The event, supported by Spar, marked the culmination of regional blitzes aimed at fostering participation in mini rugby among primary school children.
“It’s at the heart of the SPAR NI brand to support our local communities and this partnership allows us to do that by not only supporting the next generation of rugby players, coaches and referees from across Northern Ireland but bringing young people together to learn team building and the additional skills that team sports bring.”
The initiative began in April with invitations extended to over 150 primary schools for seven regional blitzes across Ulster. These events featured mixed teams of P6 and P7 pupils playing, with seventy-eight primary schools participating in these initial stages.
Following the regional blitzes, 32 schools received invitations to the festivals, held Monday to Friday. Schools were invited from all over the province to ensure a great representation of participating schools.
A notable development in 2025 was the expansion of girls' rugby. For the first time ever, 10 schools participated in girls-only, full-contact fixtures at regional blitzes held in Coleraine and Omagh. This led to seven schools being invited to a dedicated girls-only festival day on Friday, which also featured full-contact rugby for the first time in this specific event.
