Ulster help launch rugby project

City of Derry Rugby Club in conjunction with Ulster Rugby and Derry City Council on Monday evening launched their Try Rugby Project at Bishops Field in Creggan.
Pictured at the OLT Creggan, during the launch of the 'Try Rugby' scheme, in conjunction with COD Rugby and Ulster Rugby, left Scott Ploocok (COD Rugby Mini Coach), Michael Allen (Ulster Rugby) and Susan Spence (COD Rugby President) along with some children enjoying the games. (DER-42-1710-GMI-02-RUGBY)Pictured at the OLT Creggan, during the launch of the 'Try Rugby' scheme, in conjunction with COD Rugby and Ulster Rugby, left Scott Ploocok (COD Rugby Mini Coach), Michael Allen (Ulster Rugby) and Susan Spence (COD Rugby President) along with some children enjoying the games. (DER-42-1710-GMI-02-RUGBY)
Pictured at the OLT Creggan, during the launch of the 'Try Rugby' scheme, in conjunction with COD Rugby and Ulster Rugby, left Scott Ploocok (COD Rugby Mini Coach), Michael Allen (Ulster Rugby) and Susan Spence (COD Rugby President) along with some children enjoying the games. (DER-42-1710-GMI-02-RUGBY)

They are setting up a Community mini rugby club for girls and boys in the P4 to P7 age group with coaching every Monday evening from 6pm to 7pm.

It will embrace local children and their parents and if successful it will be rolled out to other areas of the city like Bogside/Fountain, Carnhill/Shantallow and Nelson Drive/Tullyally.

Derry City Council through their Sport Northern Ireland Active Communities programme has been introducing rugby into primary schools in the city for the last couple of years and more recently in the Creggan area.

Ryan Deighan and Kevin Gallagher from the Sports Department of the council have been the main drivers in the primary schools.

Ulster Rugby has been instrumental in supplying coaching in Creggan through Shaun Bloomfield and David Funston, while they have also provided a mini bus for the North West Area, allowing the Creggan Project to access mini rugby coaching at City of Derry RFC at weekends.

Ulster Rugby’s involvement has been made possible due to the support of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure through the ‘Promoting Equality, Tackling Poverty and Social Exclusion through Sport’ programme.

Scott Pollock, Gerard Roarty and Moss Dineen from City of Derry are the originators and drivers of this unique project which could be the forerunner to promoting and growing the game of rugby throughout the communities in Derry City.

Ulster Rugby were represented at the launch by Irish Rugby International Dan Tuohy and Ulster player Michael Allen along with the Mayor of the city Brenda Stevenson.

John McMonagle, the managing director of property management company Omega, is also backing this sports project.

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