Skerries’ ‘Cheddar’ Ready For Big Bite At Promotion Push

To those in Skerries, Leonard is more known by his nickname of ‘Cheddar’. Not a name given to the hooker for his fondness for cheese, but instead a running joke by his friends after watching the movie, ‘8 Mile’.

With similarities between himself and the character ‘Cheddar Bob’ from the movie, his friends began to use the nickname, a moniker which his parents, the club’s supporters, and the wider Skerries community have adopted for him.

Leonard, who works as an engineer in Dublin city, has been firmly rooted in Skerries all his life. He was six when he first played rugby for the Goats, and his senior debut came in 2013.

At the time he admits that it was difficult to adjust to playing Energia All-Ireland League rugby as he never had any Under-20 experience to prepare him for the step up, but with a club like Skerries he always enjoyed it.

“It’s always been a great club. I set foot in it when I was six-years-old and I really never looked back. Now a lot of my friends played other sports, I played GAA and a bit like that,” he told IrishRugby.ie.

“I never tried my hand at soccer, I’ve two left feet when it comes to dancing, never mind soccer! But other than that, just as soon as I joined, I’ve always felt welcome (at Skerries). And then as the years went on, I just found it a great club.

“It’s very local. Like you go for a ramble around the town, and everyone knows about what the game is and how the game went, and they know all the lads. And I suppose I’m one of the lucky ones.

“I’ve been there from day dot, but some of the lads that have joined over the years, they feel like they’ve been in my position from only after being there a few weeks. It’s a very, very welcoming club.

I suppose it was tough for me because there was no real Under-20s to bridge the gap. So I was kind of straight into the AIL and then kind of floating and doubling up for the J1s on a Sunday.

“We wouldn’t have had the biggest squads over the years, and you’re asking lads to double up, but I suppose it’s part and parcel between 18 and 21.

“If you’re on the bench on a Saturday, nine times out of ten, you’re lining up on a Sunday for the J1s. Bit of a step up, but I’d say to most lads, don’t be afraid of it either. Like, it’s such a high standard.”

The 29-year-old hooker joined the 150-cap club away to Dungannon in round 3 last month, and is certainly far from slowing down for the north County Dublin side.

Along with reaching a personal milestone that many will not achieve, Leonard was appointed as club captain for his season, taking over the role from Kevin McGrath, a talismanic figure within the Johnny Tyndall-coached squad.

“It was a massive achievement for me and one that I’m very proud of, and probably the bigger shock for me is that it came and I’m not 30 yet,” Leonard said of playing his 150th senior match for Skerries.

“So I’d like to think I have a few more years in the tank, but I suppose looking at some of the talent and the young lads coming through, my days might be numbered!

“It was a massive honour (to be chosen for the captaincy). Kevin’s been a stellar captain for years and I still can call on his experience during games and stuff like that.

“Like, it’s a new role for me, so I suppose in the 150-odd caps I have, I mean it’s four or five as the captain now. It’s a new learning curve for me. To be given the chance to lead the lads for a year, yeah, massive honour for me and the family.”

Skerries have been battling away for many years now in the Energia All-Ireland League, and are targeting a top four finish to fight for promotion this season. Last year when they returned to Division 2B, it proved a difficult campaign and they ended up just a point clear of the bottom two.

Their start to the current season, however, has been an impressive one. Already they are just one win away from matching their tally of five victories from 2023/24. Despite four penalties from Ronan Mulcahy, the Goats’ unbeaten run was halted by a 23-17 defeat at Sligo a fortnight ago.

With back-to-back home matches coming up against Malone and Rainey, Leonard reflected on their struggles last year and the recent loss to Sligo. He also spoke about how important the Holmpatrick crowd is to them, a real ’16th man’ no matter the weather.

“It was very tough, and I know it sounds strange, but staying up felt like a promotion for us,” he conceded. “To hold your status in Division 2B, having lost the players we had – I think we lost seven or eight guys.

“One guy retired and then six or seven lads just went on their travels as young lads tend to do when they finish college, or after a couple years of working in Dublin. It was a bit of a shock to the squad.

“Couple of results didn’t go our way and probably beaten by the better side on the day, but to stay up was massive. It was massive for the group as well, and I feel like you kind of have to get through the hard times to enjoy the good times, which we feel like we’re starting to reap the rewards a small bit this year.”

Leonard added: “Sligo is a tough place to go. They’re a good side, big pack, and their backs are very good. So, like, home and away, you have to respect every team we play in this league no matter what their league position is.

“We have massive respect for all the teams you come up against. I’ve never looked too much into a result. The result is what it is on the day, the feeling is still there, you kind of just have to put them behind you and and move on to the next block.

“It’s massive. But then again, you can’t let the head get too big because, other teams, they surely could have players to come back or they might get a run of form. Every team is bound to get their purple patch throughout the season.

“So we kind of just have to stick to our process, regroup, and go again for the next block. We’re in a better position, but again we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. There’s still the guts of 13 games to go.

“Your home games are massive, and if you could pick up something away on the road, even better. But I think to really secure your position in the league, you really have to be focusing on your home games and make your own home ground a tough place to go for the visiting side.

“You get good weather there, and even when it’s miserable in Skerries and the wind is kicking up, you’ll always get the 16th man behind you. And especially when you get a win, it’s always good craic after for a few beers.”