Buccaneers gear up for dance rehearsal with Lil Phil

Buccaneers RFC is hosting a dance rehearsal with none other than Lil Phil on Zoom tonight (Tuesday) at 7pm.

Lil Phil, who lives in Belgium, is choreographer to many celebrities, including Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey and Jason Derulo.

Yvonne O'Shea of Buccaneers said the club want as many people as possible in Athlone and the wider community to get involved.

"It's free and open to everyone, you don't have to be involved in the rugby club to take part in this," said Yvonne.

"It's going to be a lot of fun. We will be learning the Jerusalema dance. After the dance rehearsal video, the kids will get a video of Lil Phil's dance rehearsal.

"We'd like the kids to submit a little video of themselves doing the Jerusalema dance at home, and then we'll put together a big video for release on Saturday before the Ireland v England rugby game," she continued.

Yvonne said the event is "something positive for the whole community" in what are challenging times for so many people.

"We'll have our own Athlone version of the Jerusalema dance at the end of it. But you don't have to take part in a video if you don't want; just come along and show your support for those who are doing it," added Yvonne.

For more information or if you wish to receive the Zoom link to the dance rehearsal, you can contact Yvonne by text or WhatsApp on 086 048 8090.

Buccaneers RFC is also participating in the 'For The Love of the Club' fundraiser in association with Connacht Rugby.

Buccaneers is inviting members and supporters to complete a virtual 5k/10k run/walk fundraiser from St Patrick’s Day (tomorrow) until March 24. It can be done in your own time and area, and costs only €10 to register with all funds going to the club.

The event’s partners Bank of Ireland will present €5,000 worth of Rhino rugby equipment to the Connacht club that goes the furthest mile. That would certainly be a welcome boost to any club.

For the Love of the Club is a virtual 5K or 10K fundraising walk or run where participants can register on www.myrunresults.com. The entry fee is €10 and all of the money raised will go to the Connacht club of choice of any of the runners or walkers. If you have no direct link to a club your money will go into a central account and be redistributed to all clubs within Connacht.

Connacht Rugby welcomes all to participate, from keen runners to casual walkers, whether you’re at home or abroad.

Interested parties can sign up for the Love of The Club virtual run/walk by clicking on the following link: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/for_the_love_of_the_club/4052/details

Connacht Rugby asks all participants to complete their walk or run within the current government guidelines and their mandated 5k zone and to not gather in large groups in public areas and instead partake individually. A 70 cent administration charge will be applied to all entrants’ €10 entry fees.

Full details on how to get involved are on the Buccaneers and Connacht rugby websites.