bandon
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Bandon
RFC
F
irst established in 1882,
Bandon RFC does a terrific job of
providing young players from the
local area with an opportunity to
play the game in a safe and enjoyable
environment. Coach Dan Murphy
took the time to tell us more.
He told us, “I am involved with the
club since the early 80s. Originally
from Cork City I relocated to Bandon
and had always played Rugby so it
was natural to join the Club. Having
played a lot of Rugby I was lucky
enough to get involved in underage
coaching when I finished playing.
The atmosphere here is very positive.
Our first team is top of Division 2 and
unbeaten so far this Year and will gain
promotion to Division 1 status. Our
seconds are also top of their Division.
Our underage section is very vibrant
with a big membership and fielding
teams at all age groups.
The clubs goal is to offer the facility
of playing Rugby to every Child
who wants to. We also hope to
develop each child as a well-rounded
rugby player as they go through the
underage and youth section.
We have been lucky enough to win
the All Ireland under 19 league two
years ago and we have retained
85% of this squad who are now
playing with our first team. The club
has a proud history of producing
representative players. A number of
our youth players have been capped a
provincial and international level.
Our biggest challenges are
emigration outside of the country
and immigration with the country
and player retention. We want to
consolidate our adult section and to
develop our underage section so that
our youth teams are competing at
Pan Munster level on a regular basis.
It will also be important to develop
consistency to our youth coaching so
as to maximise each child’s potential.”
Gary McCormick, Youth Officer
“I have been involved now for about 12 years.
Having moved to the area I got a phone call
out of the blue to play for the Adult 4ths team.
The rest is history. The most challenging aspect
is getting 500 playing kids on match days
safely into the club, organised and playing on
time. The most rewarding is seeing them come
back off the pitch with a smile on their face
The mood here is very good, our numbers are
increasing, we have had national cup success
recently. Our coaches have said that coming to
rugby on a Saturday morning destresses them
after a week’s work!
Our approach is to continuously grow numbers
and improve coaching standards. Success will
then follow. We are absolutely a community
club; we draw players from many different
parishes and schools up to 15 miles away. Our
coaches tell us that there is a good sense of
community on Saturday mornings.”
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