Started in 2023, New Ross Rugby Nursery is a initiative that was started by Nicky Haberlin and Rory Flynn. It, uniquely, creates a starting point for younger children (aged 4 to 6) to start to learn about rugby, before they reach the minis-rugby stage.

The programme is run in six blocks throughout the year (indoor during winter and outdoor during summer) and has had massive success to date. Both in terms of introducing rugby, New Ross RFC and the wider rugby world to young children; but also in terms of engaging with parents and showing them how their child can benefit from playing rugby with us.

For further information, please contact Nicky on nicky.haberlin@nrrfc.ie.

The club could not exist without the wonderfull work of countless volunteers, among whom are all of the coaches of minis and youths teams.

Coaches play an incredibly important role in the development of our young players, and we have a history of excellent coaches in our club over the years. New Ross RFC has produced players that have accomplished massive feats, including becoming senior team regulars, area and provincial representatives, provincial junior & senior players, club internationals, full internationals, British & Irish Lions and rugby players who have learned skills which they have used for their whole lives.

Coaches are encouraged to attend IRFU / Leinster Rugby coaching courses and pursue the relevant coaching awards, this affords our future stars the best opportunity to reach their potential. We require every coach to undergo the relevant vetting and safeguarding process, including safe guarding modules 1, 2, 3 and Garda Vetting.

We also launched our club coaching handbook in 2024, which highlights 5 core coaching values that should be evident and embraced in each of our training sessions.

PJ “Cha” Phelan is the club’s coaching coordinator, and Anne Marie Moloney is the girls rugby coordinator. They act as a link between coaches, working with the Director of rugby and encourage participation in coaching courses and development.

We would encourage any parent to think about how they could help with coaching, either coaching directly or assisting the workload of existing coaches. Please contact our Director of Rugby, David Crowdle at david.crowdle@nrrfc.ie or any of the team coaches listed above, if you'd like to help. The rewards for being a coach are huge due to the influence that you can have on a young person's life and are invaluable to the club.

New Ross RFC is acutely aware of the enormous potential to have a positve influence on the wider community in terms of improvements in fitness, health outcomes and levels of sporting participation along with providing increased access to social interaction.

For this reason and for several years, New Ross RFC has participated and invested in the Club Community Rugby Officer (CCRO) Scheme administered by Leinster Rugby. The CCRO has a defined role within the Club with an objective of introducing rugby to all the primary and secondary Schools within the catchment area - a total of up to 45 schools and over a 1000 children! The objective is to encourage maximum sporting involvement, fitness, teamwork and camraderie among both boys and girls as well as specifically urging participation in either full contact or tag rugby among the entire school population.

The CCRO also works with Wexford Sports Partnership under the auspices of Wexford County Council on specific sport and activity projects targeted at disabilty groups and women.

The Club ethos is one of urging maximum integration and inclusivity with an attitude that there is a place for everyone within the sport.

We are very fortunate to have Katie Meek as our CCRO, please keep an eye out for her in a school near you!

Please contact us on rugby@nrrfc.ie if you would like us to support/attend any community event that you might be holding. We're always happy to help promote the club at opportunies around the town and locality.

Club Captain Emma Flood and CCRO Katie Meek with rugby nursery participants in Summer 2024