At Clontarf Rugby, we have set up a new rugby team with nearly 20 local children with intellectual additional needs, aged 6 – 14, and it is going from strength to strength. New players are joining us frequently as the good word spreads across the local community. Mostly children involved have Autism Spectrum Disorder or Down Syndrome. Many of their brothers and sisters play rugby, now these children have their own team!
The initiative is being led by a group of rugby coaches and volunteers with a particular interest in promoting the abilities of these children and rightfully including them in our Club. Our large group of coaches, are male and female, and many are young and not-so-young active players, teachers, SNAs, SENOs, and academics in the fields of people with special needs.

We meet at 11.15am – 12pm on a Sunday morning on the new all-weather pitch. The drills, games and training are pre-planned and aimed at being easy to follow and enjoyable for players and coaches. Each participant is provided with 1 to 1 coaching throughout the session.

It is a lovely fun safe environment, whereby the children are given maximum encouragement, with parents looking on and we can see the following improvements as the weeks go on:

increased confidence
independence
spacial awareness
ball handling skills
fine and gross motor skills
listening skills
ability to take instruction
fitness
increased fun in the fresh air
friendships between children and also parents.

Finally one of the most important things we want to pass on is our appreciation for the game of rugby as that is what we as a club are all about!