Westport Bulls – Connacht Open Tag Champions
On a beautiful summer’s day with Croagh Patrick in the background, the idyllic countryside outside Westport came alive with the colour, sounds and vibes of Budweiser Tag Rugby for Westport RFC’s hosting of the 2008 Connacht Open Tag Championships.
As teams played their way through the afternoon’s group games, in a day where all present basked in glorious sunshine, headed to the finals stage where two close games were about to stand: The Plate Final and the Cup Final.
Playing it all for the Plate were the ‘Cusack Stand Heroes’ who travelled from Galway and have just started this year, playing their summer league Tag at the UCG Dangan venue. They were pitted up against the Westport Bulls second team, aptly named ‘Bulls 2’. The match was a ping-pong affair and very tightly contested with a half-time score of Cusack leading 7-6. The teams picked themselves up again for the next ’20 and Bulls 2 managed to nip ahead in the end winning the Plate with a score of 11 points to the Heroes’ 10.
Meanwhile on pitch number one, the favourites, Westport Bulls, found the going a little tougher in the first half when Castlebar’s ‘The Rockets’ matched them score for score until the hooter sounded for a well earned interval right after a Bulls score to take a narrow lead. A brace of scores by female players stretched the Bulls’ advantage midway through the second half and this proved to be crucial stage as The Rockets ran out of answers to further three-pointers. When full time was blown, the Westport Bulls came out as victors and Connacht Open Champions 2008 with a scoreline of 23-9 in their favour.
Both teams were presented their Trophies and all ‘warmed down’ with a few bottles of Budweiser and a few tales to tell.
Congrats to both winners and comiserations to the Runners-Up. Westport RFC, Budweiser Tag and the IRFU wish to thank all who contributed to the day’s wonderful event, players, referees and event-volunteers alike!
To view images in the Gallery, just click HERE
See you in Clifden on Saturday for the Budweiser Beach Tag event hosted by Connemara RFC at the beautiful Omey Beach.