Cork Con's Desmond is where he wants to be as a rugby player

Since he was old enough to pick up a rugby ball, Cork Constitution have been a big part of Cian Desmond’s life.

Gripped by the oval ball game from a very young age, the dynamic back-row was an avid watcher of Cork Con sides that consistently challenged for top honours in the Men’s All-Ireland League and he took particular inspiration from a number of players who went on to become mainstays of the professional game in Ireland.

“There was the glory days of about 2008, 2009. You had Peter O’Mahony, Simon Zebo and Billy Holland. 

"They kind of set the tone in Con. They were the standard. There’s Lions jerseys all over the bar inside and that’s the kind of standard you set in Con. 

"Try to get as close to that as possible is the goal,” Desmond remarked at a recent All-Ireland League launch in Dublin’s Energia Park.

“I came to Con when I was about four or five. It’s where you want to be. 

"I would have been the ball boy when I was growing up and looking on, they were kind of your heroes. To be in amongst it now, it's great.”

Having claimed their seventh AIL title with a Division 1A final victory over Terenure College at the Aviva Stadium in April 2024, Cork Con subsequently relinquished their league crown in an agonising one-point showpiece defeat to Clontarf at the same venue 12 months later.

While there will be a desire within the squad to ultimately make amends for that reversal to the north Dubliners, Desmond acknowledged the changes that have been made to the senior squad for the current campaign ensures this won’t necessarily be the only driving factor for the Leesiders in the weeks and months to come.

Additionally, Desmond (whose brother Daniel is also part of the Con first team set-up) believes it will be important for the Temple Hill outfit to focus on one game at a time – beginning with a tantalising AIL Division 1A opener against Lansdowne on the Aviva Stadium’s back pitch this Saturday (kick-off 2.30pm).

“We take a lot of pride in the win in 2024. It was big for the club, it was big for everyone involved. It’s a different squad now. 

"There’s a lot of people in that dressing room who haven’t won it,” Desmond added.

“Con like winning, so we want to get that back, but we’re just going to focus on each game and each block. 

"Because you can’t get too ahead of yourself in this league, because the games will pass you by.”