British and Irish Lions rugby legend Willie John Bride will be the principal speaker at a unique memorial dinner being held at Coleraine Academical Institution on Saturday 13 September.
It is 25 years since “Inst” became the first Irish school to play rugby in Japan when a 21-player First XV squad and three coaches embarked on the groundbreaking tour to the Far East.
Sadly in 2007, Oliver Turkington – generally regarded as the stand-out player on the four-game trip – died aged 35 after a long battle with cancer.
“Bringing the squad back together to mark the 25th anniversary of the tour was an obvious thing to do,” said current CAI First XV coach Richard Beggs who, as a 16-year-old, travelled to Japan with the 1989 squad as an outside half. “But the evening will now have much greater meaning . . .
You will need to log in or register to read the rest of this article. If you have not already registered you can click here to register.
In 2022 we added 102,631 new images in 510 galleries with a gallery breakdown of 263 Rugby, 217 Hockey and 30 Athletics. Your registration and subscription will help us to continue.
Thanks.
Corrections, comments or questions?