Cooke Mini-Rugby Club provides Mini Rugby training to all Primary School years: from P1 to P7.
We are located at Shaw’s Bridge in South Belfast. Turn off the A55 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and chose one of three parking locations. Address: 123 Milltown Rd, Belfast BT8 4XP, click for directions
Our usual training times are on Saturdays 9.15am for a 9.30am start and we often travel for games, so check the fixture list for latest as we may be at mini rugby festivals or away playing against other teams in Ulster such as:
– Instonian Seahorses mini rugby (who we share a ground with)
– Civil Service NI mini rugby
– CIYMS mini rugby
– Larne mini rugby
– Ballymena mini rugby
– Holywood mini rugby
– Malone mini rugby
– Ballynahinch mini rugby
If you have a boy or girl who is interested in playing rugby or you think they might enjoy the rough and tumble of the game – bring them along to Shaw’s Bridge and let them loose!
Our pitch layout and the parking options are shown below:
Cooke Rugby Football Club was founded in 1910 and is the oldest junior rugby club in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It owes its origins to the members of a Bible class in the Cooke Centenary Presbyterian Church in the Ballynafeigh area. It was originally based at Upper Galwally until 1991 and the first clubhouse was a small black wooden hut. The club then moved to its present modern clubhouse and grounds of 36 acres at Shaws Bridge, Belfast.
1999 was a great year for Ulster Rugby… it was when a ground share arrangement was established between Cooke RFC and Instonians RFC which allowed both clubs to remain independent, with their identities intact, yet allowing the overall costs of running the complex to be shared. This has proved to be a very successful arrangement within what is arguably the best sports club complex in Ireland.
Mini rugby is designed to introduce the sport to children and involves a smaller ball and pitch and reduced numbers.
It is one of the biggest participation streams of rugby in Ulster and is widely played across the Province.
For more information, see the Ulster Rugby Website or the IRFU Youth Rugby Section which describes the rules, Mini Rugby Festivals and has Videos on mini rugby coaching demonstrations.
