This weekend the Belfast Azlans attended the inaugural Lynch Cup in Limerick. The Cup was organised by Sarsfield RFC to honour the memory of Sarah Lynch who was a founding member of the club and sadly passed away in December 2023.

The tournament saw approximately 350 players take part in both tag and contact matches as well as a few cheeky mascot steals and wig snatches.

Unfortunately, due to injuries and availability it was a reduced Azlans squad heading down to Limerick to compete but spirits were not dampened. The squad had the goal of enjoying the weekend with other teams from the IGR community – firming up existing friendships and getting to know other teams better. It was thanks to these strong friendships that other players were happy to round out the team. We’re incredibly grateful to every friend who put on an Azlan shirt this weekend and played with pride as all true Azlans do.

After a morning of enjoying supporting the tag tournament the Azlans kicked off our own matches against the Emerald Warriors Green team. Against an incredibly strong team the Azlans dug deep but were unfortunately defeated in the semi-final of the Lynch Cup despite some solid performances in both defence and attack.

It then came down to the fight for the Lynch Plate. Azlans were up against the passionate home side of Sarsfield. Straight out of the blocks the Azlans team delivered a powerful first half performance on the attack. In the second half the defence was put to the test and Sarsfield showed some strong ball carries that brought them some points on the board. Ultimately through injuries the second half was reduced to an agreed final play. An (uncontested) Sarsfield scrum 5 metres from the Azlans line. In the tense final moments Sarsfield broke the line but with the ball held up the whistle was blown and the Azlans had won the Lynch Plate.

Our thanks go to the coaches, Gareth and Rab, motivating the full squad and the Maverick as sponsors without whose support this weekend would not have been possible. Also we’d like to extend our appreciation to the Irish IGR community for a weekend which saw us all pull together and help each other out to deliver a fantastic weekend for inclusive rugby demonstrating some fantastic camaraderie and sporting values.

Finally, our gratitude goes out to Sarsfield RFC for a fantastically organised weekend and for inviting us to honour Sarah’s memory.