Buccaneers Touch Rugby

Buccaneers hosted a number of Men's League Division 1 games yesterday with Eastside Eagles, Racoon West and Old Wesley travelling to Athlone.
Buccs took on local rivals Racoon West in a Connacht derby and as always it proved to be a tight game with Racoons going 3-3 up before Buccs fought back with tries from Jack G and Dion to level it before Racoons scored late to win 4-3
Easts were next up and this proved to be a cracking game. Level 4-4 at the break, the game upped a gear in the second half. A crucial score from Ben put Buccs 6-5 ahead with plenty of time left. Buccs' defence held firm in the face of the Easts onslaught as they threw the proverbial kitchen sink at it and they took a vital victory
Old Wesley proved to be a step too far for Buccs as the Dublin side triumphed 6-1 with a strong display
Thanks to all three teams for travelling and also to the referees who ensured a high standard of play throughout.

After the excitement of the Senior & Junior Euros, it is back to club competition today with Buccs hosting three exciting ties in the Men's League Division 1. Come along and support if you are free

Buccaneers Touch players will be bringing back quite a few medals from the European Junior Touch Championships in Coventry.

The Ireland Mixed 20s pulled off a sensational victory against favourites England in their final yesterday, winning 9-6 with a very strong second half performance. The MX20s held the home side to just one try in the second half while scoring 5 themselves. Buccs’ Aoibhín Tynan picked up a Gold Medal which would have lessened the disappointment of missing most of the tournament with injury. John and Philip Finnan were key players for Ireland with John finishing as top scorer with 14 tries as well being named tournament MVP. The two brothers linked up in the end zone for one memorable score in the final.

Niamh Purtill and her Ireland Mixed 18s team picked up a valuable Silver Medal, beating Belgium 12-9 in Sunday morning’s semi-final before going down to England in the final. Niamh became the first Buccaneers Touch player to reach 40 international caps in the game against the Cayman Islands.

Mollie Quinn captained the Girls 18s to a Bronze Medal in their division and local players Caitlin Bastic and Mya Gill were also part of the G18s squad, making their debuts in the competition.
Oisín Moran and the Ireland Boys 18s team came close to a Bronze medal but Wales were too strong winning 11-5. Oisín scored 4 tries during the competition and impressed in what was his first tournament.

Rory Delaney was the youngest and newest Buccs player at the EJTC and he helped his team to fifth place with a crucial try in the play-off against Portugal.

Well done to all the Buccs players who have once again done the club proud in Coventry.

Photos are courtesy of Gavin Cullen Photography and Sinead Purtill

After two days of action at the Junior Euros in Coventry, the Buccs players have been right in the thick of the action.

Niamh Purtill's Mixed 18s have had a storming two days with four victories over Scotland, Belgium, Cayman Islands and Lebanon qualifying them for the semi-finals. Niamh scored crucial tries against Belgium and Lebanon. She has also become something of a star with the Next Gen commentators praising her defence and athleticism during the live broadcast of the Cayman Islands game. The MX18s face Belgium again at 8:55am in what will be a very tight Semi-Final. This game is live on the internationaltouch YouTube channel so be sure to tune in.

The Mixed 20s were heavily fancied to do well before the tournament and they have justified this by qualifying for the final against England with two wins over both Scotland and England Lions. Unfortunately for Buccaneers Aoibhín Tynan, she suffered an injury in the very first game which puts her out of the tournament. Best wishes to her for a full recovery.
The Mixed 20s play in the final at 2:10pm which is also live streamed. John and Philip Finnan have both been in try scoring form, contributing 14 tries between them.

Rory Delaney and his Boys 15s team are in fourth place of 7 teams with a win over China and draws against Scotland and Portugal. They face Wales at 8:00am and need a result here to secure a place in the Bronze Medal match.

Oisín Moran and the Boys 18s team have qualified for a Semi-Final meeting with France at 8:00am tomorrow after two wins over Portugal with Oisín scoring tries against Wales and two against England Men's 20s.

Mollie and her Girls 18s team have faced a tough tournament with defeats against England, France and guest side Tanglin School from Singapore with Mollie scoring against Tanglin. They have improved significantly however on the second day and they now face Tanglin School again at 9:50am in their final game.

Best of luck to all our players on Finals Day. See https://www.internationaltouch.org/events/european-youth-touch-championships/2026/club:ireland/ for all match details and links to live streams.

Photos courtesy of Gavin Cullen Photography as well as Ian Moran, Denis Delaney and Sinéad Purtill.

Buccaneers Touch are providing the captains for two of the Irish Junior Squads in Coventry. Mollie Quinn is captain of the Girls 18s team in what is her third junior campaign having played Mixed 15s in 2024 and 2025.
Niamh Purtill is co-captain of the Mixed 18s along with Charlie Moseley Scoggins. Niamh was previously captain of the Mixed 15s in 2024 so this is her second stint as captain of an Irish junior squad.
Best wishes to both Mollie and Niamh

The European Junior Touch Championship taps off tomorrow in Coventry and once again Buccaneers Touch are well represented across all the Irish Squads
Aoibhín Tynan takes her place on what looks like a very strong Ireland Mixed 20s squad with former Buccs Touch players Philip & John Finnan also selected. This will be Aoibhín's fourth international tournament since 2022.
After her heroics at the Senior Euros, Niamh Purtill takes the field for the fifth year running at this level with the Mixed 18s. Niamh is on course be the first Buccaneers Touch player to reach 40 caps at this tournament and she is also joint captain of the MX18s.
Oisín Moran has been one of Buccs most dedicated players over the last two years, regularly travelling from Tullamore on Monday nights to train. Oisín has been selected for the Boys 18s and will make his international debut at the tournament.
Mollie Quinn meanwhile is selected as Ireland Girls 18s captain, a great honour for her and the club. This will be Mollie's third international tournament.
The final Buccs player is Rory Delaney who has been selected for the Boys 15s. Rory will make his debut for Ireland at this tournament although his older brother Jack played for the Boys 15s at last year's Atlantic Youth Touch Cup. Rory plays rugby with Roscrea RFC but along with Jack and his dad Denis has been training regularly with Buccs over the last 12 months.
Best wishes to all players who will no doubt do us proud over the next few days in Coventry.
Details of matches and live streams to follow....

Buccaneers Touch took part in the IRFU Pride Festival yesterday at Energia Park, Dublin. The Buccs team of 12 was led by captain Cian Copelin who showed great leadership and scored some vital scores. The youthful team showed great promise with nearly all players getting on the score sheet. Buccs won 5 out of their 7 games on what was a thoroughly enjoyable and fun day of Touch. MVP for Buccs was Jack Delaney with a massive contribution throughout the day, he even played on after getting winded while diving over the line to get a great score in the third game against DLSP. Molly Copelin secured the “Top Gun challenge" prize by scoring with a quickie on the wing. Thanks to Old Wesley for a great day of Touch and to the VI team for great game.

The four Buccaneers are back from 2026 European Touch Championships in Vichy and all four certainly made a huge impact with their teams if the scoring charts are anything to go by. Buccs players contributed 25 tries in total with both Niamh Purtill and Paul Gavin finishing top scorers for their respective teams with 10 tries each.
Niamh Purtill took the field as Buccs’ first ever Mixed Open international in what was a very youthful Ireland squad with 11 players 20 years old or younger. Niamh proved to be a very prolific scorer for the MXO with tries against Switzerland, Jersey (4), England, Italy (2) and Belgium (2) helping them to a 6th place finish.

Paul Gavin and Nigel So were on the Men’s 40s team that finished in 7th place with wins over Scotland, Portugal and Spain. Paul scored against France and Italy (2), Spain (3), Portugal (2), Wales, Italy and Spain again. Nigel meanwhile scored tries against Portugal and Italy.

Aoife Tyrrell was part of the Women’s 35s team that came very close to a Bronze Medal against France, leading 3-2 at half-time before France came back in the second half to win 6-4. Aoife weighed in with three tries against Wales, the Euroselect and France.

Well done to all four players who did us proud in Vichy. Full match details and links to livestreams of matches involving all 4 teams are at https://www.internationaltouch.org/events/euros/2026/

The 2026 European Touch Championship is taking place in Vichy, France from Wednesday to Saturday. This is the biggest Touch event of the year and there will be a number of Buccaneers players involved.
Best of luck to Niamh Purtill who is Buccs' first ever Mixed Open international. Niamh has won 29 caps at underage and this will be her first senior international tournament. Also travelling with the Men's 40s are seasoned internationals Paul Gavin and Nigel So while Aoife Tyrrell will be making her international Touch debut with the Women's 35s squad.
Full results and live streams of matches involving all three teams can be found at https://www.zee-on.com/gamehubplus/european-championships-2026

Buccaneers Touch put in a strong performance at Round 2 of the ITA DTS hosted by DSC Touch Club in Greystones RFC on Saturday last. Buccs went unbeaten through the round robin games, qualifying for the Semi-Final.
Wins over Enniskillen, Greystones and Old Wesley and a draw against DSC Wanderers meant that Buccs faced a rematch against DSC in the Semi. This time the Dubliners came out on top, winning 5-1.
Overall it was a great day for Buccs. Captain Ben Wolfe was top scorer with 4 tries while MVP was Aoibhín Tynan who put in a massive shift throughout.
Photos courtesy of Sarah Klopper and Gavin Cullen Photography.