It was a mild, dewy Saturday morning in Ballsbridge. The birds were chirping, the trees were rustling in the wind, and deep in the bowels of the Wanderers Rugby Club house preparations were being made for a day of softball, charity, and pints. KegFest had laid dormant for several years lulling the local villagers into a false sense of security. But by the end of the day Shrewsbury Road would become the Pompeii or Herculaneum of the south side, buried in the ashes of stale beer and raffle tickets. But how did we ever get here…let’s rewind….
Two days earlier, a choir of 60 softballers, friends, and family had descended upon Slattery’s pub with the righteous intention of kicking off the week of charitable festivities starting with a harmless table quiz. While they did manage to collectively raise over €1600+ on the night, the evening eventually descended to somewhere around the 2nd or 3rd circles of Dante’s Inferno. “Win or Lose, We’re on the Booze” was one of the quiz team names that quickly became a rallying cry for the mob.
Peter and Niall had spent weeks coming up with a mental marathon of nearly 100 questions, including an entire round dedicated to identifying the world’s most famous arses. At the end of the night, a team of Chuggers code named “Big Cooler” were victorious, but the real winners would ultimately be the till at Slattery’s and the Young Womens Group at the Dublin YMCA.
Flash forward to the following Saturday at Wanderers: everything had been carefully planned for weeks by an elite crew of 5 Kegs and Chuggers, but there was one variable they never could have accounted for – the bar was open at 9:30am, a full two hours earlier than expected.
The host club made a strategic decision early in the week to mix up their teams, to be known in the inner circle as the Chegs and Kuggers (both of which feel like naughty words). But both teams were doomed as soon as the first pints were pulled. The Wanderers staff knew their weakness and the team of 5 who were floating between the bar and the pitches were ultimately the nail in the coffin for the Chegs, who finished 1*-4 on the day. The Kuggers held on long enough to pull off 2 wins, one of which was versus the Chegs in what was described by one member as “the most fun game I have ever played” and finished with drunken rendition of the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”
It was the undefeated Irish Squad who took home the Paul Stafford trophy defeating a merry band of Hippety’s in the final.
To wrap up a fantastic week of charity, over €1500 worth of prizes were raffled off after the tournament, bringing in a final total of €2900 raised and €2000 donated (after costs) to the Dublin YMCA.
To wrap up a fantastic week of charity, over €1500 worth of prizes were raffled off after the tournament, bringing in a final total of €2900 raised and €2000 donated (after costs) to the Dublin YMCA.
A huge thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s table quiz and blitz. An even bigger thank you to our club sponsor, Slattery’s Pub of Beggars Bush, our wonderful hosts at Wanderers
