The European Junior Touch Rugby Championships took place in the Parc Omnisports in Vichy last weekend.
The three Irish Squads who travelled to France did not come back empty-handed with the Mixed 18s Squad winning a Bronze Medal. The Mixed 18s went through the Round Robin stage unbeaten with victories over Italy, Scotland, Belgium, Cayman Islands and Wales as well as an exciting 10-10 draw against England.
They qualified for the semi-final to face Wales again. Ireland were favourites to progress to a rematch with England but the resolute Welsh proved difficult to shake off. The game ended in a 10-10 draw and proceeded to an extra-time ‘drop-off’ where each team drops to four players-a-side and plays on for two minutes. The Welsh struck first and then held their nerve to keep Ireland out until the hooter sounded.
It was disappointing for Ireland as they had looked like Gold Medal contenders during the round robin.
Ireland then faced Belgium in the Bronze Medal match and they got their reward, clinching 3rd place with a 9-6 victory. Wales went on to prove that their semi-final victory was no fluke as they beat England 11-9 in the final to take Gold.
The Mixed 18s played some scintillating Touch Rugby throughout the tournament, scoring an astonishing 97 tries in 8 matches. Top of the scoring charts was Brian McCulloch with 13 tries while Luke Tanner and Noah O’Neill chipped in with 11 each. Serge Broughton and Sloane Rangitaawa also contributed 10 tries each.
The Ireland Boys 18s faced a tough task as they played both the other Boys 18s nations and also took on the Men’s 20s teams from England and France. They too also made the Bronze Medal match, qualifying with an 11-2 win over Lebanon to secure fourth place in their round robin group. They put in a strong performance before going down 11-6 to Wales who secured the Bronze Medal. Finn Keeley was top scorer for the Boys 18s with six tries.
The boys 18s Ireland Touch Rugby Coach, Craig Keeley, said
“As the final whistle blew in Vichy for the Irish Boys 18s against Wales, there were a range of emotions which came to the surface. Obviously disappointment that they couldn’t get the upper hand during the game combined with sadness that the tournament was over, but after some time had passed these feelings turned into ones of pride, joy and happiness. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that we are so proud of the squads in their first tournament together. They fought for every inch on the pitch. They supported each other through good and bad and were able to have a laugh at the end of the day even if the result wasn’t the one they wanted.”
“The difference between the first and last game was like night and day. They improved so much throughout the tournament as they started to believe in themselves and each other. The systems they had practiced with Billy Ngawini during training started to come into place, and helped by the expertise of Michael Kearney, who was able to fine-tune these systems to give them the best possible chance of success.”
The youngest squad to travel was the Mixed 15s and they were very impressive, finishing fourth in their round robin with wins over the Cayman Islands, Scotland, Belgium and Lebanon. They faced Wales again in the Bronze Medal match who they had earlier lost narrowly to in the round robin. Unfortunately, they could not bridge that gap and went down 12-4. Top scorer for the Mixed 15s was Charlie Moseley-Scoggins with an impressive 12 tries.
Ireland Touch Rugby, Mixed 15s Coach Ola McCulloch added “The tournament was amazing, the kids had a great time including myself and the coaching teams. Our team did very well especially the kids as it was their first time playing an international touch rugby tournament, they held their nerve very well. I was hugely impressed by the team throughout the tournament. All and all it was a great team effort and it was a pleasure to coach the Irish Mixed 15s.”
Overall the three junior squads represented their country with great distinction and they all played a very attractive brand of Touch Rugby. The Ireland Junior Touch Program over the last three years has been very successful in producing talented and accomplished Touch Rugby players. Great credit is due to all the coaches, with a special mention to Tania Rosser and Billy Ngawini who as well as coaching the Leinster Women’s Rugby Team also lead the Junior Touch Rugby Program.
Head of Junior Touch Rugby, Tania Rosser added,
“The Irish Junior Touch Rugby Teams delivered an outstanding performance at the 2024 European Junior Touch Championships. We’re incredibly proud of how each team showed remarkable growth and determination, improving with every game. It was a testament to their hard work and dedication that all our teams made it to the bronze medal playoffs. A special congratulations to the Mixed 18s for securing their bronze medal after a challenging semi-final. The spirit and resilience demonstrated by every player is something Ireland can truly be proud of.”
Anyone who wishes to try their hand at this exciting game of Touch Rugby can find out more here.
Ireland Touch Rugby Mixed 18s:
Airmid Devitt O’Byrne (DSC Wanderers Touch), Aoife Purtill (Buccaneers), Arthur Forrest (DSC Wanderers Touch), Brian McCulloch (DSC Wanderers Touch/Clongowes Wood College), Noah O’Neill (DSC Wanderers Touch/Greystones RFC), Hugh Gilmore (DSC Wanderers Touch/Greystones RFC – Captain), Johnny Harkin (DSC Wanderers Touch/St. Gerard’s School), Lucy Nagle (East Coast Touch /Greystones RFC), Luke Tanner (DSC Wanderers Touch/Seapoint RFC), Philip Doyle (DSC Wanderers Touch/Seapoint RFC), Serge Broughton (DSC Wanderers Touch/St. Andrew’s College), Sloane Rangitaawa (Wicklow), Zenon Chambers (DSC Wanderers Touch/Seapoint RFC), Colin Whitten (DSC Wanderers Touch/Greystones RFC), Molly Copelin (Buccaneers), Aoibhin Tynan (Buccaneers).
Coaches: Tania Rosser, Darren Curran
Ireland Touch Rugby Boys 18s:
Isaac Young (DSC Wanderers Touch/Gorey RFC), Michael Kennedy (Terenure), Ben Harris (DSC Wanderers Touch/Wicklow), Darragh Tucker (DSC Wanderers Touch), Diego O’Reilly (Seapoint RFC), Finn Keeley (Brussels Buffalos), Finn Standing (DSC Wanderers Touch), Jack Gordon (Buccaneers), Oscar Dunne (Wicklow RFC), Tadhg Scott (DSC Wanderers Touch/Arklow RFC), Jack Marnell (DSC Wanderers Touch/Seapoint), Luka Nagys (DSC Wanderers Touch/Arklow RFC), Matthew Murray (DSC Wanderers Touch/Greystones RFC), Andrew Adams (DSC Wanderers Touch/Seapoint RFC), Ellian Desmond (DSC Wanderers Touch/Greystones), Matthew Colton (DSC Wanderers Touch/Lansdowne RFC).
Coaches: Billy Ngawini, Craig Keeley, Michael Kearney
Ireland Touch Rugby Mixed 15s:
Niamh Purtill (Buccaneers – Captain), Alan Marnell (DSC Wanderers Touch/Seapoint RFC), Callum Ghee (Clongowes Wood College), Charlie Moseley Scoggins (Staffordshire Stormers), Elijah John Rangitaawa (Wicklow), Iseult Naidoo (Greystones) Keeva Mooney (DSC Wanderers/Cill Dara/PortDara), Mollie Quinn (Buccaneers), Molly Guy (East Coast Touch/Greystones RFC), Pearl Tyner (DSC Wanderers Touch/Arklow RFC), Rhys Tanner (DSC Wanderers Touch/Seapoint RFC), Rory McCall (Wicklow), Samuel Moraghan (DSC Wanderers Touch/Presentation College Bray), Tamati Rangitaawa (Wicklow), Tyler Klopper (DSC Wanderers Touch/Gorey RFC) Victor Chauvire (Malahide RFC).
Coaches: Declan Keane, Laura Edwards, Ola McCulloch, Michael Kearney,
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