Starting playing Rugby aged 20 - Dublin

newplayer20

Hi all,

have had a notion to pick up rugby having never played before aged 20 in Dublin!

I’ve had a look at a few clubs in south Dublin but just looking for some insider info.

would anyone know of any club in particular that would have a lot of others around my age bracket in a similar position? Otherwise if there’s anyone on here who’s been through the same thing as me or who is also thinking about starting to play, please let me know as it’d be far less daunting doing it with someone else!

any and all tips appreciated!

cheers

Lost Ormond

Any club will welcome you.

Have you played any or many other sports before. Team or individual?

Many clubs get total beginners evey year dublin clubs in general have a lot of teams so there will be some clubs with 5ths/6ths who are ideally suited to newcomers to the sport

Where in city are you as thar will help people recommend clubs to join

arsebiscuits1

New players come down all the time to teams and they'd be delighted to have you.

Some of the bigger clubs would have as many as 4/ 5 Junior teams which is where you'd be starting.

South side these teams would be the likes of Lansdowne, Old Belvo, Old Wesley, Terenure, St Marys.

North side there are fewer but still some great clubs like Clontarf.

There are exclusive Junior clubs which would play in the lower leagues like Parkmore and Emerald Warriors

Emerald Warriors is an LGBTQ+ friendly club and are extremely welcoming to beginners. A friend of mine (he's straight and there are a lot of straight players) went as a total beginner and said the atmosphere was excellent there was a number of complete beginners like him. He's played there for a few seasons now.

The issue with Junior clubs is not many of them have a dedicated bar. The 3rd half of rugby is the most important part!

awec

I think of the big clubs @arsebiscuits1 listed, Terenure have the widest range of junior teams, I think their lowest team plays in Div10 or something, while I think Lansdowne play div3?

Lost Ormond

Yeah lansdowne have 4 teams but their 4ths would be playing metro 4 or 5 with the top 2nds and 3rds sides of many other clubs

Wesley, Marys and tarf and then your junior clubs like bective, railway, Would be better option

newplayer20

Cheers all,

Never played before but some experience of team sports. @Lost Ormond

Dublin 6 based here.

Looking for the very lowest ranked/social team so that I’m not a burden on a team.

To me the likes of Parkmore sounds good? Does anyone know perhaps if this only caters to an older crowd? @arsebiscuits1

Would anyone have any knowledge of stillorgan?

cheers

arsebiscuits1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119513908#Comment_119513908

You wont be a burden on any club mate. Given you're a complete beginner you'll need a few weeks just being shown tackling, positioning etc etc. without getting chucked into matches.

Stillorgan are a funny one. They merged with Rathfarnham a few years back and have flitted between pitches in Threerock and Blackrock. According to fixtures at least one of their teams will be playing their games in Heavey Technology park which is outside the M50 near the Merry Ploughboy. Not sure where they train. But they've teams dotted in the junior leagues.

If you're in D6 mate go for Tenenure. As with any rugby club site this might be out of date but it will give you a good picture https://tcrfc.ie/juniors/

They've a huge junior scene and there will be lads coming up from various Under 20s teams.

Don't get too fixated on age mate. As with any Junior Rugby teams you're going to have lads just up from Under 20s, college lads in their early 20s, young professionals in their mid to late 20s and then the older generation which can range anywhere from 30 to 50+ lol. There's going to be a huge mixture but you're all playing under the same club. I've never looked at a fella I've played with and had an issue with how young they were.

Hell one team I played for we had an 18 year old skip Under 20s and come straight to junior rugby because under 20s was too serious and all he wanted to do was throw the ball about, have a bit of craic and go for pints after. If you're similar it doesn't matter what club you choose. You'll fit in great

Buddy Bubs

Dublin 6 I'd recommend Terenure. I had serious battles against them from AIL to junior rugby leagues and cuos over the years but I'd always class them as a good club. Senior established clubs have their own grounds and clubhouses (although a few clubhouses are pretty old and tired at this stage) whereas the junior clubs generally don't.

The bigger Dublin /Leinster clubs have 5 or 6 teams and the juniors have 1 or 2. You may prefer the smaller clubs, who knows?

awec

+1 for Terenure, as I said already they have a good spread of junior teams, and their lowest team is like Div10 which is the lowest. Div10 is basically social rugby.

And they have an excellent bar.