Bru Amerlynk is an amazing example of how our Suttonians players are not the only club members representing Suttonians RFC with distinction in the broader rugby circles. Bru has been a dedicated club member of Suttonians for over 20 years. He was first introduced to Suttonians by his neighbour, Karl Murphy, at just 9 years old. Jim Briscoe and Johnny Hughes took him under their wings and Bru’s love for the game began to blossom.
During his time playing junior and senior cup rugby for St. Paul’s, Bru took some time away from Suttonians. However, after finishing secondary school, Bru was brought back into the Suttonians Under 20’s squad by coach and Suttonians stalwart, Ciaran Smyth. Bru still claims that these two years of U20’s rugby were two of the most enjoyable years of his life.
Between 2003 and 2013, Bru’s presence around Suttonians became slightly less frequent. During this 10-year period, he joined An Garda Síochána, grew his involvement with the Emerald Warriors, as well as moving to Australia for a short period of time.
Bru returned to Ireland in 2013 and with this, he returned to the Suttonians RFC Men’s Senior Squad. He made his debut for Suttonians Men’s 1st in 2014. Simultaneously, Bru was welcomed into his first ever coaching role with the Suttonians RFC 98’s team. After a bad back injury and surgery in 2016, Bru’s playing career came to an end but his coaching career was only beginning.
Bru’s first mentor, Robert Forbes, welcomed him into the Suttonians 98’s set up. “It helped a lot that the team were very successful. The 98’s were a very good team. It made it more enjoyable” Bru explained. He continued to outline how coaching became a chance for him to give back to the club, “I felt that I was giving back to the club because I had taken so much out of the club over the years”. As Bru became more familiar with his role as assistant coach, Rob Forbes introduced him to the St Fintan’s High School Senior Cup Team.
After catching the coaching bug, Bru began educating himself, becoming “a student of the game”. He currently holds a level 4 coaching badge which qualifies him to coach at a Head Coach Adult level. Bru’s success grew significantly after joining the St. Fintan’s SCT coaching team. After the departure of Rob Forbes, Bru became the Director of Rugby and Head Coach of the St. Fintan’s SCT team. He recalls a number of memorable successes over his 8 years in St. Fintan’s. Notably, the first time the school qualified for the senior cup in the 2016/17 season, winning the Senior Leinster Schools 1B League 2021/22, and qualifying for the Leinster Senior Cup in the 2021/22 season.
During his time in Fintan’s, Bru never forgot his roots, “I always had in my head while working in Fintan’s, it was for the benefit of Suttonians as well”. However, with all success, there can be regrets. “My only regret having left Fintan’s, is we don’t have that seamless transition (with Suttonians). The numbers just aren’t there” he revealed. It is very clear that Suttonians RFC will always be at the heart of Bru’s coaching career. When asked about coming to coach at the top level in Suttonians RFC, Bru voiced that “it’s something I wouldn’t rule out, but definitely a number of years down the line”.
The future is very bright for Bru’s coaching career as he begins his time with Clongowes Wood College in September. Bru will be working alongside Munster and Irish legend, Tomás O'Leary, as the forwards and breakdown coach for the Clongowes Junior Cup Team. Excited for this new venture, Bru mentioned a number of positives to his new coaching opportunity, “It’s a huge opportunity. Working with Tomás, working with a top 6 school, and a change of environment”.
Bru’s progress as a Suttonians member is a brilliant example of the different paths our members can take. His coaching success and progress is yet another amazing example of a Suttonians member representing our club with such pride, beyond the gates of Station Road.
