President's Message 4.12.25

We are nearing the mid point of the season. The time is flying, and it was another busy rugby weekend gone by with mixed results.

Our Men’s J1s played Old Belvedere under lights in Stradbrook on Friday night. A scoreline of 14-45 did not do justice to the effort and some of the quality rugby played by our guys. I was delighted to see many parents and players from the other teams in the Club down lending their support. Our J1s are back in action this Sunday when we play Old Wesley away at 2.30pm.

Saturday saw an AIL double header in Stradbrook. We had over 70 at the pre match lunch, and I want to give a big shout out to our caterers, Hastie Catering, who delivered a top class traditional Christmas fare. This was very favourably commented on by those attending the lunch, particularly our guests from UCC. There was a lovely atmosphere in the Club all day on Saturday. I was very pleased to see a full table of Mini’s Dads at the lunch. I want to thank David Rhatigan who organised the music later on that evening. Despite the mixed results on the pitch, there was great craic to be had after the games. It was wonderful to see some of the UCC contingent staying on in the Club including their Captain, Sam O Sullivan who led the singsong! This epitomises all that is good about Club rugby.

Getting back to the matches, the Men 1st XV had a disappointing 14-19 loss to a fully loaded UCC team who had their first current Irish Men’s international in 45 years, Alex Kendellen, playing for them at No 8. Yellow cards proved costly again for Blackrock, however, we fought back bravely and could very easily have snuck a win in the end. Unfortunately, we were held up over the UCC line in the final play of the game. It was great to see some of our long term injured players return. Two more big games before the Christmas break with Instonians away in Belfast this Saturday. Apparently they have won their last 30 AIL home games. However, what Div 1B has taught us is that every team is capable of beating each other in this league.

Our Women’s 1st XV are on a fantastic winning run with an impressive 44-12 win over Ennis. They are firmly established in the play off spots, and have a big game this Saturday away to Galwegians, who are also flying high in the league.

I was at the U20s game on Sunday away to Lansdowne. We played some fantastic rugby and were so brave in defence against a much bigger Lansdowne team. A lucky intercept try to Lansdowne in the second half gave a flattering look to the final scoreline… 26-15 home win. Well done lads, you are not out of place in the Premier Division, and U20s prepare for another exciting game in store this Sunday vs UCD in Stradbrook at 2pm.

Earlier on Sunday I had the pleasure of watching the U13 and U14 teams play Old Wesley and Gorey in Stradbrook, where I saw top class rugby on display from all teams and we came out the right side of very close encounters. There is brilliant work going on in the Minis/Youths sections of our Club. Well done to everyone involved. Our U14 boys are away to Greystones this Sunday with the U14 girls at home to Navan. The U17s are back in action this weekend and play Greystones away at 2pm on Sunday and finally the U13s are away to Clontarf.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of being President is going to watch as many games as possible and meeting those involved… thanks for making me feel welcome at those games!

I know there have been plenty of reminders of the IRFU Your Club Your Country draw which will take place on 8^th December. We have sold a record number of tickets and I want to thank everyone who generously purchased tickets. It helps fund all the activities that are happening right across our Club, and wouldn't it be something to see a Rock member win one of those great prizes, provided by the IRFU!

There are some big events coming up in December as well as a very busy fixture list.

The upcoming Rock v Old Wesley lunch on Saturday Dec 13^th is fully sold out. It promises to be a bumper day in the Club. The next lunch will take place in late January for the Instonians match- please book online early to secure your place.

Santa is due to visit Stradbrook on Sunday 21^st and we are looking forward to that.

The annual GOAL Mile takes place in Stradbrook on the 26^th… this is always a great family event, and thank you to Conor Coghlan for his efforts in organising this event. GOAL have registration open online now, or you can turn up on the day between 10am-2pm.

We also have the Club's Raceday taking place in Leopardstown on Sunday 28^th. That is probably the best day’s national hunt racing of the year, and another highlight in store in a very busy Club social calendar.

Our Club has so much to offer on many fronts. Please continue to support Blackrock College RFC. It is a Club for everyone!

I wish you all a nice healthy run into Christmas and hopefully see as many of you in the coming weeks.

All the best

Mick

Mick Dwan

President 2025/ 2026

Blackrock College RFC