Rugby making major inroads into non-traditional schools in North Midlands Area
Scoil Chríost Rí Portlaoise 1st year team
The Coach and Player Development Officer (CDPO), Bryan Croke, Women’s Development Officer (WDO), Paidi Mahon and Community Rugby Officer (CRO), Joe Carberry continue to play an important role in the expansion of rugby in the North Midlands Area.
Assisted by the Club Community Development Officers (CCRO) the area has seen a significant expansion of rugby in non-traditional schools.
The team work with the schools introducing tag rugby initially with festivals taking place about every six weeks. These events are for both boys and girls in first year.
The most recent event was held in Kirdiffstown Park where there were 22 teams (12 boys and 10 girls) representing 12 schools. This programme will continue in the spring.
In parallel with this, the first years will also play in a series of games for the Harry Nicholls Perpetual Trophy. The holders Naas CBS will face teams from across the area in a round robin programme where the teams will be set out in Premier and Division 1 finals day in Portlaoise RFC.
As part of the development programme there are a series of games in the girls Junior 10s games for girls squads across Laois, Kildare and West Wicklow. The most recent event was hosted at the Kings Hospital. This series will also continue in the spring.
Over the last few months a total of seven schools have participated in the Leinster Development Leagues with Patrician College Newbridge winning the Pat Rossiter Junior Cup.
In the recent Cup draws teams from St Kevin’s Dunlavin, Kildare Community College, Naas Community College, Coláiste Chríost Rí Portlaoise, Ard Scoil na Trínóide Athy, St Paul’s Monasteravin, Blessington Community College, St Mary’s College Naas, Mountmellick Community School and Naas CBS will feature in the January matches.
Down the line Clongowes Wood College and Newbridge College await the qualifiers in the latter stages of the Cup.
In the Girls Schools League the North Midlands Schools are to the fore. Ard Scoil na Trínóide will face off against Coláiste Chríost Rí Portlaoise on Wednesday next, 18 December in Energia Park at 2.30pm. Both sides had tough semi-final wins over High School and St Mary’s College Arklow.
The Junior Cup decider will see Ardscoil na Trínóide face Wilson’s Hospital (Multifarnham) who defeated Kilkenny College and St Andrews College in the semi-finals. The final will take place at 12.30pm.
