DCRP U16 & U18 Rugby Blitz
October 24th 2008

Letterkenny RFC was the venue for the second of this seasons Donegal Community Rugby Project U16 & U18 competition. Six schools, Cranna College, St Eunan’s, Carndonagh CS, Deele College, Loreto Milford and Moville competed in difficult conditions to produce some well fought games. The eventual winners were Cranna College who first overturned local rivals Carndonagh in the group stages before overcoming St Eunan’s in the final. Notable U16 players on the day for their performance were Lawrence Lynch, Cranna; Paul Toland, Deele; Peter Howard, St Eunan’s; Brian Mc Glade, Milford; Eanna Newton, Carndonagh and Conor Harkin, Moville.

In the U18 competition it was Carndonagh who came out on top in the games against Moville and St Columba’s, Stranorlar. The conditions did not deter the players’ ability to show some open and skilful rugby. Top performers on the day were Conor Patton, St Columba’s; Nathan Noone, Carndonagh and Michael Mc Daid, Moville.
The IRFU would like to thank Letterkenny for the use of their pitches, especially during some heavy days of bad weather. In particular thanks to Marty Moylan for transferring equipment from the Town pitches out to Churchill. Thank you to the schools and mostly the teachers more enduring the heavy weather.

The day finished off with over 40 players being invited to take part in a County Trial for U18 and U16 boys to be held at Letterkenny RFC on Saturday 1st Nov 10.30am KO. All support welcome.

St Columba’s U16 were unable to attend on the day due to their involvement in the U16 Pollock cup finals the day before. Carndonagh CS and St Eunan’s were due to travel but a previous postponement made this difficult. Thank you to the school for taking up the opportunity at short notice.

DCRP holds Irelands first girls U18 school fixture
October 22nd 2008

On Tuesday 21st October 32 girls from 3 schools in Donegal took part in what is understood to be the first U18 girls contact rugby fixture held in the Country. The girls were from Loreto Letterkenny, Loreto Milford and St Columba’s, Stranorlar. The fixture was organised between the 3 schools and the IRFU Donegal Project staff. Approximately half of the players involved are currently with the Letterkenny Girls U18 team who are last season Ulster Club Champions at U18 level.

The rest of the players on the day were in their first game of contact rugby and progressed rapidly through the game once they gained confidence within their new found sport. ‘Players of the day’ from the 3 schools were Viktorja Vasilevska, Nicola Mc Ginley and Larissa Muldoon with new editions to the game Cassandra Agyemang , Laoise Mc Nulty and Laoise Friel showing good promise for the future.
The girls’ development in Donegal continues to go from strength to strength with established teams in Donegal Town and Letterkenny. Last season the Donegal Project organised a school contact blitz for U15 girls which was attended by over 80 players from 5 schools. It is expected that that will rise this year to 140 players from 9 schools.

The IRFU Ulster Branch would like to thank Letterkenny RFC for the use of their facilities and teachers Clodagh Mc Cool, Jo Cowan, Nicola Ryan and Cathrine Mc Nulty for their hard work and dedication in coaching the girls.


U16 Schools Rugby-
Carndonagh and St Eunan’s through to Finals
October 7th 2008

Last Thursday the first IRFU Ulster Branch competition was held in Donegal. The venue was the new Dave Gallagher Memorial Park, home ground of Letterkenny RFC. The U16 competition saw 10 teams from all over the County compete in the regional qualifier for the Ulster Branch Pollock Cup. The top two teams on the day were Carndonagh CS and St Eunan’s College who will represent the County in the Finals day scheduled for the 15th October in Belfast.

Other schools involved on the day were Magh Ene College, St Catherine’s, Finn Valley College, Loreto Milford, Cranna College, Moville College, St Columba’s College, Rosses CS and Deele College. As well as the U16 competition there was also an U18 blitz involving Carndonagh, St Columba’s, Deele, Finn Valley and Moville.

The Ulster Branch would like to thank Letterkenny RFC for the use of their new pitches which allowed the development officers to cater for up to 230 players on the day.

DCRP Rugby Camp – Carndonagh
The first summer rugby camp was held at Carndonagh community school last week. The camp was organised by the Donegal Community Rugby Project with the help of Inishowen RFC. The participants took part in daily coaching sessions based around fun games and skills.
The young boys and girls will only have to wait for a few more weeks to practice these skills with Inishowen RFC mini section who are due to start their training in mid September. The information needed for the rugby will be posted in local papers and the following websites at the start of september– donegalcommunityrugby.com and inishowenrugby.com.

Thank you to Carndonagh secondary school for their continued support with the development of rugby in the region and Inishowen RFC with the promotion of the camp.

Summer Rugby at its Best!
5 schools from all corners of Donegal took part in the first contact rugby blitz to be held for primary schools held at Letterkenny RFC. 3 School took part in the U10 age group and 2 for the U12 age group. The pilot blitz was one of the new programmes for the Donegal Community Rugby Project aimed at introducing contact rugby to a younger age group. The Blitz was a great success for all of the 94 children who took part. Due to the response and feedback from the schools the opportunity will be given to more primary schools next year. Thank you to Letterkenny RFC for the use of the top class new pitches at the Dave Gallagher Memorial Park.

VIEW PHOTO'S HERE

County Rugby - Wales Tour 2008
The County Rugby squads recently returned from a 5 day tour of South Wales. The U16, U18 boys and U18 girls played a series of games against strong teams in south and west Wales. On the Saturday the U16 boys and U18 girls played Neath Athletic in what turned out to be two very well contested games. The U16’s lost 29-19 while the girls lost 10-0 to a team unbeaten in 4 years. The U18 boys, who did not have a fixture, were lucky enough to have a training session at the Vale Hotel indoor arena. The same arena is used by the WRU to prepare their international sides for competition. Only 1 week earlier the Welsh team were at the same venue preparing for their Grand Slam decider with France. The indoor pitch brought the best out in the players in preparation for their match against Whitland RFC who are a feeder team to the Llanelli Scarlets.
After the games and training the squads travelled to the Millennium Stadium to watch the Ospreys take on Saracens in the EDF semi final. The Donegal players were treated to a fine display of rugby by the Ospreys side which included 13 players who were involved in the French game exactly 1 week earlier.#
The second fixtures to be played on the Monday afternoon were at Whitland RFC in West Wales. The girls were involved in a very hard fought game and reaped the rewards of some hard tackling to run out 7-5 winners. The U16 boys and U18 boys were unlucky to loose in some very difficult conditions against teams that included several Scarlets Academy players.
The standard of rugby from the Donegal teams is steadily improving. Only a year ago the teams were on the end of some large scores against the same and similar opposition. This year the teams showed that they can compete against the Welsh teams and it will not be long before all the squads will be returning from Wales with more victories. The tour was finished off with a formal dinner at the Wolfscastle hotel. The captains were asked to give a speech on the behalf of their teams and the coaches were asked to select a player of the tour for each squad. The U16 Boys player was Connor Gallagher (Donegal Town RFC), U18 Girls was Donna Mc Ginley (Letterkenny RFC) and the U18 Boys went to Tony Mc Bride (Letterkenny RFC).
The tour brings the end to a productive season for the County squads. The commitment and effort shown by the players and coaches has been excellent. A great deal of thank must also go to the parents who have been travelling to the Sunday morning trainings in Donegal Town and Letterkenny. The touring party would also wish to thank Donegal Town RFC and Letterkenny RFC for their support for the tour. Also Senator Joe Mc Hugh and Minister Pat the Cope Gallagher for their assistance with the tour preparation. Finally thanks to Frank, Neilly and Kevin from Mc Guiness Buses for their excellent help.
The final meeting for the season will be the Donegal Community Project Awards night to be held a Jacksons Hotel on Thursday 24th April.

U16 Boys – Nathan Noone, Connor Gallagher, Kealan Kelly, Adam Mc Connell, Ronan Haughey, Pete Rodgers, James Gallagher, Nigel Boyce, Jamie Boyle (capt), Paul Toland, Johnnie Kennedy, Daniel Gildea, Darragh Farragher, Patrick Moss, Happymore Mutyoro, Fintan Culhane, Donagh O Callaghan, Ara Devine, Connor Patton, Connor Collins.Coaches Declan Bushell, Gerard Doherty

U18 Girls – Megan Moore, Nicola Mc Ginley, Laura Feely, Tatjana Vasileuska, Vistorja Vasileuska, Sarah Valkenbourghs, Kelly Mc Girr (capt),Donna Mc Ginley, Sarah Martin, Nala Shologu, Elaine Melaugh, Larissa Mulldoon, Naladi Shologu, Sinead Doherty, Janet Kerr, Ciara Gallen, Laura Kenny, Amy Coll, Amy Mc Bride, Marie Mc Kelvey, Christine Mc Cann.Coaches Teresa Dunne, Clodagh Mc Cool  

U18 Boys – Francois Badenhorst (capt), Chris Blockley, Michael Keys, Connor Dunleavy, Ciaran Clarke, Sean Dunleavy, Ian Scott, Grant Wattleworth, Conall Sheridan, Brendan McGowan, Packie kennedy, Jaryd Bennet, John Anthony Mc Fadden, Bryan MacRory, Daire Nolan, Shane Roper, Tony Mc Bride, Okan Olseker.
Coaches Reg Dunne, Jonathan Llewhellin

ONLINE PHOTOS HERE.....

Loreto and Magh Ene Girls make rugby history!
This week two schools from Donegal became the first U14 Girls teams to play a contact 15 a-side game of rugby at school level. The game was contested between Loreto, Letterkenny and Magh Ene College, Bundoran.
Both schools were loaned rugby kits from Letterkenny and Donegal Town rugby clubs which helped keep them warm in some terrible conditions. However the weather did not dampen the girls’ spirits as both teams put in a huge effort in their first game of rugby. The perceptions of rugby being a ‘man’s game’ were quickly put a-side with some great tackling and ball carrying by both teams.
The game involved the full rules applied at underage level with scrums (uncontested), lineouts, conversions and kick-offs. The winners on the day were Magh Ene with a score line of 27-10.
The IRFU would like to thank the two rugby clubs for the use of their kit, Loreto School for hosting the game and teachers Clodagh Mc Cool and John Reilly for their commitment and support.
The fixture has come as a result of coaching and support given to the schools through the IRFU Donegal Community Rugby Project which has a strategic aim in relation to developing girls and women’s rugby.
The project aim is that this game will kick-start other schools to become involved in girls rugby and realise the benefits of being involved in the game. The main impact that the game this week will have is that a large percentage of the girls playing are not involved in other sporting activities. This highlights the gains to school by reversing the trend of young girls giving up sport once they get to secondary level education, something that the Irish Sports Council and Donegal Sports Partnership are keen to change.
Any schools who wish to get involved in the girls rugby can contact the IRFU Staff through the project website. info@donegalcommunityrugby.com

The Donegal U18 girls continue their winning run with a victory over the U18 Lisburn girls on Saturday the 23rd.
Donegal had a convincing win with a final score of 21-5. Donegal displayed their dominance early on over Lisburn with an excellent try from the hooker, Nicola Mc Ginley, followed by a conversion from Elaine Melaugh, in the first five minutes. Lisburn responded with some impressive mauling. However Donegal’s defensive line held out against Lisburns greatest efforts.
There were some impressive kicking skills from Lisburn’s second centre, with the majority of her kicks finding touch. This put the Donegal side under pressure at times but they coped admirably with it.
Donegal’s number 7, Donna Mc Ginley, showed excellent individual skills when she broke from defence at the ten meter line to run the length of the pitch to score a try which was also converted. The celebrations were some what muted as Donegal’s scrum half; Larissa Muldoon received a head injury just before half time.
The second half commenced again with Donegal in control with another excellent try from Donna Mc Ginley and again was converted by Elaine Melaugh, bringing the score to 21-0. Lisburn were rewarded with a late try as a result of fantastic play from the number 8 coming off the scrum. Lisburn failed with their conversion.

The Donegal U18 girls go from strength to strength and are now focusing on their tour in Wales.

Donegal U16’s Seal Away Victory

County Donegal 34-7 Lisburn

County Donegal under 16s team travelled to Lisburn for this test game against host team Lisburn rugby club. With little wind and no rain, conditions were ideal for a good game of rugby.

From the off Donegal began what they set out to do. Hard running from the forwards dynamic moves from the backs took this well prepared Donegal side into Lisburns territory. Unfortunately the ball was knocked on in Donegal's possession resulting in a scrum on Lisburn's five meter line. Cracking under the pressure lisburn lost the ball and Captain Jamie Boyle picked up to restart play, he was brought down just short but great play and support from the forward pack saw Conor Gallagher drive over for the first try of the game. Three more tries followed, two of which were from Donegal's winger Connor Collins. Captain Boyle scored the next try which came from a penalty after a high tackle. Lisburn in outrage were quick to react and scored their only try off the match. The half ended Donegal 20 - 7 Lisburn.

Donegal returned to the pitch ready for more action , brilliant try saving tackles from flankers Gallagher and Gildea and brilliant backs moves from Culhane at out half setting the tempo of the game. Both no: 8, Boyle and second row, Rodgers made several breaks through the middle of the pitch
to maintain the possession that they worked so hard for in the first half. The next try came when the ball was dropped in the goal area and a quick pounce from Jamie Boyle saw the first try of the second half which ws converted by Culhane. The second try came in quick succession when Rodgers touched down from a line out.

The professional attitude from both sides proved how well trained in both skills and discipline the side were. The Donegal boys will leave this game happy knowing what they are capable of doing and will look to build on this performance before their tour of south Wales. Final Score Donegal 34 - 7 Lisburn a well deserved victory.

The Donegal County U18 development squad travelled down to Lisburn for their game against Lisburn RFC U18 squad on Saturday .The game was played in blustery but good conditions and in the first half Donegal County chose to play with the wind in their backs. With Lisburn coming off a narrow loss in the Ulster League Winners Final against Ballynahinch this was always going to be a tough match against a well drilled opposition.

Most of the first half was very tightly contested with strong defence from Donegal keeping them in the game.Lisburn’s first try came after an extended period of pressure on the Donegal defence.Lisburn took advantage of the overlap and ran in an unconverted try. The try was followed by a penalty kick from the Lisburn out-half which made the score 8-0 in favour of Lisburn a few minutes to half time. Lisburn added to the score line with a great try aided by excellent interplay between their backs and forwards. This made the score 15-0 to Lisburn at half-time.

In the second half Donegal were aided by the addition of some fresh legs on the pitch. Lisburn continued to apply pressure on the Donegal defence . Donegal defended valiantly for a long time. Lisburns third and final try came from a desperate clearance from Donegal right on their line. From this kick Lisburn counter attacked but when the counter was stopped they quickly recycled the ball and spread it down the line to their speedy winger who ran it in for the try. The try was converted.

The final score was 22-0 in favour of Lisburn; But Donegal can be very pleased with some aspects of their play, showing some great enterprise on attack and robustness on defence. For the forwards best on the day were Ian Scott and Shaun Dunleavy, forming the basis of a superb backrow display. For the backs best on the day were the two wingers Tony Mc Bride and Daire Nolan. The Donegal County U18 development squad for this game was:
1. Francois Badenhorst (capt.) 2. Chris Blockley (Michael Keys) 3. Grant Wattleworth 4.Ciaran Clarke 5. Connor Dunleavy 6.Ian Scott 7.Kealan Kelly 8.Shaun Dunleavy 9.Conal Sheridan (Tim O’Cape) 10 Rory Boyle 11.Daire Nolan 12.Okan Ozsleker 13.John Anthony McFadden 14.Tony Mc Bride 15.Brian Mac Rory (Shane Roper)
Subs: Shane Roper, Michael Keys, Tim O’Cape,

Rugby Academy Visit UU
The recently launched Donegal Rugby Academy travelled to the University of Ulster in Jordanstown last week as part of their rugby development programme. The aim of the visit was to have all 19 Academy members undergo a CRY test and also take part in a skills session delivered by the Ulster Rugby Academy staff.
The CRY test is a simple test that is taken to highlight any potential cardiac problems in young athletes. The Academy players will start individual programmes in the next few months that will increase the fitness demands on their bodies so it important that each player is physically able for the progression.
The other part of the day was a ball skills and stretching session delivered by Ulster Rugby Academy strength and condition coach Steve Richards. The experienced coach also talked to the young players about the effort and skill development needed to reach the elite level of the game. Due to this level of support offered it is only a matter of time before a Donegal based player will make it onto the elite Academy.

Colaiste Cholmcille -
IRFU Leprechaun Rugby Course
11th January 2008

22 Students from the Ballyshannon secondary school recently took part in the first IRFU Leprechaun Rugby course to be held in the County. The course is based on the non-contact touch rugby and is the first step towards the IRFU coach development pathway.
The pupils from the Transition Year had to complete practical and theory modules on the basics of the game in order to pass the course
View the teams at the On-line Gallery .

Donegal Community Rugby Project
Secondary Schools Boys Rugby Blitz
5th December 2007

Wednesday saw a festival of rugby played at the Aura Leisure Centre in Letterkenny. 9 schools from all over the county took part in a blitz tournament for boys aged between 15 and 18 organised by the Donegal rugby development project. Nearly 200 boys took part all together. The day was a great success with some great rugby being played by all despite the bad weather.
Abbey Vocational School and Crana College were very organised and defended well, they have obviously benefited from their coaches, James Gilmartin and Shane McArt. Finn Valley Vocational School showed great determination and played every game to the last minute. Danny McDermott should be proud. Deele College and Loreto Milford showed good skills in attack with some lovely evasive running and individual play. Their coaches Fiona McCool and John Lynch must prefer the open attacking game. Both St. Columba’s (Stranolar and Glenties) had very big squads which is great credit to their teachers in their schools, Aidan O’Shea and Martin Regan. Moville Community School and Rosses Community School both played very well as a team using all their players as much as possible. A great job has been done by their coaches Morris Harkin and Martin Regan.
The level of dedication and fair and sporting play by all involved was a great pleasure to watch and enjoy.
The staff of the Donegal Rugby Development Project would like to thank Aura leisure centre, its’ staff and especially all the teachers/coaches who helped to make this very successful day possible.

View the teams at the On-line Gallery

Girls Under 16 and Under 18 Blitz
4th December 2007

A successful Rugby Blitz was held on Tuesday morning 4th Dec. in the Aura Leisure Centre, Letterkenny for Girls Under 16 and Under 18. With 4 Secondary schools taking part, this shows that the development of girls rugb in Donegal is going from strength to strength.

The 4 schools taking part thanks to their teachers were Abbey Vocational School, Donegal Town (James Gilmartin), Loretto Convent (Clodagh Mc Cool), Milford( ), And St. Columbas, Ballybofey ( ). A lot of free flowing rugby was exhibited which shows the great work being done by the teachers aided by the Donegal Community Rugby Project.

The Under 16 section got underway with St. Columbas up against Abbey Vocational School. Some brilliant play by St. Columbas out wide made Abbey Vocational School girls defend gallantly. Next up in the group was St. Columbas against Lorettto/Milford. This was a tightly contested match with both teams showing great passing and running skills. The final game in this group was Loretto/Milford against Abbey Voc. With the Abbey Voc aided by the stiff wind, they found a lot of running space but they were well met by Loretto & Milfords strong defence.

In the Under 18 group, Loretto were very well represented by having two teams.
The first game was between Loretto and the girls from Milford and the Abbey Vocational School combined. Both teams showed great rugby skills in attack and defence. The next game pitted St. Columbas against Loretto, which produced excellent passing and trys for both teams. The final game was Abbey Vocational School/Milford against St. Columbas. This was an excellent game to watch with plenty of attacking rugby that any World Class Rugby team would be proud of.

It was a great day had by all involved and a great thanks must go towards Aura Leisure Centre, Letterkenny and its friendly and helpful staff. Thanks must also go to the Secondary schools involved and to the great work being done by the teachers.

With all the games witnessed today, I have no doubt that there will be Girls from Donegal on future Ulster and Irish teams.

Take a look at the photo's online gallery here..

Secondary School Blitze
28 November 2007

The following Schools blitzes will be taking place next week if anyone would like to come and support. All welcome

Tuesday 4th Dec - Girls U16/U18's Donegal Town RFC 11.30am
Wednesday 5th - Boys U16/U18 Letterkenny RFC (The Glebe)

Teachers TAG Rugby Social Event

Last Friday over 25 teachers took part in a new TAG rugby initiative run by the IRFU Donegal Community Rugby Project. The event was a great success with many new teachers playing the non contact sport for the first time. Teachers from Loreto, Letterkenny, St Columba’s, St Eunan’s, Deele College and Carndonagh all took part. After their exploits on the pitch the Teachers were rewarded with some well earned food and refreshments at club Voodoo, before returning home to prepare next weeks lessons!!!

If there are any other teachers/school that wish to get involved then you can contact staff via the DCRP Website www.donegalcommunityrugby.com
View larger image here (on-line)


PROJECT LAUNCH TAG RUGBY BLITZ

As part of the celebrations in launching the Donegal Community Rugby Project on Thursday 18 October 2007 a tag rugby Blitz was held at the Finn Valley Centre, Stranorlar.

Fifteen schools from all over County Donegal took part in the Blitz with the format based upon the Rugby World Cup with each school being allocated a country. St Patrick’s School NS of Carndonagh (New Zealand) and Scoil Mhuire of Glenties (Fiji) won the best-dressed awards, with Scoil Colmcille from Letterkenny and St Peter’s of Mountcharles winning the skills awards. Fair play prizes were awarded to St Francis of Barnes and Gaelscoil Adhamhnain of Letterkenny. The prizes were presented by Ulster Squad and Ireland International player Isaac Boss together with his Ulster Squad team mate and Italian International Carlo Del Fava

The schools taking part in the event were:-

Glebe NS, Donegal Town (England); Scoil Mhuire, Glenties (Fiji); St Conal’s NS, (Argentina); St Francis’ (Canada); Niall Mor (Samoa); Killybegs Commons (USA); St Peter’s (Ireland); Ballyraine (South Arica); St Mura’s (Portugal); Gaelscoil Adhamhnain, Letterkenny (Wales); St Patrick’s NS, Carndonagh (New Zealand); Craigtown (Japan); Scoil Mhuire (Scotland); St Patrick’s (France) and two teams from Socil Colmcille (Australia and Italy);