Time to meet Leinster’s representatives in this year’s Roots & All project…
Well here we go – my first cap at blogging for Harpin on Rugby!! Let hope the coach doesn’t drop me after one!!
I hope to keep you updated on the happenings and goings on at Naas Rugby Football Club this season. So as it’s the week before the much anticipated start to the new season I thought I would kick it off with a little introduction to our club.
This is our 90 year playing rugby most of which was as a fairly successful Junior Club until we join the senior ranks in 1999 with a brief visit back to Leinster Division 1 we are now well established in AIL Div 2B with ambitions to move up!
Our club has a rich and distinguished history. We have received many sporting accolades and helped produce successful players such as Philip Lawler, Geordan Murphy and Jamie Heaslip, Fionn Carr to mention but a few and currently we have a number of ex Naas youth players who are at different stages of the Leinster ladder from schools, representative and the academe.
Today at our home at Forenaughts, we boast over 600 youth and minis from the ages of 7 to 18. We have 120 players 19 and upwards and 300 or so adult members. We have teams from minis to juniors to seniors, girls and veterans and each summer run a full VW tag tournament. In addition to top class coaching (had to put that one in!) and the opportunities to compete in leagues, our club offers our members the chance to learn life skills such as the importance of discipline, team work and learning to be gracious in victory as well as dignified in defeat and hopefully develop a passion for the game we all love.
We have the usual teams of volunteers who give their time, skills, passion, energy and commitment to the club for no remuneration. These people coach, sit on committees, pursue sponsorship opportunities, prepare lunches, run tuck shops and a million other things that happen behind the scenes, without which the club could not function.
We also have an army of supporters for our players – parents, relatives, friends, neighbours - people who stand at the side of the pitch come rain or shine to ensure the players know that their efforts, successful or otherwise matter, the heart of any club. We appreciate all of this. This is what community is and why community matters.
As for me I played on scrumhalf all the senior teams at some stage over a 12 year period in the late 80’s and 90’s, until, like most, a promising career was cut short by injury!! Before that it was schools rugby in Newbridge College, now a proud coach to the U12’s We had 80 kids playing at U11 last year putting out 5 non graded teams each week and we are expecting the same again this year at U12. We play in both the North Midlands and Metro Areas of Leinster along with filling many requests for matches from other areas.
So there you have it and our season kicks of with the first playing Old Wesley Away on Saturday 25th Aug in the Leinster Senior Shield and the AIL on the 29th Sept Away to NUIM Barnhall. As for the U12’s we get straight into it with a fixture against Newbridge RFC on the 1st Sept.
If you have any comments you can get me @michaelcahill67 or follow @naasrfc on twitter or www.facebook.com/NaasRugby on facebook. www.naasrugby.com
Thanks Michael, look forward to hearing from you throughout the season and best of luck to all at Naas RFC!
Click here to read the introduction of our Connacht representatives
Click here to read the introduction of our Ulster representatives
