Carrickfergus Ladies Rugby Team welcomed Killygarry Ladies to Tom Simms Memorial Park last Saturday, as part of a Peace III cross community project.
Twenty of the Killygarry Ladies Gaelic football team made the day-long trip to Carrick where they took part in a diversity workshop alongside the rugby
ladies. After lunch, both teams were on the pitch to be put through their paces by the Carrick coaching staff. Following a circuits session, where the
rugby ladies showed off their strength and the Gaelic ladies their speed, the teams retired to the clubhouse for dinner and some well deserved
relaxation! Carrick captain Sabrina Higgins said “it’s great to have the girls up here to mix with us and experience our facilities, after our visit
to them in April. We’ve learned a lot about Gaelic football and the differences and similarities between our sports. It’s a sport we wouldn’t
really have come into contact with and we’ve learned things which will benefit us individually and as a team”.
The Carrick team had travelled to Cavan in April as part of a Peace III funded project to take part in a weekend of activities with the Killygarry
team, including a gaelic football training session, archery, climbing and a low ropes course. Killygarry captain Roisin Lee said “we are delighted to be
part of the programme as we wouldn’t get to do anything like this otherwise. We’ve really enjoyed meeting the rugby girls and training with them and have realised that we can all incorporate aspects of the other’s training to improve our performance”.
The Peace III programme is a distinctive programme part-funded by the European Union and aims to reinforce progress towards a peaceful and stable
society and promote reconciliation by assisting operations and projects which help to reconcile communities and contribute towards a shared society
for everyone.
Carrick ladies are now looking forward to another competitive season, following last seasons victory in the NM Sports Performance league and an
impressive Rejenerate Sports Massage cup run, suffering defeat only in the semi-final. The team have been busy on and off the pitch, playing friendly
matches against the WPFG USA and Canadian teams recently to warm up for the upcoming season. They played two short matches against Canada and a combined
USA and Canada side, with a 10-0 loss and a 29-0 win respectively. Carrick are also currently making plans to support a local charity during the coming
season.
Forwards coach Alan Waide said “off-season activities and friendly matches keep the team together during the summer and help strengthen the team bond,
which is then reflected on the pitch. Last season is a perfect example of how well the team have bonded, we had a number of new players who had never
played rugby before and we ended up winning our league. Training with and playing against other teams allows us to explore training methods we may not
have considered otherwise and incorporate this into our game to give us the edge”. Carrick ladies welcome players of all fitness levels and abilities, training is Tuesday nights from 7pm. More information can be found on
Facebook/CarrickladiesRFC or @CarrickLadiesXV
