This morning Alex Kendellen came to St Joseph’s with the the United Rugby Championship trophy. He was a part of the Munster team who beat Stormers in URC final in Cape Town.
First St Joseph’s Bodhrán Bookills gave Alex a guard of honour. Then he spoke to us in assembly. Then every class got a picture with URC trophy and Alex.
JH
We were absolutely delighted to welcome Cork native and Munster player Alex Kendellan to
St. Josephs National School here in the Mardyke. Many of the boys supported him on his
journey when Munster made history by becoming the first Irish side to win the URC trophy
by defeating the Stormers in Cape Town on the 27th of May 2023.
Alex Kendellan, was just 20 when he made his Munster senior debut against Scarlets in
March last year and played in twenty games last season. Being so near Páirc Uí Chaoimh he
must have dreamt of playing there one day.
On the 10th of November 2022, the dream of playing in Páirc Uí Chaoimh did come true
when he came on for Munster against South Africa XV in front of a capacity 41,400 crowd
and history was made. Alex also came on as a replacement in Munster’s 19–14 win against
the Stormers in the final of the 2022–23 United Rugby Championship on 27 May 2023,
where another piece of history was created.
It was an honour to have him in our school and a privilege to see the URC cup up close.His
cousin James in 1st Class spoke about Alex and said “he is kind, he brings me to matches
and he is a great rugby player” Alex was also very impressed with our Bodhran Bookills
under the direction of Ms. Sheehan who played with energy and enthusiasm and ended with a
rousing rendition of “Stand up and Fight” Alex is a wonderful role model for the boys as he
demonstrates everything important in sport and in life, determination, respect and resilience.
MK
