Roots & All will be back for the new season, this time with 4 clubs, one from each province. Between now and September we will be gradually introducing them to you here on HoR2 and first up to tell us a bit about their history are Connacht's representatives.
It may be the off season but like most clubs that does not mean we can take things easy, in fact we are probably busier now than at some points throughout the season. Having recently acquired 5 acres of land we are in the process of putting together a fund raising plan to get the land playable so Claremorris Colts will have a home to call their own.
Claremorris
Colts RFC was formed in 2009. With no pitch of our own we use a local
school GAA pitch for our mini rugby training sessions on Saturday
mornings and a neighbouring club to hold all our Youth ‘Home’
rugby games. After an initial membership of 80 players the season
gone bye saw our membership grow to over 200 registered players of
boys and girls from U7 to U16. With increasing numbers brought
increasing challenges however it also turned out to be our most
successful season to date.
We
started September 2011 with a fantastic boost. Elvery’s Sport ran a
nationwide campaign to find a club who were Ireland’s greatest
supporters and it turns out they liked our entry so much we won the
prize of a trip to Aviva stadium to watch the Ireland team train and
meet them afterwards before they went to the rugby world cup in New
Zealand.
So
the day arrived when 34 excited players and 6 even more excited
coached boarded the bus and hit for the Aviva stadium. A cheer of
delight rose up from the players as the bus pulled up in front of the
stadium and there was a scramble for the door as each and every club
member tried to be the first to alight. But there was no rush, we had
arrived at our destination in plenty of time and got to check out the
Aviva Stadium before training began.
It
turned out to a truly magical day we got to see the Irish boys go
through a full blown contact session with Declan Kidney always in the
back ground observing his charges. Once training was over our lads
started to get very giddy as they knew meeting the players was only
minutes. Players such as Tommy Bowe, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip, Sean
O’Brien and many more mingled among our red jersey and were happy
to chat and pose for photos with us all. It was without doubt a
fantastic day for all and it was an unbelievable start to our season.
Next
up for us was date with well know rugby pundit and all round nice guy
George Hook. George agreed to conduct a coaching session with our
mini rugby players on the day before the World cup final. This was a
fantastic boost for us as our lads had seen him on TV for the last
month analysing all that was good and bad about the 2011 world cup.
To get him down to us the day before the final was unbelievable for
us. It also meant George had an early start the following morning as
he had to leave Claremorris at 4am to ensure he back in Donnybrook
and ready to go for RTE by 8.30am.
The
coaching session was thoroughly enjoyable with George having a word
for all the age groups. Whether it was the U7’s or the U12 it
didn’t matter as he engaged with all players and he left a lasting
impression with all players, parents and coaches. Without doubt he
will be welcomed back any time by the people of Claremorris.
Next up
is the Heineken Cup, our first trophy and a club award.
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