It’s the stuff dreams are made of and on Thursday last, 40 members of Claremorris Colts RFC got to meet their heroes in the flesh. (As appeared in last weeks edition of The Western People by Cróna Esler)
The phone rang on Tuesday evening. On the other side of the call was Paul Cunnane, a fellow coach and committee member with Claremorris Colts rugby club. “Can you get the day off on Thursday?” he enquired. “I doubt it, it’s very short notice,” came my reply. “Maybe you’ll feel differently when you hear what’s happening,” Paul responded.
He was right!
After entering a competition with Elvery’s Sport and Puma just days earlier, Claremorris Colts RFC had been selected as the winners. The prize was a trip to the Aviva Stadium for 40 club members on Thursday last to watch the Irish rugby squad training ahead of their departure for the Rugby World Cup.
And there was more. The Colts would have the opportunity to meet the team afterwards. “Well when you put it like that, I’d hate to let the club down. Count me in,” I quickly told him.
Text messages were sent to the parents of every player in the club to see if their child would be interested in joining us at the Aviva. The responses came quick and heavy but unfortunately, the prize was for just 40 club members and so the names went into a hat and players were chosen at random. Six coaches and 34 players were on the list by Tuesday night. Those selected were over the moon and for the others, hopefully there’ll be again in it!
At 6am on Thursday morning, there were bright smiles in the Square in Claremorris. “We didn’t have to call them twice to get up this morning. I doubt it will that easy when we have to call them for school next week,” one parent remarked with a grin.
Excitedly, the players climbed on board the bus – a sea of red Colts jerseys underneath the smiles and not a yawn in sight. Animated chatter began in Claremorris, continuing through Athlone and into Dublin. “Will we be there soon?” echoed through the centre aisle. “Relax, we’re almost at the Aviva,” came the response.
A cheer of delight rose up from the players as the bus pulled up in front of the stadium and there was a scramble for the door as each and every club member tried to be the first to alight. But there was no rush, we had arrived at our destination in plenty of time and got to check out the Aviva Stadium before training began.
Thanks to Elvery’s Sports and Puma, the Colts were treated like VIPs for the day and led to a private lounge where we would later have lunch and meet the players. Mayo’s own Aidan Kilcoyne, marketing with Elvery’s, was there to meet the Colts and after marvelling in our surrounds, we took our seats and awaited the arrival of the Irish team to the magnificent pitch.
In their turns, the players arrived onto the field amid cheers and applause. After warming up, they began their session and the Colts looked on in sheer wonder and amazement as the Irish team impressed with their skilful moves and tactics. “Some day, I hope to wear that jersey,” one young player enthused. “Well if you keep working on it and train hard, it just might happen. Reach for the stars,” was the response.
As the Irish players showed off their best defence and attack moves, 40 sets of eyes were glued to the pitch. The stars of Irish rugby were within touching distance – it was the stuff dreams are made of.
But the best was yet to come!
After changing from their rugby gear, the Irish players arrived – all suited and booted – to meet the Colts. Star-struck at first, it didn’t take the Claremorris contingent long to regain their composure and the youngsters – as well as the coaches – quickly took out their cameras and permanent markers. As various players arrived, swarms of red jerseys surrounded them. But despite the fame and glory, the Irish squad were exceptionally accommodating, taking time to answer questions; chat to the Colts players; sign jerseys, rugby balls and autograph books; and smile as the cameras flashed from all sides.
As lunchtime neared for the Irish team, they were reminded that they needed to take their leave of the Colts but despite being told “you need to be gone from here in 30 seconds”, the players made time to stand for every photo that was asked of them, shake every hand presented and sign each and every object put in front of them.
Undoubtedly, the Irish rugby squad left a lasting impression with Claremorris Colts RFC. They had made dreams come true for so many and as the Mayo youngsters set off on the journey home, the players compared autographs and tales from a day they’ll never forget.
And who knows, in the years ahead, maybe other clubs will be travelling to the Aviva Stadium to meet some of the Colts – not in their red jerseys but proudly wearing the Irish colours. The future certainly looks bright!
It was a day the Claremorris Colts players will never forget. On the way home from the Aviva Stadium, Cróna Esler asked some of the Colts what they felt was the most memorable part of the day…
Daniel Noone:
“The best part of the day was watching the Irish rugby team training on the pitch. It was great to see them in action. I really enjoyed the whole day.”
Kyle Leonard:
“Brian O’Driscoll is my favourite player, it was really exciting to be sitting so close to the pitch and watching him training with the Irish team.”
Brian Quinn:
“It was a brilliant day. I loved meeting Seán O’Brien in particular because he plays in the same position as me. Ireland are going to win the World Cup!”
Jurgen Pilbrow:
“My favourite part of the day was meeting Cian Healy and getting him to sign my jersey. Cian is my favourite Irish rugby player so it was really exciting to meet him.”
Stephen Murphy:
“Watching the Irish team training and seeing the different drills they do was really fantastic. It was great to be there and then to meet the players, especially Eoin Reddan.”
Liam Walsh:
“It was brilliant to be there to see the Irish team training and then getting to meet the players afterwards was great. Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip and Tommy Bowe were my favourite.”
Conor Toughey:
“I was so excited when I was picked to go to the Aviva. Watching them training was great and then getting to meet so many players and get their autographs was just brilliant.”
Harry Burke:
“Meeting Seán O’Brien and getting his autograph was the best part of the day for me. He’s really strong and scores lots of tries. Seán O’Brien is my hero.”
The prize with thanks to Elverys & Puma
When competitions present themselves, it’s always nice to enter but with such competition from all over the country, getting chosen is the difficult part. Claremorris Colts RFC had luck on their side last week however when they were selected as the winners of a superb prize.
Puma and Elvery’s Sports – the proud supporters of the Ireland Rugby Team – offered one club the chance to win a Meet and Greet with the Ireland Rugby Team during one of their open training sessions at the Aviva Stadium.
The Colts submitted a letter explaining all about the club and how far it has come since its inception just two years ago. Obviously, the judges were impressed with what they saw and on Tuesday evening last, there was great excitement when the Colts received the good news that they had been chosen as the winners.
Elvery’s Sports marketing director Loman Caulfield explained the idea behind the competition and congratulated the Colts on their success.
“As part of our commitment to be the number one supporter and retailer for the Irish Rugby team, Elvery’s Sports – in conjunction with Puma – have run a number of competitions and giveaways including Ireland jerseys, match tickets and of course this great day out to watch the team train and to meet the players.
“We were delighted that the competition received such a great response and we hope Claremorris RFC – who were worthy winners – had a great day out that will live long in the memories of these future rugby stars,” he remarked.