600 kids take part in Buccs & Galwegians blitzes

The Connacht Rugby Club & Community Department held two very large blitzes in Buccaneers and Galwegians last month with over 600 children from 16 different primary schools taking part.

Club & Community Rugby Officer (CCRO) Will Thornton co-ordinated the event in Buccaneers for 1st and 2nd class pupils with 348 children from nine different schools taking part.

Connacht Rugby would like to thank the Buccaneers coaches for their help as well as TY students from Marist College and St Aloysius College.

The Connacht Rugby Club and Community Department also held a blitz in Galwegians last month with over 250 national school pupils in attendance.

CCRO Conor Galvin co-ordinated the event with fellow staff members Emer O’Dowd, Lyndon Jones, Matt Henderson, Walter Gibbons and Peter O’Hara assisting. Transition Year students from the Jes provided additional help.

National schools from Briarhill, Claddagh, Mervue, Oranmore, Carnmore, The Jes and St Enda’s took part in the blitz.

The Galwegians blitz was part of the Aldi Play Rugby initiative which provides equipment, tools and a training course for teachers, coaches and parents in schools.

Aldi’s Play Rugby programme is delivered by Connacht Club & Community Rugby Officers throughout the province as they guide teachers, coaches and parents through the process of introducing a non-contact rugby programme to schools for children between the ages of 6 to 14.

Connacht Rugby would like to thank Buccaneers and Galwegians for their help along with the teachers and pupils from the 16 primary schools and everyone that helped out at the two blitzes.

These two events were the latest in a series of blitzes that gives young players the opportunity to play rugby.

Initiatives such as this are vital in the development of rugby in the province as many pupils get the opportunity to play rugby for the first time.

The Club & Community Rugby Officers in Connacht have played a huge role in the expansion of rugby in the province. At schools level alone, there are now six competitions in place as the main Junior and Senior Cups are supplemented by the Emerging and Development competitions.

See a selection of photos from the Galwegians blitz below.

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