Irish rugby stars pay a visit to Laois
Kyle Whelan with Linda Djougang, his father Jason Whelan, his brother Josh Whelan, his mother Breda Whelan and Paul OConnell
Irish rugby stars visited students from Cullohill as part of the ALDI Play Rugby initiative.
Former Munster and Irish rugby captain Paul O’Connell along with Ireland women's national rugby team player Linda Djougang put pupils from Scoil Tigearnach Naofa in Cullohill through their paces and provided them with a once in a lifetime opportunity to train with the greats of Irish rugby.
ALDI had invited children from across Ireland to pick up a leaflet in their stores and colour in a picture of Kevin the Carrot and his family to be in with a chance of winning an exclusive ALDI Play Rugby training session with former Ireland captain and current senior team coach, Paul O’Connell for their school.
A fourth-class student from Scoil Tigearnach Naofa, 10-year-old Kyle Whelan was selected as the lucky winner, scoring the overall prize for him and his classmates.
Paul O’Connell visited the school and lead a training session for the 112 pupils. The former Ireland captain was accompanied by Irish rugby international and ALDI Play Rugby ambassador Linda Djougang who taught them new skills and shared some of her rugby wisdom they can take with them into the years ahead.
ALDI Play Rugby is a non-contact primary school rugby programme, developed by the IRFU and supported by ALDI. It offers primary school pupils a safe and fun introduction to rugby and aims to encourage children to get active, participate in regular exercise and eat healthily. As part of the programme, schools are offered access to invaluable resources including sessions with Community Rugby Officers, online coaching resources and free coaching equipment.
Speaking at the event in Cullahill Paul O’Connell said: “It’s always a joy to meet with the rugby stars of tomorrow and see up close the positive impact ALDI Play Rugby is having on boys and girls across Ireland. Here in Cullahill, there was an awful lot of talent on display, and it was an absolute pleasure to meet with the students and their teachers.” For more information on ALDI Play Rugby and how to get involved log onto www.aldi.ie/playrugby-programme.
