Ulster Rugby vs Toulon

‘TRY RUGBY’ PROGRAMME IN CREGGAN ESTATE A HUGE SUCCESS

This season Ulster Rugby, in partnership with Derry City Council Active Communities and City of Derry Rugby Club, has embarked on a ground breaking rugby development programme in the Creggan Estate and surrounding areas.

TRY RUGBY

Community Rugby Coaches, David Funston and Nathan Deeney, along with Active Communities coach Kevin Gallagher, have been delivering tag rugby sessions in local primary schools over the past few weeks. The overall focus has been to provide boys and girls from all backgrounds with the opportunity to get involved in rugby activity in a safe, controlled and familiar environment. Their hard work culminated in a ‘Rugby Fun day’ on Monday at Bishops Field Sports Centre, where approximately 360 boys and girls took part in a mass participation event. The pupils came from eight primary schools from within the city and covered a wide range of rugby related games and skills. This event was designed to filter more players into the ongoing satellite rugby club that has been established in Creggan within

the last month. Ulster Rugby development staff and City of Derry mini rugby coaches have been delivering mini rugby sessions at the Bishops Field venue to provide local boys and girls with access to regular rugby coaching. It is hoped that these boys and girls will seek to make rugby their main sport and participate on a regular basis. Ulster star Michael Allen attended last week’s session to talk to the children about his experiences in the sport and pass on some tips to help develop their skills. This project has been made possible due to the generous support of the NI Executive and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure through the ‘Promoting Equality, Tackling Poverty and Social Exclusion through Sport’ programme.

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