Growing up in Dublin in the early 1980s, Leigh Tynan spent her Saturdays at Anglesea Road playing in the stands with her three siblings, hustling packets of crisps from the bar staff, while their Dad watching his team, Belvedere RFC, play. "We were essentially left to our own devices as my Dad was very focused on whatever was happening on the pitch." A former star of the Belvedere side in the 1950s, Lexie had a lifelong obsession with all things rugby, and so the four Tynan kids grew up pitch side. "I never considered rugby to be a sport for me though - I just never saw a single girl or woman playing when I was young." Moving to Canada in the mid 1980s - the family were embraced by the Burlington Centaurs RFC and like before, Saturdays at the rugby pitch continued to be part of their life.
It was in moving to Burlington, and joining the Centaurs that Lexie met Monty Heald - one of the clubs founders and long time club president, who went on to be the President of Rugby Canada for nine years in the 1990s. "Monty was really the one who opened my eyes to the fact that women played rugby. Canada had a small but passionate group of women's teams, and players who were organizing to start playing at the international level. Suddenly a sport I had never even considered was brought into my view." By this time though, Leigh and her siblings were on a competitive swim team training every day of the week, leaving little time for other sports - rugby or otherwise.
Fast friends and both possessing the entrepreneurial spirit - Monty and Lexie founded Monilex to bring rugby equipment to the small but growing rugby community in Canada. "My Dad and Monty coached the local high school teams & club teams, were selectors for the National teams and all around just big supporters of growing rugby in Canada." But it is specifically Monty's support of Canadian women's rugby that Leigh is the most proud to be connected to. "Having competed in high performance sports into my early twenties I so often came up against situations where my male counterparts just had more support from sponsors, more coverage from the media - it was just all around easier to be a male athlete. I was so grateful that Monty was so clear in his goal to support women's rugby."
In 2015 when the Rugby World Cup was in England, Leigh tagged along with Lexie on a trip to visit the head office of what Monilex had grown into over the years - the Canadian distributor of Gilbert Rugby products. "The trip was just to be an excuse for an adventure with my Dad - he was getting older, and any excuse for some time together going somewhere new was something I wasn't going to miss out on. And, to be clear, I had absolutely no interest or intention of becoming involved in Monilex" But somewhere between driving in lashing rain from London to Robertsbridge, sharing pints in a three hundred year old thatched roof pub, and enjoying in the camaraderie and stories that are quintessential to the game - Leigh felt herself being drawn back towards the rugby community. "I definitely left that trip having an appreciation for how special the rugby community is and how much it had positively impacted my own life."
Through gradual small steps, Leigh found herself becoming more involved in helping her Dad with Monilex, and bringing that business - now operating as Gilbert Rugby Canada - into more modern times. "It was an incredible opportunity to spend more time with my Dad in the last few years of his life, and to appreciate his love for the game and the found family it brought into his life."
Never one to let go of a cherished rugby programme, or tour tie, or trophy - Lexie had boxes and boxes of rugby memorabilia including test match programmes going back to the 1950s. "Coming across these boxes of memories while cleaning out some storage in our warehouse a few Summers ago - the spark from my trip in 2015 was reignited for what Monilex could be."
"The idea really just lived as a dream in my mind for many years - I kept waiting to come across someone who was doing this that was truly a rugby brand in heart and soul, rather than a fashion brand borrowing the rugby vibe. I found heritage rugby brands for men - but nothing that represented for me, what the modern face of the game that I know and love is - a game for everyone, built on a core set of values & encircled by a community that builds lifelong friendships. The game is growing rapidly for women and girls, and for more diverse communities - and I wanted to see that reflected in what Monilex represents."
So... unable to wait any longer - 2024 saw the rebirth of Monilex into a new era. Focused on rugby lifestyle apparel and inspired by the heritage of the game, the brand is quickly grabbing the attention of rugby players and fans.
The line launched in April of 2024 with two heritage jerseys inspired by Lexie and Monty.
