Well, What a weekend.
I can honestly say that it was the best Bull N Booze tag festival to date. It kicked off on Friday with the Heineken Cup and John Hayes for the Presentation of some crystal ware and a plaque to George Clancy by his Uncle Jack in honour of his gaining IRB Elite International referee status . George then presented the club with his first Full IRB jersey as an elite referee gained in the game between South Africa and England a month ago. There were campers from Clonmel, Clare, Dublin, Limerick and Rochdale Swarm (Who have sworn to make this a yearly pilgrimage after the good time they had.) A fantastic night in Jack Clancy’s coupled with brilliant food, good music and flowing drink meant that some of the players had to be out early in the morning to blow off the cobwebs before the kickoff on Saturday.
The good weather coupled with very lively and sporting teams conspired to give us one of the best competitions to date. Even though team numbers were a little down with a few people crying off, twenty teams from all over the country and beyond played off for cups and medals in four different categories. Lucozade Sport Roadshow was on site for anyone who wanted to be tested and compare their fitness against the Professionals, The Bucking Bronco went down a treat for those willing to test their balance and bull handling after the ball handling.
The Sumo Suits caused a little bit of uproar (Well done to 3rds team Captain, Shamy Sheehan, who just couldn’t handle 1st XV Coach Eoin in the finish ? ). After that and a little break due to the only shower of the day, the competitions finished off with the following teams grabbing the silverware on offer:
B Cup – Mud Stuffins
B Plate – Running Wild
C Cup – Chariots of Fire!!
C Plate – The Lyrics Board Champions 1999
Many thanks to John Hayes and his good lady Fiona for their time over the weekend between posing for photos and taking the time out on Friday for the presentations then to come back to present the prizes again on Saturday night. In the midst of all that, John Presented Bruff with his very first international Jersey which will take pride of place on the clubhouse wall. After the prize-giving Willie Conway handed over the traditional first visit plaque to Rochdale who then returned the favour with a Rochdale Hornets Jersey and Pennant, Rosie Foley brought her “Beal Boru” Team from Killaloe, we had the Band “Intrigue” who were absolutely fantastic (Watch these guys folks, they’re really going places, and you saw them here first) and kept the crowd going well into the night. This was followed by the disco, the obligatory singsong (with Ray O’ Brien on the guitar) outside in the torchlight until god knows what hour of the morning, and camping with over sixty tents in the grounds. After finally surfacing and having breakfast the following day they eventually made their way home after some chill out time in the clubhouse in the afternoon.
Again well done to the “Burger Babes” and the bar staff who managed to keep everyone fed and “Watered” , Gráinne and Dave for a great event, and to the referees especially our own who kept the competition going in military fashion. I’m still knackered, but we’re already getting some great feedback and we’re thinking about next season’s event, we want to make it even bigger and better. If you couldn’t make it, it’s a pity, you missed one hell of a weekend’s party, well there’s always next year. That’s the end of the Tag for this season until next spring’s “Twilight Tag” league so well done to all involved. It’s time now to prepare for the return of the Full on Stuff…
Next Committee meeting on Monday 11th August, We all need a bit of a break after this.
Now to the photos: