Club Notes: Week Ending 06.04.14

This week’s club notes come from Cobh Pirates RFC

Youths
Our U11s Clocking up the Road Miles !!!!
The Cobh Pirates u11s have been on their travels a lot over the past few weeks. They’ve taken trips to the Aviva Stadium to watch Ireland beat Italy in the 6 Nations Championship (and Brian O Driscoll last home Championship game) & took part in the Annual National Joe Moran Rugby Festival in Naas just this last weekend.

Aviva Trip
The young Pirates set out early from the Paddocks full of excitement for what was for the majority of the lads their first trip to a 6 Nations Championship game. They got to the ground in plenty of time and were in position to watch some of their heroes such as Paul O Connell, Brian O Driscoll & Conor Murray in close quarters go through their warm up routines. They cheered and sang as Ireland went on to record a big victory on their way to winning the 6 Nations. They were also one of the lucky ones who witnessed Brian O Driscoll's last game in a green jersey on home soil. The lads had a fantastic experience and were well looked after by their coaches, Colm, Benson, James, Julian & Fiona on the day.

Naas Rugby Festival
The Pirates were on the road again last weekend to take part in the Annual National Joe Moran Naas Rugby Festival @ Naas RFC. This is a huge festival of Mini Rugby with over 40 clubs taking part from over the country and from every province in the country. Over 20 players travelled and each player making a great contribution as they competed against Naas RFC, County Cavan RFC, Buccaneers RFC, Claremorris RFC & Clonmel RFC. The young Pirates played some fantastic rugby in both defence and attack and the results proved how well they all applied themselves. They headed for home after a long day, stopping off for some food in Cashel on the way. They even finished the day with a sing song on the bus as it came in the Fota Road….lead by our very own BOD…Brian O’Dwyer, who led the troops in The Fields of Athenry, Irelands Call and gave a rendition of Ahmran na bhFiann. Great day had by all !!!

On behalf of the Club, sincere thanks to the Colm McCoitir, Ken 'Benson' Hallahan & James Murphy for working so hard with this age grade over the last number of months….lads are playing some great rugby, enjoying themselves and are getting lots of memories to date as they head into their last season as a mini from next September…
Under 14's won cup quarter final against Clonakilty. Despite the weather conditions both teams produced an outstanding game of rugby, with Cobh Pirates winning out 20-10 in the end. Cup Semi Final: Under 14 Cup Semi Final, away to Kinsale,will take place on this Sunday 6th of April. Kick Off 12 o clock.
League Final: Under 14 league final against Midleton will take place on Easter Monday 21st of April. Kick off time and Venue to be confirmed.
Under 13 league game at home to Kinsale on Friday 4th of April, kick off 19.00.

Pirates u18s had a great weekend in Dublin, beating De La Salle Palmerstown RFC 19-5 in a tour game and then took in the Pro12 game between Leinster v Munster.Well done lads, sounds like a great weekend was had by all.

J2 team beat Mitchelstown 12-10 in the Mick Barry cup, well done lads.

Ladies
Well done to Ali Dorgan, who played with Ballincollig RFC yesterday under the Dual Status Programme; they beat Cill Dara RFC in Tullamore to win the All Ireland Plate. And on making the front cover of the Irish Examiner.
Cobh Pirates Ladies finish fourth in the league, earning their place in a league SEMI-FINAL!! Unfortunately due to weather, the game against Clonmel was called off. Clonmel have been unable to fulfil all their fixtures. History in the making, the semi-final is set to be played this Sunday 6th of April away to St Senan's, current league leaders. Well Done Ladies, a huge moment to be very proud of in the development of the Ladies teams over the years! Big thank you to everyone who has supported us this far.

And In The Club
This will be Munster Rugby Jnrs last warm-up game before they start the Inter-Provincial campaign. Cobh Pirates Rugby Club will invite AIL players along with members of the J1 squad to provide the opposition. A mini rugby game will provide the curtain raiser at 2:30pm Lots of family fun on the day and maybe a surprise or two!
Bouncy Castles, Face Painters, Easter Egg Treasure Hunt, Kids tug-of-War and more….
Various stalls will form a food forecourt. Look out for perhaps a local sporting celebrity or two on the day ! All proceeds going to the charity; BREAKING THE SILENCE tickets €;10 for adults kiddies go free. Check out our face book page for more details.