Irish rugby door closed on me but I opened a new one in the MLR - Conall Boomer

Conall Boomer admits that he thought his professional rugby dream was over when he got cut from Ulster Academy.

The Rosbeg man was an Irish underage international and represented his country at the 2016 U-20 World Cup.

But the rugby landscape in Ireland is marginalised and making a breakthrough to senior provincial rugby and staying in that same cycle is difficult.

When he was cut adrift, he decided to make sure he’d something to fall back on and a teaching degree was pursued.

He soon landed a job at Terenure College and, as fate would have it, fell back into rugby. He’d play a huge part in the side’s All-Ireland League Division 1A success at the Aviva Stadium back in 2023.

And off the back of that, Major League Rugby’s Chicago Hounds made an approach.

He admits that tunnel vision and perhaps a refusal to look beyond the provincial path back home probably did result in him parking his dream a little too prematurely.

But the 6’4″ flanker - in his second season with the Hounds - says he’s now making up for lost time, in between, as a professional rugby player in the MLR.

“We’re going really well this year,” he told DonegalLive. “I’m really enjoying it. Last year was tough; it was my first year playing professional rugby so it took some time to settle into that.

“This year, we have a new coach in, Chris Latham. He’s one of the all-time greats with Australia so that’s been amazing. He’s been so great to work with and his style of rugby really suits my kind of game.

“He’s brought in his good friend Todd Dammers. He has huge experience coaching in Australia and Japan. Between the two of them, they really know what they want to do and where they want to get to.

“They are honest, they tell you it straight. And that’s something I respect.”

The MLR has an international cap on players in their squads from outside of the United States with rosters limited to ten.

With America hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2031, the aim has been to accelerate the growth of the game there by promoting and developing American rugby players.

Boomer says it adds extra pressure to lads coming in as “simply being good enough sometimes isn’t good enough” as sides remain in line with that rules quota.

“We have quite a few international players, although we have lost Nicky McCarthy and Dave Kearney from last year.

“Billy Meakes has also moved on to LA. But the likes of Ollie Devoto, an English International, have come in as well as Mitch Short from Australia. He is a big name.

“But the international rule means he’s not playing right now as those passports are needed elsewhere to balance the team.

“So that can be difficult. It’s not that someone isn’t good enough - there just is that overseas rule. They call it ‘feeding the pack’ - doing it for the team.”

The geography of the MLR is unique in terms of travel and it’s something that takes some getting used to.

Boomer says it’s a weekly grind but that into his second term in the ‘Windy City’, he’s acclimatised in more ways than one.

“The weather has been horrific recently. And the new structure of the league, this time around, it’s based over six months.

“We only had four weeks of a pre-season, which is narrow. We have a game every single week, which is again new to me.

“We’ve had one week off, a bye week, in what’s been a total of six months. So it’s been very hectic and physically demanding.

“We are in the day after games, not training but getting our detail and we fly out two days later. We’re back in action this Saturday.

“The travel is something that’s really demanding. The vastness of the country means it’s just not as straightforward as back home.

“But we’ve a great squad, a great bunch of lads and that makes all of that a little bit easier as we’re really close-knit.”

Sitting second in their conference table and with a play-off spot already secured, the Hounds host NOLA Gold at SeatGeek Stadium on Sunday. But with two regulation games to go, there is still so much to play for.

“We’re second in the table right now. We started the MLR really well, had a bit of a speed bump but are grinding out wins.

“We have two games left from the regular season and are guaranteed at least a play-off spot. We can still earn a home semi-final with a strong finish.

“Hopefully, we can get over the line and achieve that and make an Eastern Conference final. It would be great to land some silverware if not all of it.”

Now 29 years old, Boomer says he can look back at his efforts to make the cut at home with much more perspective than he might have done just a few short years prior.

“When I was released from the Academy, I probably should have looked at the MLR right away. There really are only four doors back home but this is something I’d recommend to anyone from Ireland.

“I kind of felt the dream was over after that release and just went the safe route of uni, a degree, and shifted the focus a little.

“So I’m grateful that I’m doing what I’m doing now. There are so many quality Irish lads that are good enough but there just isn’t enough space back home.

“You are only dealing with 160 professional players in Ireland. That limits, I think, what Irish rugby can do. I was a late bloomer too.

“So for any young lad that finds that door shut on them, America really is a sleeping giant. But it’s stirring now. The lifestyle and the life experience - it’s been so enjoyable. I love the city of Chicago.

“The dream for me was to get into a province but it never happened. I got a run with Leinster for a week but that was it.

“It’s so difficult to crack that barrier as there are so many in the same spot as you. But where there is a will there is always a way.

“The amount of lads from home that have headed off to the likes of Australia, America, England and France, they’ve found the rugby door opening again.

“It’s the route more travelled but that’s part of the experience too. I remember looking out at the Atlantic Ocean back home, thinking that the dream was over.

“I could never have imagined I’d be on the other side of it soon enough doing what I love.

“Campbell Classon, another man from home and another ex-Terenure lad, he’s now playing rugby in Australia with Randwick.

“He’s also found that rugby exists outside of Ireland and he’s going really well. They look like they are going to make the play-offs.

“He’d have had that exact same ambition as me. But getting away, he’s found he’s slipped back into it and I’m delighted for him.

“They got to the final last year, lost out on the last play so the hope is they go one better this time out. I keep an eye out for him all the time.”