Connacht rugby team to hold open training session

The Connacht rugby team will hold an open training session in Portumna next Tuesday.

The session will take place in Portumna Community School. Pupils at the school have been invited to attend, along with pupils from the adjacent St Brendan¹s National School.

The training session will get under way at 12.15pm and free tickets will be handed out to all pupils from the two schools for Connacht¹s Celtic League clash with The Borders at the Sportsground on October 11.

Players will be available after the training session to meet young fans. The session is open to the public and rugby coaches in the area are especially invited to drop in.

The Portumna session follows successful visits to Sligo and Ballina last month as the Connacht team spread the game throughout the province.

Connacht manager John Fallon said that the visit to Portumna on Tuesday was the first of many which are planned for throughout the season

³We are looking forward to our visit to Portumna. The province¹s newest club is there and the schools in the town have played a huge part in the emergence of Portuman RFC this year.

³We have a series of school visits planned. The players enjoy them because it is a change from their normal training schedule and a chance for them to visit areas throughout the province.

³We need more and more young people involved in rugby and these visits play their part in bringing the game to more and more children,² he said.

The next schools event will take place at the Sportsground on October 8 when the schools in Galway city will be invited to participate.