Ireland Women’s Rugby captain Niamh Briggs was mobbed by young fans in Limerick today, Thursday, July 27 as she arrived in the city by boat for the Women’s Rugby World Cup trophy tour.
The Limerick based Garda and Munster fullback was escorted on the River Shannon by Limerick Marine Search and Rescue along with Nevsail kayakers as she made her way to Arthur’s Quay jetty to be officially met by Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Stephen Keary.
A crowd of young rugby fans waited anxiously to meet her waving flags as she was also met by Head Coach, Limerickman, Tom Tierney and fellow squad member Nicole Cronin.
Niamh Briggs said, “It’s great to be here and see all the young kids out, the support we’ve been getting from the public is brilliant. We’ve taken huge positives from the fact that the warm up games have sold out early and the trophy tour is a huge pick me up, especially when the days are hard and the training is long and tough.
Fans enjoyed free inflatable rugby kicking games in the park while on the water, Nevsail provided a very novel penalty kicking competition where enthusiasts tried their luck at kicking rugby balls at targets floating on the Shannon to win some great prizes.
Welcoming Niamh, Mayor Keary said, “Niamh is a fantastic Ambassador for the game and you only need to look at the faces of the many young girls here today who really look up to her and find her achievements truly inspirational.”
Head Coach Tom Tierney added, “We’ve a great Limerick contingent in the squad, Nicole Cronin, our only uncapped player is a girl that will take the World Cup by storm.”
Tickets for the semi-finals and finals stages of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, to take place in Belfast on the 22nd and 26th August, are available from ticketmaster.co.uk
Read similar stories in the Limerick Post Sports section.
