Athlone trio will play in first match in Aviva Stadium

THREE emerging rugby stars from Athlone have been chosen in the composite provincial squad for this weekend's opening game of the new Aviva Stadium in Lansdowne Road. Current Buccaneers players Callum Boland and Daniel Qualter, as well as fellow Buccs' product Mark Dolan (now of UCG), will take part in the first match to be played at the ground in 2010 in what should be a memorable exhibition match with two composite provincial teams pitting a Connacht/Munster select against a Leinster/Ulster side on Saturday, July 31. Front line international and provincial players will be in pre-season training in the Rugby World Cup year are not available for selection, and the composite teams are made up primarily of development and academy players, effectively making the match an under-20 challenge game. The Connacht contingent includes the Athlone trio of Boland, Dolan and Qualter, and Buccaneers President Pat Hynes is delighted to see the club represented in such style at Saturday's big event. "It's fantastic for Buccaneers to be so strongly associated with the first rugby match at the Aviva Stadium. It's going to be a great occasion, with the capacity of the all-seater stadium at an impressive 50,000. Buccaneers Rugby Football Club is enormously proud of the players taking part, and would like to wish them all the very best for Saturday's match. Each of them are immensely talented young lads and great prospects for the future," said Hynes. Mark Dolan is also the son of well-known local rugby coach Tony Dolan, who has coached Buccaneers' first-team in the past. Daniel Qualter's father, meanwhile, is Seamus Qualter, who has made a name for himself as a hurling manager in recent years with both Westmeath and Roscommon. Doon native Boland is a talented full-back, while Qualter operates at second-row, and Dolan as scrum-half. All three have previous international experience with Ireland at youth and under-18 levels, while Qualter has also played for Ireland Schools. Meanwhile, Buccaneers under-12s will also partake in the game, competing in a ten-minute challenge match against Portadown during half-time.