Brian McGee reports...
Waterpark's Under 12's traveled to La Rochelle this past weekend for the Serge Palito Challenge tournament - as the only Irish team involved in the event.
It was a tough start for the young players on Sunday morning, starting out with their first match against a powerful Stade Rochellais.
France has slightly different rules which proved difficult for Waterpark to get used to. The host's U12 side representing the European champions delivered a masterclass of line speed, scrummaging, incredible counter-rucking and cross-field kicks.
The referee for the first game was young Rua O’Gara, son of Ronan, a strong youth player himself for Stade Rochellais.
Waterpark battled on with further losses before lunch against Cahors, La Roche sur yon, and Poitiers.
Lunch couldn’t have come quick enough and the players and coaches were treated to a hot meal and dessert in the main stadium.
A different Waterpark side emerged after lunch with four superb matches, a narrow loss followed by a draw against Cognac and a superb 4 try to 0 win
against Tours and a 4 tries to 3 win versus Fontenay.
Senior club coach Ronan O’Gara and his wife Jessica paid a visit to the Irish team to wish them well and congratulate them on their strong afternoon performances.
After the matches, La Rochelle and Waterpark made presentations to each club and thanked each other for such a brilliant day.
It was amazing to see the kids from both clubs bond so well and chants of “La Rochelle, La Rochelle" echoed across the grounds. The French kids will be in Dublin in 2 weeks to cheer on their team against Leinster in the Heineken Cup Final.
A huge barbecue and presentation followed for all the teams present. Our young Munster players and their parents were simply blown away by the incredible hospitality, friendliness and passion for rugby.
