Rugby News

As befits anything where you can (a) enjoy a festival atmosphere with all the Guinness that entails and (b) know you can’t really get hurt by anything except aforementioned Guinness, tag rugby is one of the country’s fastest growing sports – and next weekend will see thousands of participants descend on Limerick for the latest Pig n’ Porter Festival.

Old Crescent RFC, in association with the Irish Tag Rugby Association (ITRA), host the 2012 Pig n’Porter Festival at its grounds in Rosbrien, Limerick on Saturday.

Jerry Flannery (pictured top with tag rugby player Alie Lacey) is all too familiar to everyone in this office and a Munster and Ireland legend to boot, and he'll host the welcome party at his pub this coming Friday night, while Heinz Tomato Ketchup is on board as a sponsor.

And we promise that unless something untoward happens down Limerick direction in the future, this is the first and last time you’ll be seeing us referencing Jerry Flannery and Heinz Tomato Ketchup in the space of one sentence.

Anyway, the Pig n’ Porter Festival, which is also kindly supported by Fáilte Ireland combines sport, food and live music, while 130 teams from Ireland, the UK and France are set to participate, with the players’ hunger for success on the field to be matched only by their thirst for liquids off it.

Throughout the day on Saturday, the iconic pig will be roasting on a spit ahead of the legendary Pig n’ Porter BBQ. This year’s festival sees the return of the fancy dress competition for all taggers and supporters, along with a large pitch side Jacuzzi for participants to enjoy!

When the prizes have been handed out and the weary bodies have had a chance to recover, the festival continues into the early hours in the Festival ‘Piggery’ with live ballad sessions, a bouncy castle, a bucking bronco bull and disco.

For more information check out the website at www.pignporter.com or head on over to the Pig n’ Porter Festival Facebook page.