Rugby boys go on tour in Limerick
Ireland winger, Johne Murphy, with Swords RFC's Mattie O'Reilly and tour mascot 'Bob' at Thomond Park.
SWORDS Rugby Club kept up their proud touring tradition with an endof-season trip earlier this month, although the destination wasn't as exotic as in previous years. Being based at ALSAA beside Dublin Airport, the club are no strangers to travelling and have visited the likes of San Francisco, San Diego, Austin, Mallorca, Edinburgh and Glasgow in recent seasons. However, given the current economic climate, the Greens this year embarked on what they dubbed ' The Recession Session', making a three-day trip south-west to Limerick.
After departing Dublin, a party of 20 set out for Munster and arrived just in time to take in the famous home of the 'Red Army', Thomond Park, where a feast of rugby superstars were involved in the Ireland-Barbarians match.
Tries from the likes of Xavier Rush, George Smith and Cedric Heymans ensured it was the visitors who came away with a 29-23 win, although none of the touring party were disappointed with the action on show. Indeed, the Swords boys also witnessed history in the making, as it was the very last appearance from former Lions, Ireland and Leinster second-row, Malcolm O'Kelly, who bowed out to a hero's send-off.
The following afternoon, Swords themselves were due to be in action. However, their fixture against local opposition was cancelled and they instead took out their frustrations on the paintballing course. They rounded off the evening hitting the hotspots of Limerick in the traditional club style - fancy dress - with this year's theme being 'Bob the Builder'.
Swords RFC would like to thank club member, Robbie Merrigan, for organising the tour and look forward to the new campaign, with preseason training set to get under way in the coming weeks.
