Girls Rugby
This year we entered 3 teams to the Ulster Rugby Tag Festival at U13, U14 & U15 40 girls getting to play. It was a superb introduction to those that are new and a fun recap for those who played a little last year.
Our Director of Rugby stated; “We could have mixed teams and had them ranked from strongest to novice but I felt it was better to keep girls in their year groups, familiar in their social groups and allow them to experience the game with more familiarity around to support them. It was a brilliant day out. Loads of scores, tagging, smiles and memories made. A few fun spot prizes for our loudest player, most energetic and even a few bags of sweets plus a few group selfies. Plenty of girls played their first game, scored their first try and played against girls 3-5 years older than them. It was a great opportunity for growth in so many ways. I guess success will be if they keep playing at school and can bring a friend to the next session.”
Ellie Wasson, a year 11 pupil said; “I really enjoyed the event held by ulster rugby and it felt like a good learning curve to get back into the swings of things and learn more about rules again.” Mr McKeever said “Ellie is a really energetic player with superb speed, she’s a strong attack threat and very driven to play her best.”
Penny McWhirter another year 11 player started playing due to friends who encouraged them. Neeve “two older girls, Abigail and Neeve, told me about it and I thought it sounded like a lot of fun and something that I wanted to join in with”
Ellie Wasson “my friends thought it would be a bit of me, and they were right”
Mr McKeever went on to say “the friendships made in sport are second to none, I love seeing how sport can bond people”
Director of rugby, Mike Orchin-McKeever asked both girls who they thought would win a game of tag rugby between the girls and the boys; Ellie said, “I think we would have a chance but we would have to find out” while Penny was a bit more confident “I think the girls would win because we are great” love the energy girls!
Ulster Rugby Girls Tag Qualifiers
Great memories made in rugby, chatting, singing, dancing and bus banter. We entered 3 sides to the Girls Tag qualifiers and 2 made it into Finals day.
ERIN MCCARTNEY – Upper 6th
I had a fantastic time, we really showed our improvement throughout the tournament and we thoroughly enjoyed playing with each other and against different teams.
CHLOE MOORE – Upper 6th
Playing at the tournament with my team showed our love of the game and motivation to get better, the tournament itself was really encouraging and it was lovely to see that other schools have gotten involved.
NEEVE IRVINE – Lower 6th (Ulster U16 Sevens Rugby Player)
I was excited that we had three different teams coming along to the tournament it was a rewarding experience for all that played and it helped give our team new experiences within tag rugby which is amazing.
Players awards and shout outs
Jersey Winner – High Effort & Energy – Penny McWhirter
Bucket Hat Winner – Players Player Abigail Barr
Most Enthusiastic – Sophia Benning
Top Tagger – Katie Castle-Higgins
Top Scorers – Penny McWhirter & Ruby McKee
Players Player Team 2 & 3 – Amy McDowell & Aimee Morrow
Coaches Player team 2 & 3 – Grace McKeever & Ella Mae McCleary
Finals Day
We reached the cup semifinals losing narrowly 3-2. During the 5 group games and final the squad scored 27 trys and conceded only 6! We were the only school to have 2 sides in the competition who had 4 narrow losses and 1 win.
Well done girls on a super season!
