Corinthians host Connacht Coca Cola Tag Extravaganza

In all 1,018 boys and girls between the ages of ten and twelve from schools in Galway, Roscommon, Mayo, Sligo and Westmeath, took part in a morning of fast flowing rugby in the fantastic facilities provided by Corinthians Rugby Club. Over the course of the Extravaganza, which hosted 145 teams from 37 schools, each team got to play at least three different matches over the course of two and a half hours.
 
With 17 Youth Development Officers on hand to oversee the event, the matches proved to be a tremendous success and went off without a hitch. Regional Development Officer for the Connacht Branch, James Duffy, who organised the event was delighted with this years interest in an event which is growing annually.
 
“Its great to see such a positive response every year. This year alone we had 14 new schools attending and as you can see from the turn out, it has proven to be very popular once again. I would like to thank the Youth Development Officers for their continued hard work for making this event a major success, Coca Cola for their continued support and Corinthians Rugby Club for hosting the event.
 
“Many of these kids would have played tag rugby here for the first time and we’re hoping events like this will show them how much fun rugby can be. We’re hoping to see a lot of these kids back in the summer for the ‘Summer Scrummage’ camps which will be held all over the province throughout July and August”.

Martin Gallagher, the Provincial Domestic Games Manager for the Connacht Branch, sees Tag Rugby Extavaganzas as a great opportunity to encourage the growth of the game from an early age.

“For the IRFU and Connacht Rugby it is of vast importance to have these Rugby Extravaganzas. They provide children with the opportunity to play in a positive competitive environment but without the pressure of having to win at all costs. These days are so much fun we are planning more for the 2007/2008 Season. It was a hugely successful day and we are thankful to Corinthians RFC management and their staff for letting us us their facility. I’d also like to thank the Teachers and Parents who are extremely supportive of this program. Without the great work of our RDO and YDOs we would not run such a great event and I would like to pay tribute to them for the organizing and delivering this event yet again. One of the keys now is for the Clubs to really embark upon retaining these players for their clubs and have them playing in the club structure in 2007/2008 Season that will be the litmus test.”

For information on IRFU Tag Rugby for adults – click here.

For information on Summer Scrummage Summer Camps  – click here.