Day 5 :)

 Hi all! I'm Marisol Russo and I'm a junior studying Information Management and Technology with a concentration in Data Analytics at the iSchool. While I am not a Falk student, I was very interested in this classes subject, and since arriving to Dublin I have learned so much more! It is nice to learn about topics not included in my major I am expanding my circle of knowledge. 

Today we had a very full day at Leinster Rugby Club learning about various topics as well as seeing one of their facilities and meeting some staff. We arrived by coach to one of their training facilities primarily used by academy and clubs in the county as well as a gym the women's team will use. Paul Cahill, a senior content and social producer, met us and explained a little about his role and an overview of Leinster Rugby and some of his social media strategies to create a digital brand of the team and club. They have various different campaigns and types of content across their various social media platforms but Paul specifically showcased "This is Leinster" their YouTube series following certain players and their stories, this was a huge insight into how these players, specifically the women's team we saw, live their daily lives and their love and passion for the sport and Leinster. After Paul spoke, we heard from Rob Burke the partnerships manager who introduced us to the types of partnerships Leinster Rugby Club runs and how they select who to partner with. 

Leinster was very kind to have provided us with lunch, some wraps and chips as well as pastries from the morning, and with a long lunch break the group took a walk along the river to a nearby strip of different shops, pubs, and more. We decided to sit at a coffee shop and enjoy the sunny day (fingers crossed that it hasn't rained yet!). After our lunch break we were then joined by University of South Carolina for our next presentations, first from Jack O'Brien who has been at Leinster Rugby on their analytics team for 5 years now. I found his presentation very interesting mostly because it was the closest thing to my major! He had a lot of cool experience and insight in how analyzing certain data points, specifically GPS and speed, can help staff make informed decisions dealing with various players.

After Jack spoke, we then heard from Garreth Farrell who is the Head of Physiotherapy who broke down his role and his team who all help to make sure the players are able to recover quickly if they sustain any injury. After Garreth, we then heard from John Ryan who is the head physician who talked to us about case studies pertaining to types of injuries players typically sustain during play. John informed us that the most frequent injury they see are concussions as well as how certain injuries can occur. John provided us with some xrays as well as photos of in-game injuries - while I am not good with blood John was very informative about his role and what he can see on a weekly or daily basis with the players. 

 After departing Leinster Rugby Club, the group got dinner and we tried a famous Dublin "spice bag" which included fries, onions, fried chicken, carrots, dusted with various spices, red peppers, then after some advice from some locals, we put curry sauce on it which made it extremely better!

We ate the Spice Bag while walking to meet up with the rest of the group at the Temple Bar. Overall this day was extremely informative about the impact of Rugby especially Leinster Rugby in Ireland. I look forward to learning more tomorrow and the rest of this week about the influence of sport in Ireland!