Sessions are every Tuesday & Thursday at 7:30pm and every Saturday at 9am (that’s right – 9am… leaves plenty of time for other summer Saturday activities). If you are current player (who hasn’t been there yet) or former Dee player then get yourself down to Donaldson Park and Paul & Stuart will have a warm welcome for you. The Dee are hoping to follow on from our success of last season and the Club are keen to add to their playing resources so if you are potential new player and want to get involved in what we hope will be another successful season or simply want to play a little social rugby then either turn up at training (at the times noted above) or get in touch with Stuart Hennessey, Paul McKenzie, Alastair Lockhart (new Club Captain), Gareth Gordon (1st XV Vice Captain), Andy Dunn (2nd XV Captain) or Mark Mitchell (3rd XV Captain).
Early season fixtures are as follows:
18th August 2012 – 1st & 2nd XV Tournament featuring Donaghadee, Suttonians and Limavady (plus a Family Fun Day) at Donaldson Park.
25th August 2012 – Donaghadee away to Bangor in the Rodney Gray Cup.
1st September 2012 – Dee 1st XV home to UUC in Qualifying League One.
8th Sepetmber 2012 – Dee 1st XV away to Ballymoney in Qualifying league One.
Donaghadee RFC are delighted that Paul McKenzie and Stuart Hennessey have agreed to act as Joint Club Coaches for next season 2012/13. Following the success of the 2011/12 season when the 1st XV won the Millar McCall Junior Cup and finished fourth in Qualifying One (hence qualifying for next season’s All Ireland Junior Cup) both Club Coach Ian Martindale & Assistant Coach John Blewitt felt the time was right to step down and let others take up the mantle of driving the Club forward and attempt to consolidate our stated aim of being one of the top Junior Clubs in Ulster. Those charged with sourcing suitable replacements were keen to appoint people who combined strong local and maybe Club links, were appropriately qualified and, above all, demonstrated a passion for both the local game and the Dee ethos. The Club has is confident that the appointment of Paul & Stuart will go a long way to achieving those objectives and it is felt that their combined abilities will perfectly complement each other in the continued effort to both attain and maintain our goals.
Paul is 28 years of age and joined the Ulster Academy in 2004 before playing professionally for Ulster Rugby from 2006 to 2008 during which time he played in the Magners League and Heineken Cup as well as representing Ireland A in the Churchill Cup. From late 2008 until May 2011 Paul played for Exeter Chiefs 46 times scoring 25 tries across the Championship, Premiership, Amlin Challenge Cup and LV Cup. At the start of the current season he moved back home and has been playing for Dungannon in both the All Ireland and Ulster Leagues. Paul holds RFU Level 2 Certificate in Coaching and is currently studying for an MSc in Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology at UUJ. In addition to his coaching duties at the Club Paul also hopes to bring his not inconsiderable talents to the field of play.
Stuart is well known to Donaghadee having spent some seasons representing the 1st XV as a tight-head prop and, more recently, has been coaching the Club 2nd XV. Stuart is 32 years of age and a PE teacher by profession bringing a wealth of playing experience during a career where he also represented both Bangor and Ballynahinch in the All Ireland League and the Ulster Junior representative side. In addition Stuart holds the IRFU Level 1 Coaching Certificate, is an IRFU Associate Referee and holds coaching qualifications in both Mini and Tag Rugby disciplines.
Donaghadee RFC would like to take this opportunity to welcome Paul & Stuart to their new positions within the Club and whilst wishing them every success assure them both of the wholehearted support of the players, members, alickadoos, supporters and the local community .
