Today P6&7 children had the wonderful opportunity to visit Aviva Stadium in Dublin and participate in the Rugby National Festival. We were so fortunate to be one of two schools in our area picked to go so at the outset, we say a big thank you to our coach Dean for this wonderful opportunity. Dean is much loved by our kids and last year we enjoyed getting to Kingspan and this year, Aviva.
We set off at 7.00am and the three hour journey passed relatively uneventfully! We loved the time chatting, singing, playing games and then we had our breakfast on the bus! Dean also taught us the Ireland Rugby anthem, ‘Ireland’s Call.’ This was pretty impressive as the kids only had a couple of goes over it and then nailed it!!
We arrived around 10am and then the supporters went with Mrs Clarke and Mrs Kane to the stands while Mrs McCusker went with the team to an area to register and warm up. There we met another school close to us, Annahorish Primary School. Soon after we had to assemble our team and get ready to make our entrance onto the pitch via the tunnel. Castledawson Primary School was announced over the stadium speakers with lots of music and applause and so our team made their way cheering through the tunnel!! We reached pitch 3 which is where we would play our 4 matches. Our supporters were already there!
Our first game was against Straidbilly PS and then our remaining games were against schools from South of Ireland. We won two, drew one and lost one. Every single child gave their all on the pitch and played with the right amount of sportsmanship and competitiveness!
In between we got to see the dressing rooms and view the Six Nations Trophy. We also got to meet James Ryan, a current Ireland Rugby team player and Paul O’Connell, a former player and captain. Everyone was so gracious and friendly accommodating every signing and photograph!
The hospitality was second to none as Aldi sponsored the event and provided every child with bags, their lunch and as much fruit as they wanted all day!
It was a wonderful day from start to finish and the journey home just prolonged the fun for a bit longer! Tiredness didn’t impact too many on the way home and everyone enjoyed the chat, singing etc once again. A exceptional day with the most exceptional children that we hope will remain in our memory archives for a long time 😍😍
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