EIRA Tour to Ireland 2017
EIRA Ireland Squad
The under 17 squad of 28 players were representatives from 15 states.
The Staff:
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Salty Thompson, EIRA Director and HSAA Head Coach
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John Banarhall, Army assistant coach
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Darrell Knowlton, Culver Academy and Bethel College
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Scott Bracken, HSAAs and the Claremont Colleges
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Anne Micinski, Indiana, trainer.
The Players:
West Point Military Academy
The three game tour to Ireland began with the squad assembling in Newark, NJ on July 16th and training at West Point for a couple of days. This was an important time for the boys to bond and learn patterns of play. A huge thank you to John Banarhall and Matt Sherman for exposing the boys to West Point's strong ethical tradition and excellence.
Big Step For EIRA As Ireland Tour Begins FloRugby by Alex Goff
Campbell College, Belfast
The team flew to Dublin, Ireland the evening of July 18th, arriving the morning of the 19th. They were based at Campbell College, Belfast (one of the top private secondary schools in Ireland). This was an idyllic setting with suburb facilities for the boys to prepare for their games against Ulster Academy in Belfast and Leinster Academy, in Dublin.
Saturday, July 15
The team will flew to Dublin, Ireland the evening of July 18th.
The team will face a demanding schedule with games against high quality teams, but with a couple of welcome tourist visits, to the Giants Causeway and the Titanic Museum in Belfast. As with past EIRA and HSAA international tours we expect this tour to be a life changing event which will grow the players both as individuals and as a unit, as well as expanding each player’s cultural horizons.
The management of EIRA are really pleased to announce that Atavus have sponsored two players who were unable to fund the full cost of the tour, and in addition they have sponsored the Giants Causeway and Titanic tours. We believe that cooperation like this between rugby entities in the US is a very healthy thing and we thank Atavus for their generous support.
Massive Challenge for EIRA in Ireland on Saturday FloRugby by Alex Goff
Scrimmage v Ulster u17s Schools Squad
This scrimmage was an opportunity for both squads to use every player and consisted of three 25 minute periods.
Period 1: Ulster 7 EIRA 0
Period 2: Ulster 0 EIRA 12
Period 3: Ulster 0 EIRA 0
A thank you and a shout out to Stephen McCrossan Photography for access to his Ulster v EIRA photographs. View here
Eagle Impact Wins Irish Tour Opener FloRugby by Alex Goff
A Hurricane is Coming for EIRA ... FloRugby by Alex Goff
v Leinster u18 Schools Squad
The Leinster U18 Schools squad faced the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy in Donnybrook Stadium, with Leinster Rugby TV there to capture some of the action and speak to head coaches Jeff Carter and Salty Thompson.
The game consisted of three 20 minute periods.
Leinster U18 Schools Squad v EIRA
Third Period Not the Charm for EIRA in Ireland FloRugby by Alex Goff
James Reynolds, nephew of EIRA coach Sean O'Leary, played center for Leinster against EIRA. James watched the USA u19s in 2007 when they were here for the World Junior Championships and was inspired to take up rugby.
v Ulster u17s School Squad
LUlster u17 Schools Squad v EIRA
On Friday, 28th July, the Ulster u17 Schools squad hosted the EIRA at Newforge Country Club. The match was a thrilling contest EIRA winning 24-29. URTV spoke to Ulster U17 Coach Jamie Turkington and EIRA Director Salty Thompson after the game.
It Takes a Village...
A sincere and generous thank you to Atavus and Chris and Julie Prentice, and their generous support of the Ireland Tour. Atavus have sponsored two players who were unable to fund the full cost of the tour, and in addition they sponsored the Titanic Museum in Belfast and the Giant's Causeway outing. EIRA's international tour goal is to provide a life changing event, growing players as individuals, as a unit, and expanding cultural horizons.
We believe that cooperation like this between rugby entities in the US is a very healthy thing and we thank Atavus for their generous support.
