90 Mayo Pupils Take Part In Connacht Rugby Blitz

90 pupils from five Mayo national schools took part in a Connacht Rugby blitz at Ballinrobe RFC last week.

The touch rugby event was organised by the province’s Club and Community Rugby Department. Rugby Officers Walter Gibbons, Wendy Hickey and Simon O’Malley were ably assisted by Annette Byrne of the Mayo Sports Partnership and Claremorris RFC and Joe Daly (Ballinrobe RFC).

90 pupils from fourth, fifth and sixth class of the following schools took part: Ballinrobe NS, Gaelscoil De Burca NS, Claremorris GNS, Scoil Iosa Ballyhaunis and Ballyglass NS. Eight accompanying teachers were also in attendance and helped with the smooth running of the event.

Great rugby was played on the day with lots of skills on show with great sportsmanship, discipline and fun displayed by all sides. The aim of the event was to provide a fun day out playing rugby for the pupils in a safe environment and promote the sport in south east mayo. The students of Gaelscoil De Burca even added a bit of culture as they spoke Gaeilge throughout the day.

With representatives of Claremorris RFC and Ballinrobe RFC in attendance, it was a useful exercise in helping to build a good relationship between the schools and local clubs.

The blitz was a great success and the pupils and teachers are already looking forward to the next blitz with a similar event being run after the mid-term break.

Connacht Rugby would like to thank Ballinrobe RFC for providing the venue and being such good hosts with a special mention to Joe Daly and Annette Byrne for refereeing on the day.

Sixth clash Ballinrobe NS pupils Oisin, Sean, Lucy and Jamie were also a great help volunteering on the day as they assisted with refereeing, taking photographs and organising teams.

For more details on Connacht Rugby’s Club and Community Department, please email info@connachtrugby.ie.