Day 4 Canberra

Match day one finally arrived. But first a tour of the Australian Institute of Sport. The group got to see the facilities used by 17 different sports and also the committment required to be the best. Then to Philips Stadium to play the Royals. The first game kicked off at 1:30 and saw us chalk up our first win on tour with a strong performance. A ten try haul saw us win 56-5. The 3 o’clock game saw a much closer affair. 7-5 to us at halftime but after Conor Browne’s drop goal a steadied College team took control. This included a hat-trick from Kevyn Mahon. A late fightback saw Royals score 2 late tries to leave the end score 34-17 to us. Players of each game were choosen. For the 1:30 game William O’Brien was best forward and Ronan O’Neachtain was best back. In the 3 o’clock match Marcus Duke was player of the pack and Gary Burns in the backs. The group were then entertained at the Canberra Irish Club. They were greeted by the 1st Secretary from the Irish Embassy, Orla Tuohey, and the Consular and Cultural Attache of the Embassy, Martha Mc Evoy. A special thanks to the Canberra Royals rugby club for their generous hospitality in organising billetting for the boys, transportation around Canberra, lunch and many more favours.