Fundraiser: Victims of Cyclone Gabrielle

ITRA is hosting a fundraiser on Friday 31st March in support of the victims of Cyclone Gabrielle. The fundraiser takes the form of an open tag rugby blitz at Pembroke Cricket Club (Monkstown RFC) under lights on Friday 31st March, with a 7pm kick-off.

New Zealand entered a state of emergency in the aftermath of the cyclone, with floods trapping people on roofs, thousands displaced and landslides destroying homes in what officials have described as an “unprecedented” natural disaster.

“Cyclone Gabrielle is the most significant weather event New Zealand has seen in this century. The severity and the damage that we are seeing has not been experienced in a generation,” the prime minister, Chris Hipkins, remarked.

As many of our taggers are aware, the New Zealand expat community in Ireland plays a major role in its rugby teams, whether league or union, and in tag. Our long-serving, highly active referee Simon Edgecombe proposed this event as a practical act of solidarity with the victims of the cyclone, which has caused at least 6 deaths and 10,000 displacements.

All profit from the event will be donated towards the cyclone relief and humanitarian efforts.

Donate to the NZ Red Cross Disaster Fund here