Rugby Players Ireland is teaming up with Ireland international and Leinster rugby player Tadhg Furlong today, for a new content series centered on his journey back to his school Good Counsel College in New Ross to spotlight the work of the Tackle Your Feelings (TYF) Schools programme to promote mental wellbeing.
Furlong recounts his own experiences in school and as a rugby player, connecting with the people who shaped his school days to inspire current students as they try to navigate their school years. As part of the TYF schools programme, the first video highlights the importance of identifying one good person that students can trust to confide in during pressurising times in their development, with the message that a problem shared is a problem halved.
The first video explores Furlong’s vulnerability as he opens up about some of his academic struggles with certain subjects in school and frustrations at not being able to master languages in the same way he excelled at technology.
As part of his visit, Tadhg met with students giving them the chance to hear his experience and to open up about some of the pressures they themselves face in 2023. Taking lessons from experiences he has had both on and off the rugby field.
“In rugby there used be a thing where if you’re not really sick in the stomach and so nervous there was a fear you wouldn’t play well,” he says.
“Now we want to go out to the pitch and show the best version of ourselves and play it as well as we can, and to do that we have to be free and we have to be confident. We work a lot on, if you are feeling boxed in, if you’re feeling like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, if you’re worried about who you’re going to scrummage against, who you’re coming up against, are you worried about not playing well on the big stage, it’s about talking to your teammates. It makes a massive difference.”
The Tackle Your Feelings Schools programme encourages all participants to create comparable support networks so they will always have someone to talk to, regardless of how big or small the situation they are facing may seem. As students take time away from school this summer, Tadhg’s video aims to inspire students and teachers nationwide to reflect on their own role as a positive influence on their network of friends and family before returning to school later next month. The video emphasises how important it is to create those meaningful connections to support the development of mental resilience, and to create an environment where you can show your true feelings both at school and at home.
“Zurich is proud to continue its support for the Tackle Your Feelings Schools Programme,” said CEO Anthony Brennan.
“It is fantastic to see a great role model like Tadhg Furlong sharing his experiences at a crucial period in his life. With Tadhg often representing toughness and strength in a physical capacity, sharing his experiences today, shows that exercising and managing mental strength is what really matters in those years of development. We hope that Tadhg’s openness will encourage young people to feel validated in their own feelings and confident to open up and share with their chosen support network. Compassion is a quality we are extremely proud to have represented by Tadhg as an ambassador for Tackle Your Feelings.”
