The Mullingar Heifers rugby team recently took part in the Midlands Midnight 7s tournament in Tullamore and, let’s be honest, things escalated.
They didn’t win the competition but they seemed committed to having the craic off the field – until that eventually overlapped onto the field of course.
During the men’s social final between Sligo RFC and UL, Ellen Taite of the Heifers ran onto the pitch and streaked through open play to the delight of her team mates until she was mercilessly stopped in her tracks – but not for long.
Six years with the Mullingar Heifers have prepared Taite for the rough and tumble of the rugby field so she had no reservations or worries in completing a beeline around the pitch before making her way right into the thick of the action.
“My team mate Teenie did it last year and it’s always the Heifers you can count on for a streaker,” Taite told SportsJOE.
“I got a burst of confidence and energy and just did it.
“It all happened in the space of one minute.”
Then, things took a turn.
Taite seems athletic and fearless but she was soon tracked down by a member of the Sligo RFC men’s team who decided to take action into his own hands when the streaker paused the play; so he sprinted after her before stopping her run with a hefty diving tackle.
In fairness to Taite, she bounced straight back up and carried on unharmed and made her way back to her friends and teammates, all of whom seemed to be having a great time.
“Yeah it hurt,” she said of the tackle. “But my pride was hit more so I leaped up and ran back to the team.
“Another guy then streaked fully naked straight after me.
“It was good craic.”
Fair play.
