven’t been concussed. But if you have been then you can’t play for twenty-three days.’

  ‘Twenty-three days! But… that’s long after the final!’

  ‘I’m sorry, but that’s the way it has to be. Concussion can be very dangerous and we need to be sure you’re one hundred per cent before you can return to play.’

  Eoin bit his lip and was relieved that the ambulance had arrived at the hospital.

  He was taken in and examined by another doctor, and after an X-ray he was admitted to a single room – still wearing his Ireland gear. All evening he was poked and prodded and a nurse kept checking his temperature and pulse, before the IRFU doctor returned to say they were happy with him, but would keep him overnight for observation.

  ‘Roger Savage is in the next ward so I’ll call by to see him. Now I’ll let your mum and dad in to see you. A couple of your pals begged me to bring them along so I’ll let them up to talk to you for five minutes too. And then try to sleep.’

  His parents came in and the doctor explained what had happened and what needed to be done.

  ‘You were lucky you had an ambulance and doctor there so quickly,’ said his dad. ‘And the hospital so close by.’

  His mum fussed over him and told him to be careful, but they had to go home that night as Dixie had a doctor’s appointment early next morning.

  ‘I’ll give you a ring tomorrow and see if I can visit,’ said his dad.

  His parents said goodbye and soon after that the doctor left. A minute later the door opened slowly and Alan and Dylan peeped in.

  ‘Thanks for coming, lads, but where’s the grapes and Lucozade?’

  Alan looked embarrassed, but Dylan laughed.

  ‘Grapes! You’re having a laugh. What’s the grub like here?’

  ‘Grub? So far it’s been toast and tea. I think I arrived too late and the kitchen was closed.’

  ‘Shame about the result,’ said Dylan.

  ‘Yeah, we were so close. I really thought we could win the World Cup.’

  ‘Well, we still can,’ Alan replied.

  ‘Really? How come?’ asked Eoin. ‘Surely New Zealand will win our group now?’

  ‘Yes, but it’s three groups of three teams – the winners get into the semi-finals but the best loser does too. It will come down to points difference and we’re only minus one point. A good win over Italy and we’ve a great chance to be in the semis.’

  Eoin grinned. Alan was much better at the details than he was.

  ‘I should have read that tournament handbook they gave us,’ he laughed before suddenly becoming serious. ‘I hope they let me play – it could be more than three weeks if the doctors say so.’

  Right on cue the IRFU medic poked her head around the door and signalled Eoin’s friends it was time to go.

  ‘By the way, the tournament was the main item on the television news just now,’ she told the boys.

  ‘Really? Because of Eoin’s injury? Or was it the result?’ asked Dylan.

  ‘No, of course not. Didn’t you hear? Someone walked off with one of the trophies. It’s terribly embarrassing for the IRFU. There’s a huge Garda search going on out at the grounds – the World Cup – the big one – has been stolen.’

  Chapter 29

  Eoin was stunned by the news. He realised that this was what William’s appearance had been all about. And he should have known when he saw the Webb Ellis trophy sitting on the platform before the game.

  ‘I should have warned someone,’ he said, aloud.

  ‘Why?’ asked the doctor.

  Eoin stopped, realising this was not something he could explain away easily.

  ‘I had a dream that it was stolen,’ he spluttered.

  The doctor looked at him suspiciously.

  ‘Really? A dream?’

  ‘Yes. I know it sounds stupid, but I sometimes I have very vivid dreams. The trophy kept appearing in them and then when I saw it before the game I should have realised why.’

  ‘That’s a weird coincidence, but I don’t think you will have to explain that to the Guards,’ grinned the doctor. ‘Now, lights out and try to sleep.’

  When they had all left Eoin stared at the ceiling. It wasn’t long before William Webb Ellis appeared. He looked very upset.

  ‘Eoin, what on earth has happened?’ he asked.

  ‘Your guess is as good as mine, Will,’ Eoin replied. ‘I was playing the match and didn’t hear about the trophy until just now. Were you there?’

  William nodded. ‘I watched that game – though it’s hard to imagine how they could ever have said I invented it – and saw the trophy with my own eyes. It was then I realised my presence must have had something to do with it so I kept a keen eye out. Unfortunately, I was distracted – and not a little concerned – when you were injured. The trophy must have been stolen around that time.’

  Eoin frowned. ‘I’m amazed there was no one in charge of watching the cup.’

  ‘There was,’ replied William. ‘But he was called away to find the key for the gate because the ambulance man wanted to take you around to a different entrance. He said it was quicker that way.’

  ‘This is awful,’ said Eoin. ‘I’m sure the IRFU will be very embarrassed too.’

  ‘I will go back there now and try to investigate,’ said William. ‘Perhaps when the medicine men are finished with you, you will join me?’

  Eoin agreed and bade farewell to William. He lay back on the bed but it took ages to get to sleep.

  Next morning Eoin had to undergo all the tests again, and then returned to his room to await the doctors’ verdict. He called in to see Roger Savage and the pair joked at the unlikelihood of two lads from Ormondstown playing rugby for Ireland, let alone being carted off to hospital during the same game.

  ‘When you got injured did you get the same ambulance as me?’ asked Roger. ‘A big yellow one? I’m only asking as the driver had to stop on the way here to throw up. It was just outside the back gate, but he was in agony and had to ring to get someone else to collect us. He came in the back with me and the doctor said it looked like he had eaten something poisonous. Poor man.’

  Eoin frowned. ‘Now that you mention it, I was in a white ambulance. They must have had to call up a replacement after your driver went sick.’

  The boys went back to talking about the tournament, although Roger was downbeat about his chances of playing again.

  ‘The docs said I was concussed. They want to keep me here for a couple more days. No more rugby for me till after Christmas. I just hope Neil lets me stay with the squad for the rest of the tournament.’

  Eoin bid farewell to Roger and returned to his room, where a doctor was busy studying his X-rays and scans.

  ‘Right, young man, I have good news. You got a bit of a heavy bang and a little bit of bruising, but it looks like you escaped the worst of it. I’m going to recommend you sit out the next game but you will ready to play again in about a week. I’ve called the IRFU doctor and she’ll be around to collect you shortly.’

  Chapter 30

  Eoin was glad to rejoin the Irish squad and although they were disappointed to lose their opening game, Alan had explained the system to them so they were determined to qualify for the semi-finals.

  ‘We’ll have to keep an eye on the other groups to make sure we know our opposition,’ said Alan, ‘but I’d say we have a great chanc
e.’

  He laid out the tournament programme on the table in front of Eoin.

  ‘Pool B is tough – England, Wales and Australia, while Pool C is France, Scotland and South Africa. It’s hard to tell who to watch out for as none of these teams have ever played together before, but you’ve got to expect England, Australia and South Africa to be very strong. That’s why that last try against the Kiwis could be crucial – our points difference is as good as it can be with a defeat!’

  Eoin grinned. Alan could always be relied on to look on the bright side of life.

  ‘Let’s check out the opposition later – there’s a couple of games today down at the Bowl,’ Eoin suggested. ‘But first I have to check in with Neil.’

  Eoin talked to the coach, and the doctor, who told him he wasn’t allowed to train for a day or two, but gave him a few suggestions to keep his fitness levels up. He liked the sound of cycling, and thought it would be a good way to explore the vast university complex where they were based.

  After arranging to borrow a bicycle, Eoin set off to do a lap of the grounds to help get his bearings. With lots of roundabouts and one-way roads he found it very complicated, and after a while he was so bored he was about to give up. He found himself back at the gate of the tournament venue – the same gate the ambulance driver had decided wasn’t near enough to the hospital.

  Eoin cycled out the entrance into the roadway and was astonished to realise that just a few metres away he could see the giant telecoms pylon that stood over the national television station.

  He was puzzled. He had seen this several times before, usually on his occasional visits to hospital to visit his grandad or have some rugby injury patched up. He cycled down the road and sure enough, there were the familiar buildings that housed the broadcaster.

  He pushed the bicycle across the busy road at the pedestrian lights and jumped back into the saddle to freewheel down the hill. A minute or so later the huge hospital loomed into view.

  Eoin stopped and scratched his head. It had taken him barely two minutes to get from the ground to the hospital on a bicycle and on foot. Why did the ambulance driver see the need to go another way, which involved waiting for the key to be found, then taking some sharp turns and speed bumps for what had seemed like ten minutes when he could have driven straight down the hill?

  The mystery annoyed him too, as the whole point of ambulances is to get a sick or injured person to hospital as quickly as possible – messing like that could have been very dangerous in a different situation.

  He cycled back up to the campus where the next game was about to start. He found Alan sitting on the grass with his notebook.

  ‘I’m keeping an eye on the opposition, taking down stats of what they do with the ball. I think I’d like to do this for school, too.’

  Eoin grinned. ‘Thanks, Al, that could be really useful.’ He turned to look at the game being played out on the pitch.

  ‘Oh there’s Charlie Johnston – that gold shirt suits him well. It’s amazing he got onto the team so quickly.’

  ‘Not really,’ replied Alan. ‘He told me he got a good introduction from Ted to the Australian rugby union so they had their eye on him from the minute he got over there. Charlie says they’re not a bad side but their out-half can’t kick so they don’t expect to win.’

  Charlie was right about the out-half. The only kicks he converted were when his team scored under the posts, but happily for Australia there were a few of them. They were far too strong for Wales, winning 31-7, with Charlie running in two of the tries.

  Chapter 31

  While they waited for the second game they chatted about the missing trophy. There were still several Gardaí running around asking questions and taking photographs. The podium with the Under 16 World Cup sitting upon it was still in place, but this time with no fewer than three security men standing guard.

  ‘Where were they all when the trophy went missing?’ laughed Alan as the trio in uniform folded their arms in unison and glared at anyone that stopped to look at the trophy.

  There were other spectators within hearing distance, so Eoin signalled to Alan to join him up higher on the bank well away from anyone else’s ears.

  ‘This robbery is terrible, Alan. It looks really bad for Ireland – and worse, I sort of knew about it in advance,’ he told his friend. ‘I had a visit at home from a lad called William – William Webb Ellis. Him who invented rugby.’

  Alan’s eyes bulged. ‘Really? Webb Ellis? The guy they named the trophy after?’

  ‘Yes,’ answered Eoin. ‘He just appeared one night and was all upset, but he didn’t know why. I think he must have had some inkling about the trophy without knowing. He visited me in the hospital and he is completely distraught about it. I think he sees this cup as his connection to the sport he invented.’

  ‘But you couldn’t have known that the trophy was going to be stolen…’

  ‘As soon as I saw it on that stand over there I knew that was why William had come back. But I was too busy playing my own game to work out what was going to happen.’

  Alan frowned, and scribbled in his notebook.

  ‘What’s that?’ said Eoin. ‘Do you have some idea about what happened?’

  ‘No,’ smiled Alan. ‘It’s just that France have scored,’ as he pointed out on to the pitch.

  Eoin lay back on the grass and stared at the grey clouds overhead. He decided that he needed to stop worrying about William and the trophy in case he got a headache, which he would have to admit to Neil. He was fed up with watching rugby though, and decided to give the rest of the game a miss.

  He returned the bike to the Leinster Rugby offices and rambled back to the accommodation block where the teams were staying.

  ‘Howya Eoin,’ came the call as he entered the dining hall. Charlie Bermingham was sitting with a group of boys including Paddy, Rory, Sam, Killian and Joe. ‘How’s your head?’

  Eoin filled them in on his stay in hospital, and what the doctors had told him about missing the next game.

  ‘Oh no, that’s terrible,’ said Sam, before quickly adding ‘No offence, Joe.’

  Joe smiled softly. ‘No offence taken, Sam. In fact, I agree with you. Eoin’s a much better out-half than me and I hope I can do as good a job as him.’

  ‘You will of course,’ said Eoin. ‘No pressure now, but do you know that a good win over Italy should mean we reach the semis? Make sure that happens and we’ll both be in the shout for the knock-out stages.’

  ‘The Italian lads are a good laugh,’ Paddy chipped in. ‘I met a few of them who were in London in the summer and they’re always up to mischief. I don’t think they’re here expecting to do anything except have some crack.’

  After some more chat about the game Eoin stood up.

  ‘I need a bit of sleep,’ he admitted. ‘Hospitals aren’t great places to sleep. They keep waking you up to check are you all right.’

  He wandered up to the dorm he shared with Paddy, James Brady and Jarlath Vasey, and lay on his bed.

  He had just closed his eyes when he heard a cough. At the end of his bed stood William.

  ‘Eoin, I do apologise for disturbing your sleep, but I have some news from the hunt for my trophy,’ he started.

  Eoin sat up. ‘Tell me more,’ he said.

  ‘Well, remember how confused I was when I first met you. We know now that it was this trophy that brought me to this country, and the fact that I was drawn to visit you in your bedroom and elsewhere is clearly important – I believe you are the key to solving the whole mystery.’

  Chapter 32

  Eoin nodded slowly. What William had worked out made great sense – but what could he do? There were hundreds of policemen and women running around looking for the cup – if they couldn’t find it, what hope had a kid?

  ‘OK,’ he replied. ‘I’ll keep my eyes open, but I’m not sure how I can help.’

  ‘I’m certain you can,’ replied William. ‘But just don’t keep your eyes open �
�� keep your mind open too. There will be something in what you’ve seen and heard that will give you a clue.’ His face darkened. ‘We really must find this trophy – this is so important to me and to the whole sport of rugby. It’s not just that it carries my family name, and that of my old school, but it represents all that is good about being excellent at the sport. I’ve been learning about this “television” invention and I know that millions of people all over the world are looking at this tournament – and all they see is a stolen cup!’

  Eoin promised William he would have another look around and ask his team-mates had they seen anything during the match. He wouldn’t be able to train for a few days so he would try to keep himself busy.

  He was awakened two hours later by Paddy stomping into the dorm. He wasn’t happy.

  ‘You won’t believe it, Eoin,’ he growled, not bothering to apologise for waking him up.

  ‘What?’

  ‘We had a practice match at the end of training and Matthew went in a bit hard on Joe. He’s only gone and cracked a rib.’

  ‘Ah, no,’ gasped Eoin. ‘So he’s out for Tuesday?’

  ‘Yep,’ replied Paddy. ‘And Neil has already told me I’m playing out-half. I was really settled playing centre and now I have to switch and learn a load of new moves. And my kicking isn’t as sharp as you or Joe.’

  ‘Don’t say that Paddy,’ said Eoin. ‘You’re a brilliant out-half – sure that’s where you were picked by Ulster in the summer and you got them to the final then. The moves aren’t too complicated at all, and you’ll have a great advantage playing alongside Sam.’

  Paddy shrugged his shoulders.

  ‘I don’t know, Eoin. These games are huge – I’m finding it hard to sleep as it is and I’m not sure I’m even enjoying the whole experience. Is there no chance of you playing?’

  ‘No, I’m afraid not. I didn’t get a bad knock at all and they say there was no evidence of concussion but there’s no way they’re going to take that chance. I’m disappointed – but I have to agree with them.’