LATEST NEWS

25-08-11 - New Season Registration

Registration for the 2011/12 season takes place on Sunday 4th September 2011 at 11:00 for all age groups in the training grounds in Ballycorus Road, Kilternan.

20-05-10 - End of Season Report

For the 09/10 Season we had 9 teams – from Under 6/7’s up to Under 15/16’s totalling 200 players.  We have a total of 22 Coaches.
Our season started well but was interrupted by bad weather – rain first and then snow and ice, but such is the dedication of everyone, training got back on track fairly soon.

From October the Under 13 and 14 both entered a team in the Schools/Leinster League. This was a hard road as there were 11 straight weeks of games with other clubs in the Metro region with no time for training. When the bad weather interrupted these games, the league got dragged on longer. Our Under 13’s were the team that was hardest hit this season due to the change in the Age Eligibity and struggled with numbers all season. Injuries did not help either.  They also had to play 15 a-side as opposed to 13 a-side.  Great praise to their Coaches – Robbie May and Ben Hurley for their dedication to their team this season.

The Under 14’s – with their Coaches – Dave Chandler, Brian Hughes and Brendan Fuller - came 3rd in their League.  They finished their season with a Tour to Biarritz. (See Dave Chandlers’s report).  The 13’s and 14’s were to play Unione Capitaliona Roma but unfortunately due to the Volcanic activity, their tour was cancelled. We may yet meet them!

Our Under 15/16’s were hit hard also with numbers of players due to Junior Cup committements this season. Under the leadership of David Priestman and Pat McDonald, they trained most Sundays sometimes with only 6 players. Their first match of the season came late in the season in April with a game against visitors from Colwyn Bay and another in early May against Painswick RFC. They finished their season with a very successful  tour to Cork to play Crosshaven RFC and Kinsale RFC.

Our teams in Under 6’s up to Under 12’s played various clubs in the Dublin Metro area and took part in various Blitz’s – Under 6/7’s, 8’s and 9’s played in the Old Belvedere Blitz. Our Under 11’s in the Kildare Blitz.  Our Under 10’s in the Leinster run blitz for this age category which took place in Ballycorus.  Our Under 12’s took part in the Seapoint, Athy and DLSP Blitzs. They were to play in the Terenure Blitz but this was cancelled.

The Under 10’s had a very successful tour to Wales playing Colwyn Bay (Clwb Rygbi Bae Colwyn) and Sefton RUFC. The Under 11’s went to Perpignan and the Under 12’s went to Scotland playing Stirling County and Preston RFC.

All in all a busy season which we ended on Sunday 9th May in Ballycorus with a BBQ, fun and games and various presentations to players and Committee members.  

My thanks goes to the following without whom the season would not have run as smoothly as it did:

Ivan White – Chairman
Ian Jones – Treasurer
Wendy Gillen – Fixtures
Declan Melvin – Secretary and Metro Representative.
Jenny Bailey – Registrations/Social Secretary/Incoming Tours.
Mark Parfrey – Text and Webmaster.
Margaret and John Anderson – Hospitality in Ballycorus.
Harry – Caretaker, Ballycorus.
Coaches – Dave Priestman, Pat McDonald, Dave Chandler, Brian Hughes, Brendan Fuller, Robbie May, Ben Hurley, Dermot Caffrey, John Flaherty, Dermot Strong, Bernard Raftery, Dave Bursey, Paul Francis, Declan Keane, Dwayne Harvey, Craig Brownell, Nigel Dunne, Ian Finnegan, Tom Shaw, Geoff Bailey, Jason Campbell and Andrew Baird.  

There will be a few changes to the Committee for the upcoming season 2010/11.

Ivan White, Ian Jones and Wendy Gillen are standing down – our thanks to them for their time on the Committee.  

We welcome Dave Copeland as our new Treasurer this season.  
 

- Patricia Parfrey, Underage Rugby Coordinator

01-05-2010 - Under-14 Trip to Biarritz

As I gather my thoughts to document the tour the under 14 party enjoyed in Biarritz last weekend the first thought is how close we came to not going. After months of work the Icelandic volcano saw Ryanair cancel our flights (for 6am Thurs) on Tuesday afternoon. By Tuesday evening we had contacted everybody to say we were no longer travelling. By lunchtime Wednesday we had written formalising the cancellations and requesting a new date.  It was back to work......  2  hours later Jenny had me removed from a meeting to relay the news that we were off again. We hit the phone lines to check hotel, travelling arrangements and fixtures. By 4pm all was on and everyone was notified. By 5 AM Thursday morning everybody had made it for what was almost the first flight out of Dublin. We landed in Santander by 9 AM and by lunchtime we were enjoying lunch at the Radisson, Biarritz.

From lunch the boys headed for the rooftop pool with stunning views of Biarritz. Despite their best efforts to injure each other, everyone survived the pool. At 4.30 we headed off for US Cambo, a small village about a half hour from Biarritz. This was the first of our rugby encounters. After a momentary panic attack while searching their facility to find no sign of opposition, I was pleased to see players appearing. Within 20 minutes our travelling party headed for the grandstand in what was a lovely forest setting. This was our first encounter with southern French rugby and a sign of what was to be a tough weekend on the rugby front. After the long day travelling our guys struggled to settle down while a well drilled Cambo unit ran in four tries. With a Herculean effort the guys turned what looked dead and buried around to score three unopposed scores but narrowly missed out on levelling the match. Matthew, you may never play a better 20 minutes. Andrew the chip kicks were clever and to everyone well done on simply working so hard and on keeping your discipline despite some unusual reffing. They put on some great hospitality for us afterwards and they have already recorded an interest in coming back to play in Dublin next year. After, we returned to the Radisson for dinner and a few drinks before retiring.

On Friday morning we departed at 9 AM for Nigel Osborne's "French and rugby" camp at Soustons. Our first activity was their high wire course through their lakeside forest. To the kids the harnesses and helmets were child's play and they moved easily through the course 40 to 50 feet above ground. By contrast the adult contingency stumbled around completing only a small fraction of the course. However it was here that a new touring legend was born. Gary Jermyn, complete with Adidas Retro gear stood out immediately. Not one to hurry, Gary was quickly left behind by those travelling in front of him. Gary's response to the indignity of a 30 person audience was a running commentary that few will forget and the expression “A Sailors Life” will never mean the same to any of us again. At lunch we enjoyed the most wonderful singing contest with a similar sized group of French parents and children. Our crew bellowed out Ireland's Call, Molly Malone and The Fields of Athenry while they responded with a miscellany of French rugby song and their national anthem before both groups in turn clapped each from the dining room back into the field of play.
The afternoon's activities were split, with half the party heading for surfing and the other half enjoying some kayaking. With the kayakers returning before the surfing dudes had finished their tricks, there were some quiet refreshments before the day's activities were brought to a close and the party returned to the Radisson. Here, Alain Mourgouirt who runs junior rugby with Biarritz and his wife joined us for a quick drink before the party headed off to Le Crabe Tambour, scene of the evenings meal and activities. A tremendous evening was had with full-blooded singing from all quarters. Ena’s fist waving and the throbbing veins and blood curdling vocals of The Fuzz alongside Ken’s quick and quiet version of "winky?"  and Syeds wonderful rendition of the Pakastan national anthem were all tremendous. However all were usurped into joint second place by Gary’s brief speech. His few words will ensure no French restaurant ever puts the Union Jack on the top of a menu being offered to an Irish party. The restaurant took this issue and our singing in good heart with Gary departing in a Biarritz flag.

From a rugby point of view Saturday was our big day. We met at the Hippodrome Des Fleurs at 9:30 AM with parties from Biarritz, Hendaye and Racing all invited for a morning’s mini tournament. Having taken advice on the strength of the opposition I was disappointed to find that I had dropped the guys in hot water. The French system operates in two-year gaps so we knew our under 14s would be playing against under 15s. However, without the services of some of our strongest players through injury we took the game to Hendaye in our first encounter. It ended a close battle until the last few minutes with our crew picking up a few further knocks. Our second match against Racing was a different affair. Subsequently we learned that they regard themselves as the number two team in France and we struggled to compete. They removed their 15 year olds for the 2nd half but the damage was done. The final fixture was against Biarritz. Congratulations Jack for some quick thinking which means you can now report to have scored against Biarritz. While the guys lost they could not have made the club prouder. Syed, your tackle count was remarkable but frankly everyone tackled all day, a point readily acknowledged by the French after the matches.

After lunch and some down time in the sunshine, we departed for Stade Aguilera as Biarritz had afforded us 40 tickets for their afternoon fixture with Clermont Auvergne. This is the only Top 14 match I have attended and the atmosphere was sizzling. With the band playing, the crowd roaring and the referee under pressure for any decision against the home side, the match was played at top-flight on a sunny afternoon. It was great to see how they do it. Despite their best efforts for the last five minutes Biarritz capitulated seeing Clermont into the semi final phase of this year's Top 14.  After the match we headed for the tented area where the band continued to play and a crowd hung around. An hour or so later we drifted off toward Hotel Au Bon Coin, also through Nigel Osborne, for dinner. Here, surrounded by a miscellany of famous players jerseys which lined the walls, a pleasant night was enjoyed by all with more singing and chat while some (I am of course pleading the 5th) took the "all the wine you can drink" offer in the menu as something of a challenge. On return to the hotel, the boys delivered a bumper weekend to the local mid town vending shop who may never have experienced trade at this level before and may never again.

Come Sunday morning and some weary faces, almost everyone made it for the scheduled “on the beach tag rugby” between fathers and sons at 10 AM. Despite the best effort of referee P. Cullen and some wet feet as the tide came in, the match was considered a tie (Yes boys, a tie). We briefly returned to the hotel, packed and the coach was round to take the short trip back to Biarritz airport. By 2 PM we were on our way. Our thanks to Michael Fuller who single-handedly sung the French national anthem as the plane came in to land at Dublin airport. He was appropriately applauded by the whole plane and it was a fitting note to close off on.

My thanks go to everyone because everyone contributed to what was a truly memorable trip. In particular thank you to Hugh and Ross Brennan for your help with our rugby. To Jenny, these pages are not sufficient to thank you for what has been the labour of a year setting up this superb trip for everyone. On my own behalf and on behalf of everyone - thank you.

- Dave Chandler, Under-14 Coach.

31-01-10 - Under 6/7 participated in the DLSP Rugby Blitz. Their coach, Jason Campbell, is proud to report that the Team did very well with one team unbeaten (6 out of 6 games) and the other team winning 4 and drawing 1 out of 6. A great result - well done lads!

15-01-10 - All home games and training in Ballycorus cancelled this Sunday 17th due to the condition of the pitches.

Away Games Sun 17/1/10:

05-01-10 - No Rugby this coming weekend due to frozen pitches. Training will re-commence (weather permitting!) on Sunday 17th.

21-12-09 - Christmas Raffle results

06-09-09 - Registration for the new season is in Donnybrook on Sunday 6th September at 11:30. We look forward to welcoming back the players from 08/09 and welcoming new members. Please note that OWRFC will be implementing the new IRFU Policy regarding Date of Eligibilty for this season, click here for details.

08-05-09 - Our U12s took part in an exhibition match V Lansdowne in the RDS at 1/2 time during the Leinster V Scarlets Magners League match.

29-04-09 - End of Season fun for all at Ballycorus. The bad weather on the night did not stop everyone joining in the festivities which included a bouncy castle, and "human" foosball ! Dave Bursey, recently crowned Leinster Volunteer of the Month for April, again demonstrated his skill on the barbeque and Coach Craig Brownell hosted the awards ceremony. Coaches at each age-group nominated players to receive End-Of-Season awards and incoming Club President, Gordon McCoy, was on hand to make the presentations.The hardworking members of the committee were also remembered for their efforts throughout the year. (See photo section)

26-04-09 - Our U6/7s and our U13-15s took a bus north to visit Ards RFC. Our younger members were involved in a tournament and Ards RFC are to be congratulated on their organisation of this event which also included some fun "non-rugby" activities. The older lads played two very tough matches and came away honours even. (See photo section)

05-04-09 - Our U10s secure Silverware for the Club on a very busy weekend for the squad. - Click here for details.

30-03-09 - Our U13/14/15 have just returned from their tour to Spain. (See photo section)

01-03-09 - After the bad winter Ballycorus was blessed with sunshine which allowed us to get squad photos for those teams that were present.(See photo section) Our U9s and U12s were away and our U11s hosted DLSP in two very tough matches. (See photo section)

22-02-09 - Among the fixtures this week-end our U13/14/15s hosted Seapoint in a very hard-fought battle in Ballycorus.

15-02-09 - Teams were glad to be training again after all the bad weather cancellations over the last few weeks.

24-01-09 - Our U13/14/15s travelled north to take on a team from Rainey Old Boys.

17-01-09 - Our U9s and U10s hosted teams from Ards RFC in Donnybrook. Everyone enjoyed the rugby as well as the post match festivities.(See photo section)

21-12-08 - Santa visited Donnybrook today and gave presents to all those present, even some of the bigger kids ! (See Photo Section)

14-12-08 - In the Leinster Schools/Youth league semi-final our U14s went down fighting to a very well organised Malahide side. Our U12s also took on a visiting side from Terenure. (See photo section)

09-12-08 - The Christmas Party for the older members of Underage Rugby was held this evening. After an excellent meal in Donnybrook the boys were brought to the "Christmas On Ice" spectacular in the RDS for some ice skating. (See photo section) A great time ws had by all and even some of the mums and dads made it onto the ice !

07-12-08 - Most underage fixtures cancelled due to the big freeze.

06-16-08 - Our U9s played Naas U9s in Donnybrook ahead of the matching Senior team fixture. They also provided a guard of honour for the Senior team running onto the pitch. (See photo section)

27-11-08 - Forthcoming Event. The Children's Christmas Party will be held in Donnybrook on Sunday December 21st. Entertainment will include a Magic Show, Lunch, Disco and of course a visit from Santa. Parents will be able to relax at the Champagne Breakfast in the upstairs bar. Tickets will be available next week.

23-11-08 - Leinster Stars visit Donnybrook. Two Leinster stars, scrum-half Chris Whittaker and prop Stan Wright, visited Donnybrook to meet the kids and to sign autographs. On a very wintery morning the two stars spent time with all age groups present, posed for plenty of photos and signed every piece of kit that was put in front of them. (See photo section) Today’s matches involved teams from Seapoint and Terenure coming to Donnybrook. Our U12s were in action at Ballycorus and away to Malahide.

16-11-08 - U12 Blitz. The U12s competed in the Terenure College RFC U12 Blitz on Sunday, 16 November, 2008. 30 teams took part, and this included all three OWRFC U12 teams, Yellow, Green and Blue. Valiant performances were put in all round, with match wins recorded by all three teams in the pool stages. A highlight of Old Wesley's participation on this occasion was the success recorded by the Blue team in making the final of the Hugh Milroy Shield despite encountering stiff competition.  The event itself was a great success, with full credit to Terenure College RFC for the organisational effort behind the success. U10s and U11s also travelled today. The10s were away to DLSP and the 11s were away to Wanderers. The remaining underage players were training at Ballycorus and Donnybrook.

07-11-08 - The annual Parents Social Evening & Auction Night took place in Donnybrook this evening. The event, which was a huge success, was sold out, with all age groups being represented. The evening included an excellent dinner and the Auction and this was followed by a disco and dancing. A fantastic amount of money was raised which will greatly benefit Underage Rugby and the touring teams. Gordon McCoy, Old Wesley Vice President, joined us for the evening. Auction items included a signed Leinster Jersey, a Flat Screen TV or a 24inch vase filled with lager!! (See photo section)

13-04-08 – A Double Edged Sword. Two of the most closely contested rugby matches ever played took place in Ballycorus today. Our U10’s took part in the Metro Conference Semi-Final Vs DLSP and the U12’s played the Metro Plate Semi-Final Vs Barnhall in what turned out to be two thrilling encounters. The U12’s conceded scores early, but battled their way back to finish level with Barnhall at the final whistle. The U10’s also put in a great performance and they too finished level in their match. So, the "First Try Scored" rule had to be invoked in both matches to decide the winner, which means that the U12’s had to bow out of their competition and the U10’s advance to the Final. (See Photo Section)

 06-04-08 – Our U11s have just returned from their tour to Scotland. Click here for a summary of their adventures.  (See tour photos in Photo Section)

 06-04-08 – Old Wesley U10s today secured a place in the Metro Conference Semi-Final in a nail biting match against Lansdowne. This exciting, keenly fought match was level going into the last few minutes. However, in the face of a valiant Lansdowne defence, Old Wesley re-doubled their efforts and were rewarded with the winning try in the final 30 seconds. (See match photos in Photo Section)

16-12-07– The Children’s Christmas party took place. Festivities for the kids included a Magician, a Disco, Food for all as well as a visit from Santa himself. Festivities for the parents included a Champagne Breakfast with "Elvis" greeting everyone at the door. A signed Leinster Jersey and a Food Hamper were raffled in aid of Underage Rugby touring teams. (See Photo section)

30-11-07– A fundraising night in support of Underage Rugby touring teams was held upstairs in the clubhouse. The evening included dinner and dancing and there was an array of spot prizes which included some memorable Polish Vodka !

19-10-07– A table quiz in aid of Underage touring teams was held downstairs in the clubhouse. The event was MC’d by TV3’s Denis Kirwan and apart from a few microphone problems the night was a great success. Activities on the night included a "Heads & Tails" competition as well as a "Spot the Ball" competition. (See photo section)

30-09-07– The club’s new Junior grounds at Ballycorus passed its Underage Rugby fitness test today. Everyone from U6’s through to U13’s put the excellent new facility through its paces on a damp Sunday morning. Everyone was delighted with the new Old Wesley ground and even the car-parking facilities were complimented. (See Photo section)