St Bonaventure University Rugby Club

The trip was a smashing success and a good time was had by all...

Feb 2008: Once again, thank you for your hard work and service. I will recommend Irish Rugby Tours to anyone that asks.

The Dublin hostel was in a great location. I work for a history magazine so I got a lot out of the tour but I think some of the guys may have still been a little exhausted. Trinity was a fantastic host. The match was very even and we had a great time afterward. It was a treat for the guys to play on their A-Side pitch. I made sure they understood how many greats had played on the same field.

Amazing practice session
I think we had the best time in Galway. It has that smaller college feel that suits us since we're a small school in a small town. The practice session with Nigel was unreal. He did an amazing job working with the guys, was very patient but also kept up a great pace. It was one of the best sessions I've ever been to and everyone picked up a lot. The Athlone match was not very even but they were great hosts and both sides hit it off after the match. They really have a class group of guys running the club and we had a great time.

We really enjoyed the Cliffs of Moher and Bunratty Castle. The tour guide at Bunratty was a real character and kept the tour short but sweet. Unfortunately the only bad weather we had was the day of our outdoor tours but what can you do about that?

Great host
Again, Garryowen was a great host and we learned a lot even though we took a beating. My coaching idol Woody Hayes said "There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you." We may have gotten ahead of ourselves after the Athlone match so they brought us back to earth. We had a great time at the UL match as well. It was fun for the guys to see such a high caliber of play in person.

Limerick is a little dodgy as you know but we kept safe and had fun. My complaint would be that the hostel was directly above a night club that was open until the early hours of the morning. The facilities were nice but we had some trouble getting to sleep before Saturday's match. I guess you have to make trade offs though because it was in a good central location.

Diligent Service
Again, thanks for your diligent service. The trip was a smashing success and a good time was had by all. We enjoyed not only the rugby aspect but the history, culture and camaraderie.

Clarence Picard
St. Bonaventure University Rugby Club

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