Cork Constitution F.C. Ezine It is our intention to host a grand unveiling of The Unity Wall the Unity Wall in Temple Hill next Septem- ber. I sincerely hope that, by then, we will be Dear members, in a position to welcome you all back to our I hope you are keeping well in these challenging times and I shared home from home. look forward to seeing you back on active duty in the club in Many thanks the not too distant future. Donal Lenihan President 2020-21 Now that the vaccination program is being rolled out, we are very hopeful that rugby activities, as we know them, can Billy Holland to retire at the end of the season resume as normal from the outset of next season. There is Irish international Billy Holland recently announced that even the possibility that our mini section will see some form he will retire from professional rugby at the end of the of return to action in late spring or early summer. season. I am writing in respect of our The hugely popular Cork Constitution highly successful Unity Wall fund- player has overtaken Ronan O’Gara on raising project which, I’m delight- Munster’s all-time appearance list. Billy Rd ed to say, is drawing to a conclu- will make his 243 appearance for Mun- sion. As of now, we are just 20 ster when he leads the team out against Scarlets tonight. tiles short of our ambitious 400 tile target which, I’m sure you Only Donncha O’Callaghan (268) has played more games would agree, is a massive achieve- for Munster. Currently the three most capped Munster ment for the club. players of all time are from Cork Constitution F.C., that is a wonderful record. While an enormous amount of work has gone into this cam- paign, with a number of members putting in a huge shift over Youths Update the past number of months, it has proved a fascinating exer- The youths section of the club are using cise. It has enabled us to touch base with so many past zoom technology to keep active and members and friends who, for one reason or another, had hone their rugby skills during the cur- either drifted away or lost contact with the club. rent Level 5 restrictions. Their effort‘s along with you, our active members, have The 13’s are staying active and connected by partaking in made a major contribution in sustaining the club from a fi- skills and strength and conditioning sessions via Zoom nancial perspective when all of our usual fundraising activities on Saturdays. have had to be cancelled. That support will enable us to hit The 14’s are doing likewise with strength and condition- the ground running once rugby activities resume again. ing classes twice a week on Tuesday and Friday evenings. Therefore, I’m making one last appeal to anyone who may The 16’s are partaking in Munster Rugby’s webinars fo- not have had the chance to support the initiative, who cusing on nutrition, lifestyle and wellbeing . knows someone who intended to buy a tile but never got IRFU Affiliate Referees Course around it or to just mention it to someone who may like to honor a past player, member or friend who may have slipped IRFU affiliate referees are qualified to referee matches involving a club or school to which they are affiliated, under the radar up to now. They usually referee age grade matches and provide an We are almost over the line but need one last push in order important function in servicing the game at this level in to make what is, admittedly, an ambitious target. Then again, their club or school. If any club member is interested in we always aim high in this club. The last 20 tiles may be the qualifying as affiliate referees please follow this link most difficult to shift but will prove the most satisfying when hps://www.irishrugby.ie/playing‐the‐game/refereeing/club‐school‐affiliated‐ referees/#5 we see our target realized. Page 1 The Munster Rugby Development Department have designed a weekly individual training programme aimed at players U13 and up (including adults) during the current Level 5 restrictions. A weekly plan is shared each week to help support players and assist in keeping them active. This plan is most suitable for those involved in the 15-a-side game. This weeks plan is the Week 9 edition of the Home Skills and Conditioning Programme and consists of ball control and catch-pass skills in addition to some condi- tioning. The link to the training programme is https:// www.munsterrugby.ie/domestic_news/individual-home-skills -conditioning-programme-week-9/ On the web page there is also a link for content to keep Minis and Primary School aged children active during the current lockdown. The videos focus on catching, kicking, running and evasion, fundamental movement skills and more. The aim of the videos is to offer some FUN rugby and movement activities to do at home and to support chil- dren during the Level 5 lockdown while continuing to grow their capacities and understanding of some core physical literacy components. Page 2 .