Aviva Mini Rugby Festivals have been taking place throughout the country over the last couple of weekends and were officially launched for the season at the Aviva Stadium yesterday.
Irish international and Aviva Rugby Ambassador, Robbie Henshaw was joined for the launch by fellow Irish international Sophie Spence as they passed on some of their tips to the next generation of Aviva Mini Rugby players on the day.
Festivals are being held in each of the four provinces, giving Mini Rugby players the opportunity to play against each other. As part of Aviva’s sponsorship, the Aviva National Mini Rugby Festival will take place at the Aviva Stadium in May 2017.
“Mini Rugby plays a crucial role in the development of rugby skills and is the perfect gateway for children to get involved in the sport,” said Henshaw.
Aviva’s Mini Rugby Festivals give players from clubs all over the country the chance to learn and play against each other with the ultimate prize of a chance to play at the Aviva Stadium next spring.”
“My experience of playing Mini Rugby really helped develop my skills at a key age and helped me foster a real enjoyment in playing the game.”
Henshaw has also filmed a series of three skills videos with fellow Irish International Jenny Murphy focusing on the three core skills of pass, tackling and evasion to help players and coaches grow their skills this season.
“This will be an even better Mini Rugby season for Aviva with the IRFU,” said Mark Russell, sponsorship manager with Aviva.
“We have launched online content for players and coaches with expert tips from Robbie Henshaw and Jenny Murphy.”
“We will also be giving one Mini Rugby team that opportunity of a lifetime: to host an IRFU Mini Rugby Coaching session. And, of course the fact that every team participating in the Festivals will have the chance to play at the Aviva Stadium for the National Festival next May, means it will be the best Mini Rugby season to date.”
As part of this season’s Mini Rugby Festivals, sponsors Aviva will be running a nationwide competition, open to every club in the country with a Mini Rugby team. The prize will be an Aviva / IRFU Mini Rugby Training Session at the winning teams ground along with €1,000 worth of training equipment for the team.
