SKILLS with the oval ball were showcased by North Ayrshire youngsters at a special event, staged on the Weir 3G pitch at Inverclyde Sports Centre.

Pupils from St Luke's Primary of Kilwinning, St Anthony’s Primary from Saltcoats, Brisbane Primary, Largs and Ardeer Primary, Stevenston attended a P6 Contact Rugby Festival.

This event was organised by Ardrossan Accies Rugby Club for both boys and girls to demonstrate the skills they have learned from the delivery of rugby via the North Ayrshire Council Rugby Modern Apprentices Jordan Paterson and Stephen Leitch.

The apprentices were helped by session coaches from the club and also boys doing work experience, Luca Giusti and Harry MacDonald.

Some 75 boys and 65 girls attended and played separately to ensure maximum enjoyment and performance.

Organisers scored the schools on a Fair Play system, which meant the eventual winners were decided not only on the number of games won and tries scored but also their sportsmanship, respect for opposition/coaches and referees and how well they played and encouraged as a team.

The eventual winners for the P6’s were the St Luke's PS boys and girls teams.

Organisers would like to thank all involved in getting the schools and their participants along to the festival and the Rugby Development team hope to see the growth and interest in the sport strengthen year on year both within schools, which will then result in a stronger and more competitively numbered youth section at Ardrossan Accies.

Anyone interested in getting their child involved in the Ardrossan club can contact them via Facebook – facebook.com/ArdrossanRugby; Twitter - @ArdrossanRFC, website – www.ardrossanrugby.com or Development Officer Andrew Duncan, email: aduncan@kaleisure.com, Tel 07436561356.