'MEC Press' December 2019 Publication 1. Newsletter December 2019 Vo 7 | Page 15

Talented Tighthead Makes
U19 Leinster Squad
Third-year student Colin Byrne has ended 2019 on a high as
the 15-year-old has ascended to the U19 Leinster squad.
Since November, Byrne has racked up two U19 appearances
having played hooker against Belvedere Senior Cup team
and Blackrock last week. Reflecting on the Leinster’s 40 – nil
victory against Belvedere, Byrne admits, ‘it was a great
feeling to get my first appearance for the U19’s’.
The Kilcloon native and Barnhall RFC player has rapidly
climbed the ranks since the Barnhall U14s, were invited to
trials at Donnybrook earlier this year. The team played
under the scrutiny of Leinster player and Leinster juvenile
officer Kieran Hurrell. Hurrell wasted no time in contacting
Barnhall coach Ronan Browne to request just 5 players back
to Leinster Metro trials.
Young Byrne faced into two intense Metro trials once and
again caught the keen eye of Hurrell who personally
approached him to move up to the U16 Leinster squad. It
was a whirlwind few months and Byrne successfully ended
the season as captain of the U16 Metro squad. Having proved
his mettle, within three months Irish Senior Squad forward
coach John Fogarty contacted to invite the talented No. 8 to
play with the U19s and he hasn’t looked back since.
Byrne zealously juggles Leinster training with Barnhall RFC,
club GAA and his MEC academic commitments. He travels to
Donnybrook for U16 and U19 Monday and Wednesday for
training and alternate gym sessions. Admirably, he beats a
path back down to Barnhall training after Donnybrook on
Wednesdays. He also plays Gaelic U15, U16, U17 other days
of the week and school rugby. A testament to his modesty,
Byrne attributes some of his success to his friends and local
club. He warmly gives the nod to ‘players around me such as
Conor Mooney, Alex Flynn, Sean Flaherty and Cillian Doherty
who have pushed me to improve and get better’.
Byrne also credits the role MEC has in shaping his career so
far, ‘Ms O Hagen and Mr Dooley have improved school rugby
over the past few years, helped improve players and helped
me a lot’. Byrne is proud of his local roots and attests, ‘I enjoy
matches, playing with friends and it’s thanks to Barnhall, I’ve
got to where I am today with the support of Ronan Browne
and Kieran Hurrell’. 2020, hopefully, looks set to be another
prodigious year for Byrne. Leinster U19 coach Trevor
Horgan has taken Byrne under his wing to mentor him and
no doubt the talented tighthead will play a vital part in his
next senior cup tournament. We wish Colin and his family
every success.
@E.Campbell
Junior Girls
Rugby Team
Our Junior Girls Rugby team played
their first rugby blitz of the year at
Mullingar RFC early November.
They won 3 games and lost 2. Great
performances and offloading skills
were shown by all our girls.