Award for Junior stalwart
This season, a group of like-minded people in Leinster Rugby came together with the aim of raising the profile of the Leinster Junior team.
The group’s aims were to develop and grow the Leinster Junior team and to afford it every opportunity to be successful in this year’s and subsequent inter-provincial championships.
The committee was led by former Leinster Rugby president Robert McDermott.
From this committee came the idea of a Leinster Junior dinner and the presentation of a Hall of Fame award. Last Saturday that idea came to fruition.
At the Ballsbridge Hotel, more than 250 people from rugby clubs across Leinster attended a dinner, before the Leinster v Ulster match in the RDS, to celebrate Junior rugby in the province and the Leinster Junior inter-provincial team.
The dinner also saw the presentation of the inaugural Seán O’Brien Hall of Fame Award.
The five nominees for the award were nominated from the areas that make up Leinster Rugby:
• Midlands area nominee: Tom Cox, Longford RFC
• North East Area & Metropolitan Area Nominee: Jeff Mahon, Ashbourne RFC
•Senior clubs nominee: Christy Dunne, MU Barnhall RFC
•South East Area Nominee: Derek Furness, New Ross RFC
• North Midlands Area Nominee: Joe Kavanagh, Naas RFC
The first winner of the award was Joe Kavanagh of Naas RFC.