Rugby Spirit is a book about a young boy, Eoin, who is going boarding to Castlerock College, and what he doesn’t know is that his grandad, Dixie Madden, is an absolute legend there. When he arrives, he has already made friends such as Alan and Rory who start to show him around the school, and the first question they ask him is, “Are you any good at rugby? What Eoin does not know is that this school is crazy about rugby!!

Alan tells him all about the game before Eoin says, “I’ve never even held a rugby ball before!” Alan starts to help Eoin and teaches him the game. He starts on the team 13Cs and performs the best on the team. He is asked to play on the 13Bs and takes it seriously. On the day of the game, he finds out that the out-half on the 13As squad is injured and he is asked to play for them. He is on the team with the bully Richie Duffy and Richie starts to pick on him as his latest target!

Soon they reach the semi-final and during the game Eoin cracks his ribs. It’s bad enough that the day he is injured, his grandad Dixie is ill in hospital as well. His grandad is out in time for the final, but will he be? He goes to the hospital to get scanned and is told to take a rest for two weeks, however the final is in ten days. Three days before the final he has another scan and is fine, but he hasn’t played rugby for three weeks. Will he be fit in time for the final against St. Osgur’s who are unstoppable? Will Eoin and his teamates beat the unbeatable team? Read this book to find out more about rugby and to see if they will win the game? I would recommend this book to youngsters who have just started rugby. I would give this book 10/10 and would love if a movie came out about the book.

By Thomas, Rang VI, Ransboro NS, Sligo

Eoin Madden is a young boy from Tipperary who goes to Castlerock College secondary school in Dublin. Eoin, the grandson of the famous rugby legend Dixie Madden, meets another boy, Alan, who is in his dorm. Alan is a rugby fanatic who teaches Eoin the positions, rules and scoring system. The school was all nice to him except for Richie Duffy, the school bully. When Eoin goes to his first rugby match, he starts as a full back in Group C. When he gets his hand on the ball, he belts it straight over the crossbar. All the groups stop and stare at what he has done and the coach shouts at him. He forgot that he was playing rugby.

He soon got promoted to Group A. His grandad became ill and when Eoin visited him he asked why he stopped playing rugby so early. His grandad said that maybe he would tell him another time. Later, Eoin went on a field trip to the Aviva Stadium. He was looking for the restroom but stumbled upon the First Aid room instead. He met a peculiar guy called Brian who gave him some advice on rugby. During his next match, Eoin got injured with cracked ribs. The doctor’s orders were that he should not play rugby for at least six weeks, which meant missing matches and the semi-final.

Eoin got another call from his dad saying that his grandad had taken another turn. When visiting him at the hospital, his grandad told Eoin the story of what happened during his rugby times. After that, he is told that he has to spend another 1-2 weeks resting, but the final was to be in 10 days. Will he make it to the final and will grandad be able to see him play?

By Seán, Rang VI, Ransboro NS, Sligo