Aviva Mini Rugby Festival to return to Connacht next month
Aviva Ireland has teamed up with legendary Ireland international fly-half, former Munster rugby player and current La Rochelle head coach Ronan O’Gara to launch this year’s Aviva Mini Rugby Festivals.
Over 2,000 participants will attend six camps across the country, with festivals taking place in Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster across two weekends in April before the national festival is held at the Aviva Stadium, the home of Irish rugby, in May.
The Aviva Mini Rugby Festivals kicked off over the weekend, with 20 teams in attendance at a girls-only camp in Cill Dara RFC.
The Aviva Mini Rugby Connacht Provincial Festival will take place on Sunday, April 24, in Corinthians RFC in Galway.
Provincial festivals will also take place in Ulster (Bangor RFC) and Munster (Old Crescent RFC) on Saturday, April 9, and Sunday, April 10, with the Leinster edition taking place at De La Salle Palmerstown FC on Saturday, April 23.
This year sees the return of the Aviva Mini Rugby programme to the favoured festival format at provincial and national level. Last year, Aviva Ireland teamed up with Ronan O’Gara to launch the Aviva Mini Rugby Virtual Skills Hub to support the development of grassroots rugby online and to ensure the progress of Connacht and Ireland’s future stars despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.
This year, the Aviva Mini Rugby Festivals will see 15 Under 10 boys teams and five Under 12 girls teams in action at the national festival on Sunday, May 22, at the Aviva Stadium, where hundreds of Ireland’s future rugby stars will achieve their dream as they get the chance to play on the famous pitch.
Brighter
Speaking at the launch, Lisa Bergin, Senior Sponsorship Manager at Aviva Ireland, said: “At Aviva Ireland, we understand the importance of supporting the development of our kids today to ensure a brighter tomorrow. While it was great for Aviva Ireland to work alongside the IRFU last year to deliver the Virtual Skills Hub at a challenging time for parents across the country, we are thrilled to bring the Aviva Mini Rugby festivals back to clubs across the country this year.
“We look forward to seeing what skills will be on show across the four provinces over the coming weeks and can’t wait to welcome hundreds of children to the home of Irish rugby, the Aviva Stadium, in May.”
Ronan O’Gara added: “I’m delighted to be an ambassador for this year’s Aviva Mini Rugby Festivals. Throughout my playing career I was always thankful to the coaches at grassroots level who laid such solid foundations for me to progress as a player. The Aviva Mini Rugby programme provides coaches at our grassroots clubs with the supports they need to deliver quality coaching to their children – coaching that will stay with them for years, on and off the pitch.
“It is also fantastic to see the country’s youngest players given the chance to mirror their heroes by playing at Aviva Stadium for the first time, which will only fuel their dreams of playing for Ireland.”
As head coach of French side La Rochelle, O’Gara understands the important role coaches play in developing and supporting the future of young rugby players, both on and off the pitch. Providing young children with the opportunity to get active, have fun and learn new skills through the Aviva Mini Rugby Festivals sets a foundation for grassroots rugby from mini to youth level and contributes to the players' pathway into the senior game.
To learn more about the Aviva Mini Rugby Connacht Provincial Festival, visit www.aviva.ie/minirugby, or for more information, follow Aviva Ireland across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates over the coming weeks.