Sundays Well Rebels To Take On MARIs This Weekend

The Sundays Well Rebels will take on the Mixed Ability Rugby Invitational side (The MARIs) this Saturday in Virgin Media Park (3.30pm).

The day will also see a women’s mixed ability rugby match take place between the Ballincollig Trailblazers and the West Cork Jesters (1.30pm).

This year Cork’s very own Sundays Well Rebels, Ireland’s first Mixed Ability Rugby team, have been celebrating their 10th season as a team since being founded in Sundays
Well RFC, in 2013.

Since playing their first Mixed Ability match in April 2015, the Rebels have played 73 games, which will soon be 74 following their upcoming fixture.

From these 74 games they have played 49 mixed ability games and have fielded over 100
different players in matches over the last 10 years with nearly 50% of them still active.

The Rebels, who have tasted international success, are reigning IMART World Cup
Champions following their victory in Cork 2022, having previously won the inaugural
tournament in Bradford 2015 and finished runner up in Vitoria Gasteiz in 2017.

The club hopes to continue to develop as a team, bringing mixed ability rugby and all it can offer to as many people and places as possible. Promoting the game and the craic all around the country and further ashore.

The Rebels have been celebrating this feat of 10 years as a team since last August,
organizing trips, days out and fixtures to really put a stamp on the season, hosting
teams from around the country and from abroad.

The Rebels will have played 10 full games and an All Ireland Tournament in Banbridge come the end of the season, a personal record for them. Hosting those who have supported them down through the years, rekindling old partnerships that existed pre-pandemic. The season finale game is yet to come when they host the Mixed Ability Rugby Invitational side this Saturday the 4th of May in Virgin Media Park.
The Mixed Ability Rugby Invitational side, better known as The Mari’s, are an invitational team of Mixed Ability players and coaches from around the world who play exhibition matches.

The MARI’s were conceived in the midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic in
March 2021. At a time when rugby was at a standstill along with the rest of the world a
need for positivity and togetherness had never been greater. The MARI’s hope to meet
this need, bringing together Mixed Ability players and coaches from across the world in
an act of unity.

The MARI’s are part of the International Mixed Ability Sports movement which encourages equal participation in sport by breaking down barriers, promoting
inclusivity and promoting health and wellbeing. Mixed Ability rugby is not a disability
sport, but it provides an opportunity for players of different capabilities no matter their
circumstance. The focus of games is around participation, enjoyment, recreation, and
inclusion with everyone getting game time.

Jamie Evans founder of the MARI’s says, “Mixed Ability Rugby is a fantastic way for
people to play sport, be included, respected and be part of a team. The MARI’s gives
players something to strive towards to be selected to play in historic games within the
rugby world.

“It’s highly likely that those who have been selected will never get the chance again as
there’s so many players out there and we want everyone who plays Mixed Ability rugby
to have these opportunities. Then again, that’s why we think the MARI’s are so special!

“It’s also fantastic to be able to use world-class facilities like Cardiff Arms Park,
Murrayfield and the Principality Stadium, we are really grateful to those who help make
this possible, and it just adds to the excitement of it all.”

The Rebels have established itself as a key part of Mixed Ability Rugby in Ireland and
across the Mixed Ability game, making connections and friends with multiple teams and
they look forward to adding the traveling MARIs to the list, with 5 MARIs of their own
having played to date and one more to come on May 4th. The Rebels are excited for
this fixture to take place and are calling on the people of Cork to get down to see the
spectacle involved.

Rebels Player/Coach Gary O’Sullivan, the appointed MARIs Director of Rugby for the
upcoming tour to Cork said “Since I was lucky enough to receive the honor of being a
MARI, I have fallen in love with everything this club stands for, it aligns with my view for what the Rebels can be locally, as to what the MARIs are on the international stage.

“I am lucky to have been able to play a bigger role in the club now, and this is a game I
have been trying to put in place for 12 months. I am delighted that we have been able to
get the MARIs to Cork to cap our 10 year celebrations here at the Rebels.

“The City is no stranger to the sport following the massively successful IMART World
Cup in 2022, but there is still so many people we can reach across the city and county
to promote the game of Mixed Ability Rugby.

“I am pretty sure the last Mixed Ability match to be played in what is now Virgin Media
Park was the World Cup Final in 2022, played in front of a couple of thousand people.
How amazing would it be to repeat that feat, I have no doubt that both sides on display
come May 4th can put on a show fitting of such a crowd, so get down and support the
lads.”

The Sundays Well Rebels will take on The MARIs on Saturday May 4th at 3:30pm on
the main pitch in Virgin Media Park. A pre match lunch will be on from 2pm in the
Sundays Well Rugby Clubhouse, Booking is required so for details go to the Sundays
Well Rebels/Official Sundays Well Social Media Channels to secure spot (Facebook/Instagram).

There will be a Women’s Mixed Ability Rugby Exhibition Match Between the Ballincollig
Trailblazers and the West Cork Jesters on the Grass Pitch in Sundays Well from 1:30pm.
Everyone is invited to come down and take part in what is sure to be a fantastic day.