Underage Rugby
Mini Rugby (Boys & Girls)
Important note re: Safeguarding & Vetting
Mini rugby began at Templeville Road around 1989-90 and has grown into one of the biggest mini sections in the country. Every Sunday morning, boys and girls from Little Rugby (age 3) to Under 12 learn the game from more than 90 volunteer coaches, all of them vetted and trained.
Generations of St Mary's players started here. The first mini squad included Shane Jennings, and later minis include Jack McGrath and Darragh Fanning. Many more went on to play for the club's senior teams, and many of today's coaches are former minis or their parents.
“I was lucky Eileen was a huge rugby fan. She was a coach and one of the pioneers of Mini rugby in St Mary's, and did most of the heavy lifting with the kids.”— Declan Fanning, Leinster captain and club great, in Leinster Rugby's "Where are they now?" (March 2026)
From the club histories and membership books. Until 2010-11 the post was "Under-Age" co-ordinator, covering minis and the first youth teams.
| Seasons | Organiser / Director |
|---|---|
| c.1989-90 | Paul Andreucetti, Gerry Rylands, Dermot Nevin (first organisers) |
| Early 1990s | John Pyne and Eileen Fanning (first official organisers) |
| 1990s | Toni Brennan and Joyce Farnan |
| 2005-06 to 2008-09 | Louise Crotty (Under-Age co-ordinator) |
| 2009-10 to 2011-12 | Peter Mac Giolla Riogh |
| 2012-13 to 2014-15 | Karl Jennings |
| 2015-16 to 2016-17 | Gavin McConnell |
| 2017-18 to 2021-22 | Shane Keown and Paddy Lennon |
| 2022-23 | Lorcan Byrne and Maurice (Mossy) Davin |
| 2023-24 | Maurice (Mossy) Davin |
| 2024-25 to date | Connor Kinnear |
Age-group managers (selected seasons)
From the membership-book officer pages. Thanks to everyone who has looked after an age group; please send us the lists for other seasons.
| 2006-07 | U7 Peter Byrne · U8 Ronan McCabe · U9 Peter Mac Giolla Riogh · U10 Paul Delany · U11 Ray Hernan · U12 Paul O'Connor |
| 2007-08 | U7 Arthur McEvoy · U8 Peter Byrne · U9 Tim Scanlon · U10 Peter Mac Giolla Riogh · U11 Paul Delany · U12 Denise Fogarty |
| 2012-13 | U6 Karl Jennings · U7 Daragh Coleman · U8 Mark McInerney · U9 Karl Jennings · U10 Steve Treacy · U11 Susan Creed · U12 Paul Whelan |
| 2022-23 | Age-group leads: Connor Kinnear, Cathal Connolly, Joe Shine, Jonny Ellis, David Lyons, Rory Litton, Andy Neary, Michael Butler, Martin Blacker |
Up to U9, mini rugby is non-competitive, and the club has always put participation before results. These are the trophies recorded in the club's honours lists. None have been recorded since 2007-08.
| Season | Team | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 | U12 | Joe Soden Trophy | Winners |
| 2002-03 | U12 & U11 | Irish Festival of Rugby Blitz | Winners |
| 2002-03 | U9 | Bangor (North Wales) Blitz | Runners-up |
| 2003-04 | U12 | Metropolitan League | Runners-up |
| 2003-04 | U9 | Terenure Blitz | Winners |
| 2004-05 | U12 | Wanderers Perpetual Trophy | Winners |
| 2004-05 | U12 | Metropolitan League | Runners-up |
| 2005-06 | U10 | Ray Joyce Perpetual Cup | Runners-up (to DLSP, 2 tries to 1) |
| 2006-07 | U12 | Metropolitan Cup (final v Navan, in Navan) | Winners |
| 2007-08 | U12 | Marr Trophy (v Marr RFC, Scotland) | Winners |
| 2007-08 | U10 | Seapoint Blitz | Winners |
Girls have played in St Mary's mini teams for many years. In 2011-12 the club thanked Yvonne Dooley for her work for girls' mini rugby, and from 2012-13 the mini numbers were counted as "boys and girls". Girls-only teams followed. The girls' U12s played at half-time of the Women's Six Nations at the RDS in March 2022. In 2022-23 the club fielded girls' U8, U10 and U12 teams and held its first Girls' Blitz.
The section now runs U6/7/8 and U10/12 groups. In 2024-25 it had over 50 registered girls, one of the largest girls' mini groups in the Leinster Metro area. In April 2024 the club hosted the Leinster Girls U10 & U12 Festival. The pathway carries on through girls' youth rugby to the senior women's team.
Some of the former minis named in the club's histories and yearbooks.
| Shane Jennings | In the first-ever mini squad — "Mrs Fanning was my first coach". Went on to captain Leinster and play for Ireland. |
| Ciaran Potts, Stephen Grissing, Conor McPhillips | Also in the first mini squad, alongside Jennings. |
| Richard and Robert Sweeney | Both later club captains; Richard captained the 2012-13 side and played mini rugby at the club from the age of four. |
| Darragh Fanning | Eileen's son: club captain 2013-14 and a Leinster winger. |
| Jack McGrath | Started in the St. Mary's minis under Eileen Fanning and Louise Crotty; went on to play for Leinster, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. |
| Eoghan O'Gara | Coached at minis by Patrick Crawford; later an All-Ireland winner with Dublin. |
| Vinny and Brian Hammond, Ray Crotty, Thomas Fanning, the McInerneys | Among the other minis of the early years who went on to play senior rugby for the club. |
Mini rugby galleries in the James Maguire Archive on SmugMug.
Have photos, programmes, blitz results or memories of the mini section — especially from the late 1980s and 1990s? Please email archives@smcrfc.com.
Mini Rugby — More Photo Galleries
More galleries from the James Maguire photo archive.
Photo galleries
Have a newspaper cutting, programme or photo we are missing? Please email archives@smcrfc.com.