Roots & All will be back for the new season, this time with 4 clubs, one from each province. Between now and September we will be gradually introducing them to you here on HoR2 and first up to tell us a bit about their history are Connacht's representatives.
It may be the off season but like most clubs that does not mean we can take things easy, in fact we are probably busier now than at some points throughout the season. Having recently acquired 5 acres of land we are in the process of putting together a fund raising plan to get the land playable so Claremorris Colts will have a home to call their own.
Claremorris Colts RFC was formed in 2009. With no pitch of our own we use a local school GAA pitch for our mini rugby training sessions on Saturday mornings and a neighbouring club to hold all our Youth ‘Home’ rugby games. After an initial membership of 80 players the season gone bye saw our membership grow to over 200 registered players of boys and girls from U7 to U16. With increasing numbers brought increasing challenges however it also turned out to be our most successful season to date.
We started September 2011 with a fantastic boost. Elvery’s Sport ran a nationwide campaign to find a club who were Ireland’s greatest supporters and it turns out they liked our entry so much we won the prize of a trip to Aviva stadium to watch the Ireland team train and meet them afterwards before they went to the rugby world cup in New Zealand.So the day arrived when 34 excited players and 6 even more excited coached boarded the bus and hit for the Aviva stadium. A cheer of delight rose up from the players as the bus pulled up in front of the stadium and there was a scramble for the door as each and every club member tried to be the first to alight. But there was no rush, we had arrived at our destination in plenty of time and got to check out the Aviva Stadium before training began.
It turned out to a truly magical day we got to see the Irish boys go through a full blown contact session with Declan Kidney always in the back ground observing his charges. Once training was over our lads started to get very giddy as they knew meeting the players was only minutes. Players such as Tommy Bowe, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip, Sean O’Brien and many more mingled among our red jersey and were happy to chat and pose for photos with us all. It was without doubt a fantastic day for all and it was an unbelievable start to our season.
Next up for us was date with well know rugby pundit and all round nice guy George Hook. George agreed to conduct a coaching session with our mini rugby players on the day before the World cup final. This was a fantastic boost for us as our lads had seen him on TV for the last month analysing all that was good and bad about the 2011 world cup. To get him down to us the day before the final was unbelievable for us. It also meant George had an early start the following morning as he had to leave Claremorris at 4am to ensure he back in Donnybrook and ready to go for RTE by 8.30am.The coaching session was thoroughly enjoyable with George having a word for all the age groups. Whether it was the U7’s or the U12 it didn’t matter as he engaged with all players and he left a lasting impression with all players, parents and coaches. Without doubt he will be welcomed back any time by the people of Claremorris.
Next up is the Heineken Cup, our first trophy and a club award.
