The Eastside Lions enjoyed one of their best seasons in the club’s history, and a big part of that was a tour to Ireland.

Eastside finished the regular season in Washington with an 9-1 record, and took 3rd in the Boys HS National Championships Tier 2 after a one-point loss in the semis.

For coach Ray Keane and the team, the success was tied into a tour of Ireland talent with Irish Rugby Tours.

The Lions toured Ireland in April and reconnected with a coach who has a history in the Pacific Northwest - Tony Smith is head coach at Trinity College in Dublin, and before that he coached high school rugby in the Seattle area for some years. Smeeth ran a session with the Lions and was impressed with the Lions team.

“They are a strong-skilled and well-coached side,” said Smeeth. “They are one of the better groups I have seen; some intelligent players in that group. They get it!”

The Lions played Malahide RFC on Old Belvedere College’s state-of-the-art practice field right next to the iconic Croke Park.

“It just shows the investment being made in high school rugby in Ireland,” said Keane

The eight-day trip included sightseeing organized by Irish Rugby Tours, who also set up three matches. Eastside defeated Tullow RFC of Leinster 55-7, Malahide RFC of Leinster 41-0, and Munster’s Newcastle West 37-7.

“All of the coaches were very impressed with individual and collective skill level of our team,” said Keane. “All in all it was a great experience for our boys. It was an honor and pleasure to bring these players to Ireland and test their skills. Some will advance to the next level but all will have learned from an incredible experience in what the game is truly about.”

Leinster Rugby’s Paul Brady echoed Smeeth’s words in assessing the Eastside players.

“USA underage rugby on the up,” enthused Brady. “[It was] great to see such a well drilled side, also nice to see the Ireland and Leinster connections, We already have one or two of these boys on our radar; great to see them play in person and hoping to continue working with them, nice job Ray Keane.”

Munster’s Matt Brown was also impressed. “Having spent time playing in Seattle myself, it was an honor to run a session with these boys. There is some really good talent in there, and I am sure we will see some of these boys progress in the future.”