A group of young rugby players from Kinsale, Co. Cork, are getting ready to go to France tomorrow to compete in a mini-world cup competition in Provence. They will be representing their club and their nation.
To advance to the tournament's knockout rounds, the U-12s from Kinsale Rugby Club must defeat teams from Italy, Switzerland, and Monaco in their group games.
More than 500 people are involved. The club hosts the biggest rugby sevens event in Europe every May bank holiday weekend.
The club's under-12 squad has been practising and raising money for the past year in preparation for the underage rugby tournament of the world at Ovalive in Provence.
One of the under-12 coaches, Kinsale Rugby Club PRO Paul McSherry, said: “We are over the moon.”
“Over the past year, this has been our only emphasis. The guys practically jumped over the roof when we told them! The youngsters have improved much since then, and it has been really motivating.”
The competition will take place concurrently with the Rugby World Cup, which starts on Friday.
Tomorrow evening, a party of around 50 athletes, coaches, and parents will take a flight from Dublin to Marseille, then drive to the Provence town of Maussane des Alpilles, where the competition will take place over the course of five days.
Eight teams will compete in the competition; one pool will consist of France, England, New Zealand, and Spain, while another group will include Ireland, Italy, Monaco, and Switzerland. England's U-12 London Irish Rugby Club team will play.
The winning teams from the quarterfinals and semifinals advance to play in the tournament final against the top teams from each group.
The U-12s of Kinsale RFC will play Switzerland, Monaco, and Italy in their three pool games on Friday as France gets ready to play New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup opener at the Stade de France on Friday night.
The squad and their parents have been accumulating money for months in addition to their rigorous training routine, doing everything from hosting bingo nights to bagging groceries at nearby supermarkets.
“It's been an absolutely massive undertaking,” Mr. McSherry added.
“We and the French club have had a great deal of back and forth, but we are getting there now, and most of the hard work is done.”
“They are a great bunch of boys, but they are a very lucky bunch.”