THE LETTERKENNY RUGBY CLUB Under-10’s travelled to Antrim last weekend for the IRFU Aviva Mini Rugby Festival.
Ballyclare Rugby Football Club, County Antrim was the venue. In what was a very well organised festival the aim was to provide a memorable experience for the children and to provide the rugby coaches, referees and administrators a chance to meet and chat all things mini rugby.
The day was certainly fun with very good competition in all games. Letterkenny under 10’s were drawn in a pool with Portadown, Holywood, Cavan and MU Barnhall. Each game was hard fought with Letterkenny at a slight disadvantage with a smaller squad than the opposition. However, this was negated by the teamwork and spirit shown by all the players.
This was clear from some great individual performances from Joseph McShane and Bobby Sweeney in the engine room making all the hard yards followed up with great support from Darragh Murray, Thomas Langford, Sam O Donnell and Charlie Robinson in the rucks and also in attack and defence.
There were also some great runs from Fintan Iharlula, William Harris and Ronan Lapsley. Unfortunately, Rory O Brien got injured early on which ruled him out of the rest of the competition. Letterkenny scored some great tries and while in some games they were under a lot of pressure, they played with great heart.
With great support from some of the parents cheering the team on from the sidelines and coaches Tommy O Brien and Maurice Murray, it was agreed that as well as having a fun filled rugby day out, the team can use it as a great learning experience for the next festival.
The Club also qualifies for two draws, the first for a season finale blitz in the Aviva Stadium on April 30th and a second where the winning club will host the 2016/17 season opener in September. That means IRFU with the support of Aviva will replicate the event in Ballyclare at the winning club. Hopefully, that might be Letterkenny.
The Under 10’s Team would like to thank Value Centre Cash & Carry Letterkenny and ITManager, Milford for the sponsorship of their Mini Kit.
Letterkenny Rugby Club in association with main sponsor Kelly’s Toyota, Port Rd., Letterkenny.
