Two Lansdowne U13 Teams competed at the Portugal Rugby Youth Festival on April 13th & 14th 2019. https://www.portugalrugbyfestival.com/. It was a truly memorable weekend of highly competitive rugby, surfing, fun, banter & craic for boys and parents alike. A big thank you must go to all who supported our trip. Our coaches Paul Nagle, Alan Reddan, Dermot Brosnan, Enda Collins, Declan Drummond and Jim Kelly played a big part in our being prepared on the field over the 2 days. Catherine Walsh & Donal O’Dwyer were fantastic in providing much needed background support. We would very much like to thank our sponsors for their generosity in supplying the team tour kit – KMPG, AllGlass Windscreens & TTM Healthcare.
The Rugby – the U13 event was 10-a-side in format, we entered 2 teams.
Lansdowne Dubliners – Played 6, Won 4, Lost 1, Drew 1
Tournament Ranking – 9th of 32
Teams played Day 1 – Doha (Qatar), CDUL (Loss), Elvas
Teams played Day 2 – Coolmine, VRAC (Madrid), Cascais (Tie game for 9th / 10th)
Lansdowne Dubliners Line Up
- Jude Barrett
- Ben Crowley
- Michael Cleary
- Leigh Choy O’Byrne
- Dan Drummond
- Ruairi Drummond
- Sam Fennell
- Colm Kelly
- Padraig Kinsella
- Patrick Marsh
- Douglas Nagle
- Daragh O’Dwyer
- James Prendeville
- Alex Rice
Lansdowne Chieftains – Played 6, Won 4, Lost 1, Drew 1
Tournament Ranking – 13th of 32
Teams played Day 1 – Gibraltar, Belenenes (Loss), Santarem
Teams played Day 2 – Alcochetense (Tie), Academia, Technico.
Lansdowne Chieftains Line Up
- Jamie Brosnan
- Harry Collins
- Patrick Colman
- Edward Dempsey
- Evan Lynch
- Woytek Mocko
- Aidan O’Neill
- James O’Dwyer
- Joe Reddan
- Oscar Shortall
- Ben Twomey
- Michael Walsh
- Jonathan Yorke-Howard
With un-streamed teams the camaraderie displayed by the boys on the pitch was superb as they unselfishly passed the ball to teammates to run in tries and share the glory across their friends – for some it was their first try of the season! It was competitive rugby (on the pitch and off the pitch) and thrilling to see the boys play so well together. Top try scorer Joe Reddan, best newcomer Sam Fennell, awesome try-saving tackle – Dan Drummond.
The Culture
On arrival on Friday we stopped in the Lisbon Belem area to stretch out legs and get a sense of the beautiful area of Lisbon that houses many of its famous museums. Quick stop in the hotel and boys then hit the beach for a surf lesson on Costa da Caparica Beach. Stunning weather that afternoon – not sure the surfing was of the same standard as the rugby to come but it was a wonderful afternoon of sun and craic!
The boys had great fun throughout the 2-day tournament with the boxing, wrestling, rodeo, zip-lining, jump zones & endless food options. It was hilarious to watch them “hang” with foreign kids and not a common language between them.
It was a weekend of bonding and memories and perhaps one of the highlights was Ben Crowley’s chant of “I want to be a Lansdowne Ranger” where he got the boys singing their hearts out. Maybe one the club should take on. All were well fed on Sunday night. Tired & emotional – most flew home early on Monday morning. Overall an excellent tournament, well worth considering for U13, U15, U17.