A former Lurgan rugby player living in Sweden is to return to Northern Ireland to allow his son to compete alongside a raft of young Swedish players.
David Taylor (50), who is originally from Moira, met a Swedish girl whilst working in a Moira pub, which led to him moving out to Stockholm, where he has lived for almost 25 years and has raised three children, Owen (14), Elliot (11) and Leia (7).
In his youth, David played rugby for Dungannon RFC, and then Lurgan RFC. On moving to Sweden, he continued to play rugby, this time for Gothenburg RFC, before retiring at 38.
He then became a referee and has inspired his son Owen to get involved in the sport he has loved his entire life.
A number of months ago, Owen, who plays for an under-14 side in Stockholm, suggested to his dad that they go to Northern Ireland on a rugby tour and, using his contacts and friends back home in Lurgan, David was able to make this a reality!
David Taylor (50) and his son Owen (14)
The Stockholm-selected under-14 team will be going up against Lurgan RFC’s own youth squad on Friday, November 22, before facing off against a select Mid-Ulster squad on Saturday, November 23.
The Mid-Ulster squad comprises players from teams in Dungannon, Ballynahinch, Portadown, Banbridge, Lurgan, Dromore and Newry.
Both games will take place at Pollock Park in Lurgan.
Twenty-seven players are coming across from Sweden, all from six teams in Stockholm, alongside seven coaches, one medic and three parents – all entirely funded by themselves.
Recounting the origin of the tour, David said: “Owen started playing rugby two years ago for a team here in Stockholm and we were supposed to go on a tour with another team and that fell through.
“He was disappointed and on the way home, he said to me, ‘Dad, why don’t we go to Northern Ireland and play a match against the team you played for?’
“I said that was a brilliant idea and things started to take pace.”
David then got in touch with Lurgan RFC, alongside a number of other Stockholm clubs, and all were in favour.
“There’s no prestige in this for anyone,” he explained. “We’re doing this for the kids and their development because we’ve got fantastic talent in the team. We’re going back to the club that I played for and he [Owen] is going to play a game with kids that otherwise wouldn’t have this opportunity if we didn’t have these connections.”
He added: “We’re a mixture of six teams and these kids come from all over the place. We’ve got kids from Holland, kids from Belgium, kids from Iran, kids from Turkey, kids from Africa and it’s a huge mix of cultures, but they all live in Stockholm.”
The experience will be particularly poignant for Owen, who is following in a family legacy steeped in rugby.
Said David: “His granddad, his auntie and uncle, and his cousins are going to see him play rugby for the first time. All my friends are coming over to watch him for the first time. It’s huge for him.
“It’ll be a very daunting day for him, but he will rise to the occasion. He gets very focused when he plays rugby and for me, it’s very emotional because I have people, my ex-rugby colleagues, messaging me now saying ‘This is amazing’ and ‘We’re so looking forward to it’.
“It’s going to be huge. It will be a massive event.”
Owen
David admits however that the Stockholm Select have their work cut out for them.
“Lurgan are a very decent under-14 team. So we’re not playing with the idea that we’re going to come over for a runabout kind of thing. They are going to be proper matches, very competitive matches.
“Our boys will shock them because of their sheer size and mobility!”
While there is no funding in Sweden for the tour, David says they all recognised how important it was to make the event happen, even if it meant reaching into their own pockets.
“The atmosphere at the training is just electric, and the way they’re acting like a team. They’ve all played against each other, they’ve run into each other, they’ve got hurt, and now they’re going to play together as one team.
“The best part for me is to watch them together, and the camaraderie they have and the friendships they’ve made. It just brings tears to the eyes.”
David also hopes it will all be the beginning of something even bigger.
“It’s got bigger than any of us thought and it’s very humbling. I never thought in my dreams it would become this big.
“There was a guy from Banbridge Rugby Club who said next time we’re here we could do a tournament in Banbridge which is amazing. Lurgan are also going to come here and we have mini-tournaments where they’ll play several teams.
“This is rolling into something I hoped it would have, but never imagined it would!”
