After about ten minutes Charlie and Noah announced they had had enough.
‘This is pointless,’ Charlie said. ‘You can’t learn anything about the other teams in these conditions. Neil and the coaches are here and they’ll bring us anything they’ve learned. I’m going back to the hotel for another hot shower.’
The pair jogged off, leaving Eoin and Paddy huddled under the back of the grandstand trying to keep the rain out of their faces.
They took note of the players who were the lineout targets, and which foot the half-backs kicked with, but by half-time they concluded that Charlie and Noah were probably right. The Welsh side seemed very weak and England were already fifteen points ahead.
‘Do you want to head back so?’ Eoin asked.
‘I suppose,’ Paddy replied, ‘but can we go around the back there? I’d like to see a bit more of the stadium.’
The pair ambled off towards the northern end of the ground, ducking into a tunnel that led to the main pitch.
They sat down in a row of seats that were sheltered from the rain, and Eoin pointed out a few of the sights to Paddy, including the spot from where he’d kicked the penalty to win the Fr Geoghegan Cup way back in first year. He remembered that moment often, and how Brian had helped him get over his nervousness at being watched by twenty-five thousand people.
Just thinking about Brian was enough to make him look closely around the ground. He was worried that Brian hadn’t been in touch for months, and the other ghosts weren’t much help in finding him either. He was frustrated, too, that he hadn’t been able to talk to him that evening in the stadium because he was with Paddy and Charlie.
‘There’s a lad over there in a rugby jersey,’ said Paddy. ‘I wonder is he going training. He didn’t pick the best day for it, did he?’
Eoin looked across to the players’ tunnel where Paddy was pointing. Just inside it stood Brian, who was staring across at them.
‘Can you see him?’ asked Eoin.
‘Of course I can see him, it’s not that far away,’ replied Paddy.
‘But…’ Eoin trailed away. He had been able to see ghosts for several years now, but his friends could only see them when he brought them along and introduced them.
He lifted his arm to salute Brian, who saluted back and walked around the side of the field towards him.
‘Do you know that guy?’ asked Paddy.
Eoin said yes, but he wasn’t sure whether to let his friend in on the whole story.
‘He’s called Brian, and that’s a Lansdowne shirt. They’re one of the clubs that plays here,’ he told Paddy as the ghost made his way along the dead-ball line.
He introduced the pair and Paddy noticed how cold Brian’s hand was – even for a day like they were having.
Brian looked worried, and after they had swapped small talk about rugby and the weather, Eoin told him about the tournament, and how he would likely be playing for Ireland in the final, probably deciding, game in the stadium, six days from now.
Brian looked even more worried then, and signalled to Eoin that he needed to talk to him.
‘It’s OK, Brian,’ he said. ‘Paddy’s a good friend of mine, I’ll explain to him about you later. What’s up?’
‘Well…’ started Brian, ‘I can’t really be sure, but there are a lot of strange things happening around the stadium. Water keeps springing up from nowhere, and even before this rain today the pitch has been getting soaked. The groundsmen are doing their best on it, but it’s almost like they’re trying to turn back the tide.’
Chapter 23
Eoin frowned. ‘I saw you here last night, you were out on the field there. Was that what you were doing?’
‘Yes,’ replied Brian. ‘I’ve checked the particular corner every day and it never seems to dry out, even if there’s weeks without rain – which doesn’t happen too often in Dublin. I’m not even sure what can be done, but I’ve been getting a bad feeling about it and I’m not usually wrong.’
Eoin explained how he had met the four ghosts out in Castlerock – or ‘Dave, Kevin, Alex and Will’ as he called them to keep Paddy in the dark for the moment – and that they too had suspected something was up.
‘They’re keen to get in touch with you, Brian, can you drop out to see them? I won’t be in school for another week.’
Brian nodded and said goodbye.
‘But do drop back, Eoin, you might be able to help me with a few things,’ he called, as the boys began their jog back to the hotel.
On the way, Paddy stopped.
‘Who was your man?’ he asked.
‘Just Brian, an old guy who used to play for Lansdowne,’ replied Eoin.
‘So you said, but there’s something a bit weird about him. That shirt for starters – it’s like something your grandad would have worn. And what was he doing hanging around the stadium in the rain. He doesn’t work there, does he?’
Eoin paused, and looked at Paddy before looking down at the ground. He had let a couple of his Castlerock friends in on the secret, and it was best if he didn’t tell Paddy any lies.
‘OK, but this might be a bit of a shock to you. And don’t tell me I’m mad either… but… Brian is a ghost. A dead person’s spirit. He was killed playing rugby in there,’ he pointed back to the stadium.
Paddy nodded.
‘Is that all?’ he asked. ‘Sure, I’ve seen loads of ghosts. My grandad lives in an old house over in Donegal and it’s full of them. They’re interesting characters too, not at all scary.’
Eoin laughed. ‘I was afraid to tell you last night when we were here with Charlie. I’ve known Brian for a few years now. He’s a great guy.’
‘I must confess, none of my ghosts were rugby players,’ replied Paddy. ‘They were all farmers and fishermen.’
‘Well, Brian wasn’t the only one,’ admitted Eoin. ‘They all played rugby but one was also a soldier, another a student, as well as a prince and a priest.’
‘How did you get to see them first?’ asked Eoin.
‘I’m not sure. It was grandad who first told me about them,’ replied Paddy. ‘He was very sick and we all went over to see him expecting him to die, but he got better. I was sitting with him one night and he told me the house was haunted, and would I like to see a ghost. I said “yes” and he whistled softly, and soon a couple of them arrived – a young woman and a little boy. They told me they’d died back in the Famine times.’
Eoin nodded, relieved that he was able share his secret with Paddy. ‘I sometimes wonder why I was the first person ever to see Brian. I’ve never had to whistle for him either!”
Chapter 24
There was quite a buzz back at the hotel, with lots of parents and friends milling around the lobby talking to the Ireland players, who were buzzing after their win over Scotland.
Eoin spied Alan, who was sitting in the corner chatting to Charlie and Rory.
‘Hey Al, great to see you. Did you bring us in the homework or what?’ laughed Eoin.
Alan grinned back. ‘Nah, I met Neil after the game and showed him the stats I’d compiled on the match. He asked me to come back here to give him a proper briefing.’
‘Wow, that’s really cool,’ said Paddy. ‘I hope you can prove I’m the best out-half in the squad?’ he added with a grin.
‘I don’t think Stephen Hawking could prove that,’ laughed Charlie.
The boys settled down to discuss the game further, and Eoin filled them in about the first-half of England’s game against Wales.
‘I’d say Neil will rest a few guys against Wales as they look fairly weak,’ said Paddy.
‘Maybe,’ replied Charlie. ‘But we can’t afford to mess up like Leinster did in the interpros,’ he grinned. The province had given all its top players a game off and been beaten by tournament dark horses Connacht.
Neil had indeed learned that lesson, although the reserve strength in the Ireland side was much greater than Ted had to work with at Leinster. He picked Sam Rainey ahead of Rory, an
d switched Eoin and Paddy so the Ulster half-back unit was intact. Eoin was happy enough, as he knew Paddy was a good player and he had enjoyed playing in the centre earlier in his career. It also meant he was matched up alongside another pal, Killian Nicholson from St Osgur’s.
That was the extent of Neil’s tinkering with the side, and the changes pepped them up against Wales. By half-time Ireland were 19-0 up and the second half turned into a rout. Eoin nipped in for a couple of tries and kicked twenty points as Ireland ran out 45-5 winners.
‘Hey Eoin, you’re a shoo-in for the golden boot,’ laughed Alan as he joined the players on the field after the game. Alan was wearing a green tracksuit and hoodie and carried an IRFU clipboard – Neil had made him the official team stats man for the tournament and he couldn’t have been happier.
‘I’ve worked out the table after two games,’ he told Charlie, handing him a scruffy piece of paper.
Played Won Lost Tries Diff. Points
Ireland 2 2 0 5 +41 8
England 2 2 0 9 +40 8
Scotland 2 0 2 3 -11 0
Wales 2 0 2 3 -70 0
‘You have to feel sorry for the Scots lads,’ said Eoin. ‘Two really narrow defeats. But it’s all down to this big game in the Aviva on Friday.’
‘How do they decide who wins if that’s a draw,’ asked Charlie. ‘We’re one point ahead on points difference.’
‘I checked,’ replied Alan. ‘And unfortunately, tries scored is what counts. So you’ll just have to go out and win it.’
Chapter 25
The countdown to the deciding game began next morning with a team meeting in the hotel. Neil told them that there was now a huge amount of media interest in the game – Ireland v England was always a big game, no matter the sport – and the TV cameras would be there on Friday night too.
‘Just remember you’re representing your country, your school and your family when you’re here. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want the rest of the country to read about in the papers tomorrow….’
They spent the rest of the morning going through videos of England’s first two games, with Neil frequently stopping the recording to point out the strengths or weaknesses he wanted his team to take note of.
‘There’s a big guy here called Ed Wood, he’s enormous and a very good line jumper. We’ll have to keep it away from him, or we’ll be creamed in the line-outs. Their wings are sharp going forward, but not great tacklers and the right-wing looks a bit awkward when he has to turn and chase. Maybe dip some of your kicks in behind him early on Eoin, and Kuba, be ready for a sprint and chase.’
Neil told them he had lots of other insights, but would talk to them in smaller groups as he wanted them to focus on just a few ‘learnings’ as he called them.
Eoin took off after the meeting, keen to be on his own for a while, but also to return to the stadium. He was puzzled by what Brian was up to and keen to have a chat with him alone.
The clouds had cleared and it was a bright spring morning as he jogged down Lansdowne Road. He passed two boys wearing school uniforms that weren’t from Castlerock, so he was astonished to hear them say ‘That’s your man Eoin Madden.’ His mum had told him the night before that he had been mentioned on the local radio news after the win over Wales. Perhaps Neil was right – and this huge media interest would find its way down to little old Eoin.
He crossed the railway tracks and ran past the stadium to the back pitch where he had watched the game with Paddy. He vaulted the fence and did a few stretches before setting off to jog around the field. He reckoned that if he appeared to be a player doing some extra training he had less chance of being thrown out than if he started snooping around the stadium.
He cast his eyes around the ground as he ran, checking the entrances and stairwells for any sight of Brian. He skirted the field, jogging back beside the touchline that ran alongside the river. As he reached the corner and turned for home, his ankle went from under him and he fell against the fence. He was astonished to see his boot throw up a huge spray of water as he skidded across the artificial grass.
‘Oof, that hurts,’ he muttered, as he sat on the ground massaging his ankle. ‘Nothing broken though.’
He examined the ground where he sat, pushing down into the soil and finding that water squelched up every time he did so.
‘I thought this stuff was all-weather and drained really quickly,’ he mused. ‘It stopped raining about eight o’clock last night so that’s pretty slow going.’
Eoin got himself gingerly to his feet and limped off back towards the hotel. He decided to take his time as he didn’t want any awkward questions from Neil and the inevitable trip to the physio, and maybe even doubts over whether he could play against England. He didn’t want to take any chances with that, so when he neared the railway crossing and noticed that a train was coming he made the quick decision that he needed to visit his old pals in Castlerock.
Chapter 26
Wednesday was a half-day in Castlerock, and Eoin arrived just as the classes were breaking up. The first-years were excited to see their international star player and he had to politely turn down a couple of requests for selfies.
‘I’m in a hurry, sorry,’ he said as he took the steps of the school two at a time.
Inside, he bumped into Mr McCaffrey. ‘Eoin. Is everything all right? I thought you’d be in town with the Ireland team? Congratulations on how you’ve been doing, by the way.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ replied Eoin. ‘We just had the afternoon off and I wanted to collect a book so I can keep up with my reading,’ he said. That was the first time Eoin had even thought of study, but he reckoned Mr McCafferty would be impressed.
‘Very good, very good,’ replied the headmaster. ‘Now run along, I’ve got to see how the Junior Cup team are doing in your absence. I trust you’ll be back for the replay?’
‘I think so sir,’ replied Eoin. ‘When is it?’
‘Next Saturday morning,’ he answered.
Eoin gasped. ‘But our last game is Friday night…’
‘Really? Oh dear, that’s not ideal,’ frowned the headmaster. ‘Oh well, perhaps you could take it easy against England, and maybe ask the coach to take you off at half-time. Actually, I’ll get Mr Carey to ask him.’
Eoin looked closely at Mr McCafferty’s face, trying to work out if he was joking, but couldn’t see even a single wrinkle or quiver around his mouth. But surely he wouldn’t want Eoin – and Ireland – to miss out on a chance of winning the Triple Crown?
Eoin said goodbye and started up the stairs to his dormitory room. Mentioning the book had unleashed a twinge of guilt that he was missing a whole week of study with his Junior Cert exams just over the horizon.
He tried the doorknob, and was surprised to see it open, and delighted to see that Alan was there at the desk, scribbling away.
‘Hey, Eoin, what has you back here? Are they going for Joe Kelly for the last game?’ grinned Alan.
‘No chance,’ smiled Eoin, sitting down on his bed. ‘I just took a last-minute decision to come out to say hello. I twisted my ankle and wanted to walk it off in case Neil got grumpy.’
‘Speaking of grumpy, Dylan has just been here. He’s heard the replay is the day after the final and now he’s not sure if he wants you, Charlie and Rory in the team. I told him not to be stupid and he stormed off.’
Eoin laughed. ‘Thanks for the support Al, but I’m not sure I would have put it quite that way.’
‘How are you getting on?’ he asked, nodding at the pile of text books and copy books on the desk.
‘Not bad,’ Alan replied. ‘I missed a couple of days with the matches so I’m trying to catch up.
‘Me too,’ said Eoin. ‘I’m happy enough with the study, but I need to reread one of the novels.’
He reached up to the shelf above his bed and pulled out the book he was looking for, but as he did so another book came loose and fell on to his bed.
‘What’s that?’ asked Alan.
&nbs
p; ‘It’s the book about Lansdowne Road that Grandad gave me for Christmas,’ Eoin replied.
He picked up the book and went to hand it to Alan when his friend suddenly jumped, pointing over Eoin’s shoulder. Eoin turned and was confronted by Brian, looking even more worried than he had the last time they met.
‘Eoin,’ started Brian. ‘How on earth did I get here?’
‘I don’t know,’ Eoin replied. ‘I just picked up this book… it’s about the history of the rugby ground.’
‘I was just over in Lansdowne,’ said the ghost, ‘I was wandering around and checking on all the weird things that are happening there when suddenly I arrived here.’
‘Maybe it’s the book?’ suggested Alan. ‘Remember when it was the Dave Gallaher book that first summoned his ghost…’
Eoin flicked through the pages. ‘I wonder…’
‘What sort of weird things are happening, Brian?’ asked Alan.
‘There’s been a lot of puddles forming in the basement where all the motor cars are, and the pitch is a lot wetter than it should be,’ replied Brian. ‘But the really weird stuff happened today when I saw dozens of creatures just fleeing from the grounds – mice, rats, even a family of foxes. They were making for the river bank. It’s as if they know there’s something wrong.’
Eoin checked his watch and put the two books into a plastic bag. ‘I have to dash to catch the train back. I’ll read through the book again tonight and see if I can come up with anything.’
Chapter 27
Back in the hotel lobby, Eoin bumped into Charlie.
‘Hey skipper, what’s happening?’ he grinned.
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