Budweiser Tag, the IRFU¹s official Tag Rugby programme kicked off at ASHBOURNE RUGBY CLUB with the opening night on the 23rd of May. The tournament ran each Friday until finals night last Thursday 25th of July
In their first year as an official Budweiser Tag venue Ashbourne Rugby club was delighted to have so many teams enter the competition including:
Team Ramrod
The Presidents Team
Don’t Stop me Now
Old Boys
The Incredibles Reds (combination of The Reds & The Incredibles)
Ratoath Rockets
Ratoath Raiders
Mays Babes
The Woppers
With Ashbourne mainly focused on being a community based club they leapt at the opportunity to open their new state of the art playing facilities and to team up with the IRFU every Friday night for the summer months. Luckily Ashbourne seemed to have escaped the poor weather conditions that saw some venues either cancel or postpone events and had perfect weather conditions for the 8 weeks which really brought in the crowds. Friends & family joined in the fun watching the matches and reverted to the clubhouse afterwards to wind down the evening.
Ashbourne club members were joined by a number of surrounding clubs including, two teams from Ratoath– Ratoath Rockets & Ratoath Raiders, a combination of Boyne, Ashbourne & Swords players on The Presidents Team and numerous individuals from the surrounding areas. The Ratoath teams brought with them ex Irish International Maura Coulter and No.8 for the Irish women’s squad Orla Brennan, whom they were privileged to have playing tag in their club.
Commenting Deirdre Connolly, PRO Ashbourne Rugby Club, said,
“As a ladies member of Ashbourne Rugby Club I really enjoyed the participation of both male and females for the Tournament. Ashbourne not having a ladies team generally have the girlfriends, wives and friends standing on the side lines throughout the season. It was fantastic to see groups of girls joining in the fun. Everyone participated from beginners to experienced rugby players on teams together which made the tournament more enjoyable for all. The kids were standing on the sidelines cheering on Mammy and Daddy together for the 1st time ever!”
It was a fun filled 8 weeks which ended on a great night with the top two teams of the tournament going head to head- Team Ramrod (46 points) and The Presidents Team (36 points). Team Ramrod having not lost a single match throughout the tournament left week 7 with a 10 point advantage over The Presidents Team but were in for a surprise when faced with an equally strong team up against them in the all important final. With a huge crowd of supporters cheering on both teams under flood lights, the excitement of the game became more intense by the minute with both teams extremely tight coming towards the final whistle. Excellent defense from both sides with some great breaks from Stephen O’Neill (Team Ramrod), Michael Moroney (The Presidents Team) and Adam Sherrard (The Presidents Team) drove up the intensity of the game from the both players and supporters alike. With only a few minutes to go the score board read 4-4. The match could have gone either way at this stage but a hard worked 2 tries by The Presidents Team brought the final score to “The Presidents 6 – Team Ramrod 4”.
Commenting Scott Broughton, Youth Development Officer and venue manager for Ashbourne RFC, said,
“It was a very enjoyable 8 weeks, ending with an intense final, we look forward to next year and welcoming everyone back to the club.”
Also commenting, Rod Cosgrave, President of Ashbourne Rugby Club
“It was great to see the club ground and clubhouse in use during the summer months. Some great craic was had in the bar each Friday night which really reminded us of what rugby is all about.”
Training starts back Thursday 31st of July and Ashbourne RFC welcome new and existing members to their club.
Details can be found on www.ashbournerugby.ie
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