IN a day that will go down in history for Killarney Rugby Football Club, the under 12 girls squad took to the field at half-time, before 26,000 people, in the final pool game of the Munster v Exeter Heineken Cup clash in Thomond Park, Limerick at the weekend,
With tickets sold out weeks in advance, the excitement was building ahead of the big game and nowhere more than at Killarney RFC for the girls, their parents, coaches and supporters.
As the first half drew to a close, the girls lined up in the tunnel, alongside Clonakilty RFC, to be sent on their way by Munster legend Dougie Howlett who wished both teams well.
The girls did themselves so proud with some excellent passing, tackling, rucking and counter rucking on display. The match was shown on the big screens around the ground and also on TV which managed to catch Ella Guerin-Crowley going over the line to score Killarney’s try – the first ever to be scored by a girl at Thomond Park.
The whole club is so proud of the girls and the coaches who have worked so hard with the girls. This is a day that will last in their memories forever.
Afterwards, at the South Court Hotel, each girl was presented with a certificate in recognition of the big occasion as well as a programme from the game.
Saturday was a result of years of work with Liam Murphy and Denis Corridan encouraging and promoting girls’ rugby in Killarney as well as Liason Officer, Denise Treacy, who worked hard in organising the day and coaches Peter O’Shaughnessy and Jenna Moynihan.
“It was great to see them respond so well to this opportunity to show how they play. It was a very competitive game and all the girls brought a new level of performance,” said Peter.
Jenna added: “It was a huge honour to be asked go play at Thomond Park. The highlight was how professionally the girls were treated. Every single lady played their best rugby yet and played as a unit”.
The 12 girls who represented Killarney at Thomond Park were Ruby Gaffey (captain), Anne O’Shaughnessy, Lily O’Shaughnessy, Ellen Moriarty, Holly Barrett, Nell Crowley, Isabella O’Leary, Kate Mangan, Melissa McCarthy, Ella Guerin-Crowley, Johanne O’Keeffe and Jess O’Sullivan.
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