The Mini Rugby Season
Coaches & Managers
 |
Head Coach
Iain Carmichael
|
 |
Team Manager
Andrew Lister
|
|
|
Flying Kukris Festival
Our last festival before the Christmas break served up another great day of rugby. Similar to our own festival we had fantastic weather and even bigger pitches. The games were the longest yet with each game lasting almost 15 minutes. This combination led to some very exciting and hard fought games from all of our teams.
Falcons
The Falcons again got the festival off to a winning start for the Sandy Bay teams with a great performance against DEA which was comfortably won. The next two games (Football Club and Valley) were nail biting thrillers. In both we edged through as winners by 1 try, in the last game against VF this was scored about 1 second before the final whistle! It’s impossible to single out any of the players in the Falcons as they all worked extremely hard for the team and played their positions well. Yet again the key difference was the intense pressure the guys placed on the other teams and the relentless tackling from all. Despite going three win for three, the team's potential is far from maxed out with the best to come - roll on 2012…!!
Predators
The Predators started the day with a real fire in their belly and beat DEA2 quite convincingly, 4-0 with tries from Axel, Charlie Taylor, Tadhg and Charlie Sudden Spiers who had a fantastic run down the wing to score his first ever try so well done Charlie! There seemed to be a little loss of focus for game 2 and the Sai Kung Stingrays played a very aggressive game resulting in a few minor bumps, a few tears and a 2 nil victory for SKS. At the Sandy Bay festival, the Predators managed to draw against the same team so were understandably disappointed. With the last game against Valley, and a few hard words from the coaches, the fire was back. After trailing by 2 tries, the Predators scored, then Valley scored putting us 2 tries behind again but the boys fought back to end up with a 3 all draw. Try scorers were Tadhg, with an inspirational run down the wing, Charlie Taylor, who caught the ball from our kick off and ran through the defense, and Axel who continued his strong performance throughout the day. As a team, the boys are showing just how well they can play together as a team. When they are focused and have their mind on the game, they are certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Special thanks to Zoe Lister who was emergency substitute on the day and also played 5 games in the afternoon for the U9/!0 girls team.
Harriers
The Harriers had a busy morning, playing three tough games against strong teams from Valley, Football Club and DB Pirates, with more than a few players playing extra games with the Cheetahs. No wins this week, but we saw improvements in players moving around the pitch and thinking about getting into position. Some good tackles and play, but the focus moving forward is to make sure that every tackle counts, players are confidently connecting and their team mates are coming in from behind to support and win the ball. Well done again to the Harriers.
Cheetahs
The Cheetahs returned three wins from three games but took nearly five minutes in the first game to really wake up and come back from a try down to run out winners. Remaining games saw the team working really hard together (with a couple of new faces to make up for a couple of missing players) showing a good improvement as the tournament progressed. It is difficult to pick out any individuals as all the team put in excellent performances with good tackling and handling of the ball. There is still room for improvement in some aspects of the game which we will need to address in the upcoming weeks. However, overall a good enjoyable days rugby from all the team. Now all they need is for Santa to bring a copy of the "Barbarians v All Blacks 1973" game to see how it should be done..!!
If we don’t see you at training over the Xmas period, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
The U9 Coaches
Welcome to what should now be a regular feature on the U9 webpage, some updates on the festivals and the general progress on our rugby playing kids.
First we would like to say a very big thank you to all the Under 9 kids for their incredible start to the season’s first two festivals. This year is a major step up and the contact rugby began with a bang at DEA’s festival on the 6th November. We fielded 4 teams under the new names of Falcons, Predators, Harriers and Cheetahs.
DEA Festival
All teams competed extremely well and overall we won 6, drew 2 and lost 4. A very encouraging start.
Falcons
The Falcons got the season off to a flying start with a win against DB Pirates followed by an exciting match against Football Club which they just won. The standard of rugby from both our guys and the other clubs was amazing. We were particularly encouraged by the great team work shown by everyone in the Falcons. They stuck to their positions and did their ‘jobs’ very well.
Predators
The Predators likewise had a great start and showed some outstanding promise. The team really came together and supported each other throughout. Some great driving from the forwards pack led the initial games, with a couple of great runs from the backs. In two of the games they won every scrum whether put in from our team or the opponents. We didn't manage to win a game but the confidence in the boys kept building and our final game against the DB Pirates was a cracker. With us being 1 up for most of the game, the dying seconds had us fending off a final push from the Pirates at our line. The boys really tried hard in defence to keep them at bay but the Pirates managed to squeeze through to even the score. A fantastic effort and one to be proud of.
Harriers and Cheetahs
The Harriers and Cheetahs comprised our largest squad, and included a mixture of kids who train on a Saturday night and Sunday mornings. Both teams were outstanding and won the majority of their games. It was particularly encouraging to see some kids in this group who have only been playing rugby a matter of weeks compete well and, most importantly, have a lot of fun!
Sandy Bay festival
Next up we had our own home festival on Sunday 26th November. With fantastic weather and massive pitches the scene was set for another excellent day of rugby. The teams didn’t let us down and as a group we continued our strong start to the season with 8 win, 3 draws and 5 losses. Again all four teams played their part.
Falcons
The Falcons came up against some very strong competition particularly from Football Club and Valley, the latter of which was a gruelling battle to the end. We held out in both games and scored a victory over Football club and a draw against Valley. Again the team worked extremely well together and we were particularly encouraged by the relentless pressure they place on the opposition. From the start to the finish the Falcons never give up fighting and pushing for the ball.
Predators
Although the Predators only won 1 game, the team played extremely well this tournament and were committed throughout. There was some great defensive work and strong attacking runs. Special mentions to Hugo for his flying tackles, Charlie Taylor and Charlie Sudden-Speers for their constant pressure in the forwards.
Harriers
The Harriers had their best performances as a team to date. The whole team was playing better and really starting to connect on the tackles.
Cheetahs
In the Cheetahs, all player's performed above expectations. The games showed the team had listened to the coaches and taken on board the techniques they had developed during practice and they put them into play during all the games, with players supporting each other both in attack and defence. There were a few highlights, including scoring a try after collecting a bounce from our own kick-off, some excellent defensive tackling and hard work in the rucks and mauls. Overall a really good mornings work.
|