25 Sep 2016
The weekend saw the commencement of official leagues.
First up on Saturday was the U14 boys Midland League fixture versus Mullingar. This was a thrilling game of rugby that went down to the wire. With the teams tied at 17 points each and with time almost up, Birr conjured up a magnificent try from virtually their own 22, much to the delight of the large number of home supporters in attendence. This was a great start to their league campaign so well done to the team and coaching staff on the day.
Yesterday the First XV made the long journey to Wexford for their opening game in the Leinster League Division 2B Section. This was a hard fought physical game which was only decided in the last couple of minutes of normal time. Unfortunately the concession of a converted try with time almost up, when leading by 17 points to 15, gave Wexford a very narrow win. On a positive note they managed to score 3 tries and secure a losing bonus point. This point earned may yet prove crucial as this is going to be a very competitive league section. The next league opponents for Birr are Arklow, next Sunday at home in Birr at 3 pm.
Our U18 girls played Tullamore (2016 Leinster Premier League Champions) in a friendly fixture at home on Saturday morning in very wet conditions. Despite the absence of key players on the day from the home side, the girls put up a magnificent performance of commitment and no little skill against the champions. Considering that both our U18 and U15 girls only commenced playing rugby at the latter end of last season, their improvement to date is very encouraging and augurs well for the season ahead.
The U13 boys played their first youth fixture yesterday morning at home to the Oughterard Eagles from Galway. This was a very entertaining game of rugby with both teams committed to running the ball on every occasion. In a close game the Birr boys managed a win, outscoring the Eagles by 3 tries to 2. This game will set them up nicely for their Midland League fixture versus Roscrea at home in Birr next Saturday.
Finally, our Mini section which caters for boys and girls, from U7 to U12, started back yesterday morning and will continue every Sunday morning at 10.30am. The ethos of mini rugby is to foster and develop young players (boys and girls) of all ability in the game of rugby in a safe, non competitive and enjoyable environment. All new players are most welcome!
