Burglary incident at Midland Warriors new club grounds
A break in at the new Midland Warriors RFC club grounds on Monday night dampened a milestone moment for the club whose new pitch had its inaugural use on Sunday morning.
Midland Warriors director of rugby Graham Ross said the break in incident took the gloss off the weekend's 'minis sessions' which saw over 100 of the club's underage players grace the newly developed main pitch on the outskirts of Moate.
"We had heavy cable to the value of approximately €500 stolen. Unfortunately, we had only limited CCTV in place but we have since upgraded our security. It is a lesson learned," Mr Ross said.
Despite this setback, the club continues to make progress with its development and a "major milestone event" at the new grounds is planned for Sunday, October 19.
"Following Sunday's minis sessions, all club teams have returned to training this week under our floodlights," said Mr Ross.
"Temporary dressing rooms and toilets will be installed this week, while the foundations for our clubhouse will be in place shortly too," he added.
In advance of next month's event, the Midland Warriors men's senior team will play their first competitive fixture at Bawnoges on September 28, with Kildare club Clane providing the opposition.
October 19 will then mark a special date for the club, with an 'open day' featuring club games and family friendly activities scheduled to take place.
"The morning will see our underage teams training with a minis girls' blitz due to take place. The club's senior women and men's teams will then play two competitive Leinster League fixtures at 1pm and 3pm respectively," Mr Ross said.
To acknowledge the support received from businesses, sponsors and the local community, Graham said there will be a family feel to the occasion with a barbecue planned in the aftermath of the on pitch activities.
"Invitations have been extended to the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) President and Leinster rugby dignitaries and we hope they will be able to attend this special date in the Midland Warriors calendar," Mr Ross concluded.