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Lansdowne
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We continue to have excellent relationships with our Sponsors most of whom have had fairly longstanding involvement with the Club . Indeed Zurich Insurances , our principal sponsor , has enjoyed a 26 year relationship with us for which we and indeed Rugby in general should be grateful .
RC : How would you say the season went for the Club ?
SC : All in all it has been a very good season for the Club . At First XV level we finished top of the Ulster Bank All Ireland League going into the playoffs to be narrowly beaten by the eventual winners Cork Constitution in the semi-final . It was a great disappointment to our Club Captain , Ian Prendiville , and his team mates having led virtually all season long to come up a little short on the day .
The Firsts went on nonetheless to win the Leinster Senior Cup for the 26th time since its inauguration in 1882 whilst our J1 ’ s under the Captaincy of Ed Torrie won the Metropolitan Cup ( The Metro ) for the 14th time . At Under 20 ’ s the team under Captain Brian Larkin put in an excellent performance winning all but two of the matches they played all season long in the course of which they won the Leinster League with a match in hand .
The contribution they made to our First XV and indeed to the Provincial and National Under 20 ’ s was also highly creditable . Players like Tadgh McElroy , Oisin Dowling , Paul Boyle , Barry Fitzpatrick , Greg McGrath , Tim Murphy , Martin Mulhall , Thomas O ’ Callaghan and Lee Molloy put in hard graft at
Club , Provincial and National levels throughout the year .
At J2 and J3 the teams are in transition mode but nonetheless picked up the Copeland Cup in a Blitz in the early
part of the season . We would hope that their ranks will be boosted by out of age 20 ’ s and graduation from the Youth and Minis next year .
On the Youth and Minis front the Club had a great year with trophies won at Under 13 , 15 and 16 levels . Some real potential talent for the senior ranks of the Club was in evidence in these squads . Full credit to parents , coaches and senior rank players who invest heavily in the coaching and management of the Y & M section .
Off the field we were delighted to celebrate the return to Club ranks of Michael Kearney following a very successful five year tenure as Ireland Rugby Team Manager .
The Club looks forward with confidence to Season 2017 / 18 in an environment where , with a small degree of luck that is always necessary , our excellent structures should again deliver a successful and enjoyable season both on and off the pitch .
RC : How important is youth rugby to the club ?
SC : The Clubs Youth and Mini section features over 400 boys and girls across 11 age categories and in addition to the participation of some 80 adult / parental trainers is also actively contributed to by the Senior Players on the coaching front .
KW : Youth rugby is very important . We have a vibrant minis and youths program . The minis section has been in place for over 20 years , with the older youths section set up about 10 years ago .
For the 2016 / 17 season we had 300 U6s to U12s playing every week . The skills developed at this age are very important when moving into the youth age grade at U13 , with many playing 15 aside for the 1st time .
As the players progress to the youths section , the coaching changes from being parent led with the 1st team players getting involved in coaching the individual groups . This helps create a strong link between the youths and senior section of the club .
Throughout the youths age grades the focus is on further developing the
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