MINI MATTERS November 10 th 2014

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1 MINI MATTERS November 10 th 2014 Hello Datchworth Mini Section Coaches, Managers, Players, Parents and Supporters, This week s Remembrance Sunday newsletter has a fair bit to get through as you will see below. No competitive fixture for the Senior Side this weekend but I include a summary from the Senior teams; I also have plenty of Mini News from the trip to Harrow along with some other information. Next week most Mini Age groups hit the road again for an away fixture against Old Grammarians and Ongarm (sadly with the exception of the U12s) before two very welcome training weekends at Datchworth. I hope you enjoy this week s Newsletter. See you at mid-week training or at Old Grammarians in Enfield next Sunday Morning. U6 & U9 Training: The U6s were training again at Datchworth with good numbers! The U9s were also at home training this weekend following a Harrow cancellation due to Coach Availability. 16 boys took part in an excellent training session in the autumn sunshine. Pausing briefly at 11 for Remembrance Sunday; we finished with a very competitive training game where we could really see growing confidence and depth across the squad. William Paine played very well forcing countless turn-over balls; birthday boy Fabian Whitfield scored a much deserved and determined Try as did Nelson Dewolfe. U9 Player of the week was Theo Tilley this week who played exceptionally well across the pitch showing strength and commitment throughout the morning. Harrow Mini s Vs Datchworth: Match Reports: U7 Match Report & Summary The U7s reported a good session at Harrow; the Harrow coaches were very accommodating and had a lot of ideas and some great equipment which made the pre-match training fun. We had 12 boys and girls from Datchworth which was very good. We played two matches of which we won one and drew the other so all in all a good morning! U8 Match Report & Summary will be published on the Club Web Site later in the week.

2 U10 Match Report & Summary by Graham Smith A harrowing experience but not for Datchworth! The U10s win 6 games out of 6 at Harrow RFC! Datchworth U10s were seemingly unstoppable this morning as they ran in a total of 52 tries whilst only conceding 8 in return. We split ourselves into two squads of similar ability: Datchworth U10 Greens: Barney / William / Alex / Sam / Tyler / Flynn / Stanley / Finlay / James / Carter Harrow RFC 3 Datchworth Greens 6 Harrow RFC 1 Datchworth Greens 12 Harrow RFC 2 Datchworth Greens 4 Datchworth U10 Blues: George / Connor / Sebastian / Joseph / Harry / Cameron / Sidney / Sam / Hein Og Harrow RFC 1 Datchworth Blues 9 Harrow RFC 0 Datchworth Blues 8 Harrow RFC 1 Datchworth Blues 13 Some outstanding performances in both attack and defence this week. Tackling was fearsome on occasion and the Harrow boys looked scared as the likes of Sebastian and Barney smashed into would-be attackers time and again, driving the play back and creating turnover ball which Flynn, Conner and Stanley pounced on with glee. Sidney was excellent in all aspects of his play rucking, tackling, passing and some very rapid breaks which helped him collect several tries. Harry threw the most outrageous dummy to bamboozle the advancing defence and scythed through to score. New boys Sam Levitt and Alex continued their great start at Datchworth with a strong display of tackling and passing and Connor was typically brisk and forceful especially when going forward. Flynn looked super-sharp and his electric pace left the opposition flailing at thin air. George was like a rampaging bull at times, low and strong with defenders hanging off him. Overall an excellent display by the boys with a well-deserved set of wins. Some areas still need work especially the ruck immediately after the tackle which is not yet quick enough or forceful enough. U11 Match Report & Summary by Phil Goff - Under 11's win at Harrow Our lads stood up to a tough & physical opposition to take the overall win - Datchworth Under 11's journeyed south down the A1(M) to play Harrow RFC for the first time, and it proved a fruitful morning! Our numbers were down, with only 10 players available due to Remembrance Sunday events, but Harrow were affected worse with only 8 players. Playing two 20 minute games during the

3 morning, Thomas Beechey volunteered to play for Harrow in the first game, and Cameron Smith did so for the second. Well done to those 2 boys for volunteering, and for not taking it easy playing against their team mates! Straight from the off in the first game, Harrow proved to be a very tough, physical side to play against but our lads didn't take it lying down. The first half was a very closely fought affair, with some great turnover work especially from Matthew Rates who ripped the ball in contact on several occasions. With the game starting to get a little scrappy, and going into the half time break 1 try to zero down, it would have been easy for our lads to drop their heads, but they fought back strongly in the second half. Straight from the second half whistle both teams played with passion, and we got some lovely running rugby on the go with plenty of soft passes and offloads in the tackle area, and some nice runs from Thomas Paine & Spike Howard. Spencer Bayford got on the end of one those passes, and made a great run down the line to bring things level at 1-1. Several times throughout the game he also made some great clearance kicks, and even the odd dummy kick to throw off the Harrow defence. On one occasion one of the Harrow players made the mistake of trying to charge down one of Spencer "the boot" Bayford's kicks, and unfortunately then ended up sitting out of the rest of the morning's play after making a close inspection of the ball with his face. A little while later, after some hugely powerful play from our possible future front rows William Bacon, Matthew Rates and Isaac Byrne, Isaac made a lovely charge through contact followed by a clever back handed offload to William Goff who charged down the line sidestepping 2 players for the winning try, making it 2-1 Datchworth. After a short break for the 2 minute silence at 11am, where our boys did us proud once again with exemplary behaviour, we were into our second game of the morning. Again we showed that we are working well as a team, and getting better at the ruck in terms of protecting the ball, as well as driving over it to win turnover ball. Harrow took first blood however with a storming run from one of their faster players through several of our defence players, but William Goff chased him down and managed to tackle him from behind right on the line, although it was a metre too late as he touched it down. Later in the half however, he was able to make amends as he ran in a powerful drive through contact to get his second of the morning, making it 1-1 at the break. The second half saw Harrow get their 2nd try, but great link play between Spencer Bayford and Matthew "Ripper" Rates saw Matthew run over for a great try to make it 2-2. With the final seconds of the game to play, and with Datchworth camped 5 metres from the Harrow line and a free pass to Datch, Isaac "Bruiser" Byrne was screaming for the ball to come his way for him to do his trademark charge through the defence, but miscommunication saw the ball get thrown out of play, and we were denied the chance of our second win of the morning, and had to settle for the draw.

4 A great morning's rugby, with every player on the field playing their part and giving it their all. After consultation with the parents it was unanimously decided that William Goff would take the Player of the Week trophy - well done William - and well done Datchworth Under 11's! U12 Match Report & Summary We travelled down to sunny Harrow and found ourselves not only with a full team for the first time this season but also a sub!! The tactical possibilities were endless now!! Let s try and keep the numbers going up! The U12s played 2 hard fought games against Harrow and although the score-line went against us, we played with real passion and spirit and were desperately unlucky to lose the second game to a try with the last play of the match. 1 st Game Datchworth v Harrow Lost Comment from Liam Simmonds: Datchworth under 12 s fielded a full side with a substitute against a strong Harrow squad of 20 plus players. The first half was a close game as we played well in rucks and passing game and at half time the teams were all square. The second half Harrow started stronger and we fought valiantly but we were unable to stop the strong Harrow team from winning the game. Coach s Comment: Datch at last started a game fully awake and this made such a difference, but ultimately Harrow s extra power / weight was to prove the difference. We did take an early lead through Will Ross who went over for a well worked try. Nicholas showed us his fearsome pace when he went over for a try which left defenders clutching at thin air. Harrow made some tactical changes which strengthened their attack options and they made us pay with some well worked tries. Olly Tatlow completed the Datch scoring with a typical strong run, before he received an injury which meant he played no further part in the games. Our scrum was under pressure throughout this game and clearly we have some work to do in this department but the whole pack gave their all and that s all you can ask. Our kicking was solid but the small pitch proved testing as Will Ross was able to kick from one end to the other! Game 2 Datchworth v Harrow lost Comment from Liam Simmonds: Harrow got off to a flying start scoring two try s in quick succession, Datchworth turned the game around with some excellent scrum and ruck work. We levelled the game only for Harrow to too score in the last play to win the game Coach s Comment: This was a closer contest as Datch really tackled anything that moved, with Paddy putting in some bone crunching tackles. Our rucking was strong throughout and on a number of occasions we counter rucked strongly in order to turn over the ball. Elliott had a fine game and linked well with Ollie Barnes in order to create lots of attacking opportunities for Datch. Will Ross scored another fine try to give us an early lead. Nicholas again left some scorch marks on the ground in going over for his second try of the day. The lead changed hands several times and Ollie Barnes was able to take a quick tap penalty and beat the cover defence to score a well taken try. However we could not keep the lead as Harrow kept scoring as well. We started to pass the ball much better in this game and were able to make strong gains. Elliot capped a fine performance with a neatly taken try showing both his strength and speed to cross the line.we made it difficult for ourselves by

5 trying to play rugby behind our own try line and this led to two soft tries which ultimately proved the difference between the teams. Summary: We showed real spirit and heart in both games and heads never dropped which was great to see. Harrow proved a strong team who ran out worthy winners. There are definitely some things we need to work on in training (attacking lines / defensive lines / scrummage / not throwing the ball between our legs!) but the effort level was spot on, and all boys gave their all. Senior Section Update I hope some of you may be interested in an update from the Senior Section The 1 st XV, apart from a slip-up away to Hitchin (27-17), have had an excellent month with wins at home to Stevenage (24-17) and Belsize Park (19-12) and away to Old Streetonians (5-33) and currently sit at 5 th in their League (London NW3). We are the only team to have beaten Welwyn, who lie top, and we are one of two teams to have beaten Belsize Park who lie second. The 2 nd XV are finding life tough in Herts Merit Table Division 2, which is not surprising following two promotions in two seasons. Recent good wins home against Hackney and Tring were encouraging, although they had a tough time against a strong Welwyn IIs side, going down on 1 st November. The 3 rd XV are having a good season with good numbers allowing us to field teams for all of our schedule fixtures. Following availability and injury issues across the Senior sides earlier in the season, everything is looking much healthier and we are confident of fielding three Senior XVs every Saturday for the rest of the season. Datchworth Vets Rugby?! I have now received a few requests and expressions of interest from Mini Parents about the potential for a possible Vets fixture. I understand that Belsize Park would be interested to arrange a Vets fixture with us and dependent on numbers I am sure we can work something out that would work for everyone involved. If anyone is keen on a run out but who has not played a lot of Rugby recently, (or ever), or if perhaps you are not confident enough for the 3 rd XV, then drop me an and if we have sufficient numbers I will work with Jeremy to see if we can arrange an adhoc Datchworth Vets team for a trial fixture. The RFU guidelines detail that veteran s rugby is typically a modified version of the game that provides an excuse to go out and get some fresh air before enjoying a quiet pint after a game. Basic Laws of Vets Rugby: Uncontested scrums / Games should be 15-a-side / Rolling substitutions (where players are allowed to go off and return later) / Aggressive play not encouraged or acceptable / Not to be taken too seriously. The veterans game should enjoyed by players who are, (much), older than 35, with shorter playing times, (typically 1 hour), agreed between teams. Vets rugby will limit very vigorous play with the emphasis on fun,

6 friendship, fraternity, family and Rugby Values. Pitch Side Datch Some of you might be aware that the Club has been exploring the potential to add some temporary advertising sign boards in front of the hedgerow along one side of the First Team Pitch. We have now been given the green light to go ahead with a special fence that will mount temporary advertising sign boards that are going to be put out every Saturday and taken down every Sunday for the whole of the Season. These light-weight boards will be seen by all visitors to the Club and hopefully will feature in the local press photo s through the Season. We are keen to kick things off with our main Club Sponsors but if you own a business or know somebody who does or indeed if you think your employer might be interested in taking a sign board at Datchworth please let me know. Winter Weather Looking after our Club House Last weekend we had a fair bit of mud in the club-house after training. Can I please ask everyone to remember that we cannot have any Rugby boots in the Clubhouse players or coaches! While I realise it is a bit of a pain can I also please ask parents to either bring a change of footwear for after training or as a minimum give wellies a good clean outside as the weather deteriorates and the mud increases!? Additionally, now that the weather has turned we will only be using the main entrance from the car park rather than the side doors onto the patio; but please still come in for a drink and bite to eat after Training. Thanks all for your support and understanding. Mid-Week Mini Training at Datchworth this week U9 U11 Wednesday 12 th November 6:30 till 8 Last week we enjoyed a good turn out under the lights on a cold bonfire night training session; this coming Wednesday 12 th Mid Week Training will take place as usual 6:30 till per child for the external coach and flood lights. Please make every effort to come along if you can. All are welcome and we will have some fun it is worth wrapping up as the temperature is starting to drop off now for the mid-week training session slot! Retail News The Mini Tuck shop continues to do well and after all of our costs we currently have a Profit of 140 towards enhancing this Seasons Mini Tour. The Tuck Shop will be open throughout training for our forthcoming training weekends. Some of you may also be aware that the Club Shop is now stocking Datchworth Branded water bottles at 4.50 each. These really are good quality nicely branded and useful bits of kit which I am sure our players would appreciate Please buy them!

7 Further Reminder - Xmas First XV Saturday 13 th December - Datchworth Vs Grasshoppers The Christmas Season First XV Mini Supporters Game is now just about a month away. With the focus on 1 Club, this Season I really hope we see a big turn out from the Mini Section throughout the afternoon. The Plan for the day is taking shape and provisionally will look like this: 13:15 Mini Players Arrive Hot Soup & Roll Available for All Mini Parents & Supporters 13:30 Mini Mixed Age Group special rules Touch Kicks Off (15 mins each way) 14:00 Guard of Honour / Supporters Group Form to cheer on First XV 14:15 Kick Off Datchworth Vs Grasshoppers 14:20 Hot Dogs / Burgers for all Mini Players / pitch-side or club house (weather dependent) 15:45 End of Game return to Club House 16:30 18:00 (approx) Live Music in the Club House / Player Presentations / Mince Pies & Sausage Rolls / Mulled Wine for all. The Club Bar will be open throughout the afternoon and into the evening. I would appreciate an indication of likely numbers in early December via the age group Managers so we can sort the catering out. As previously said if people only wish to pop down for the music and a Christmas drink later in the afternoon that is absolutely fine and you will be made very welcome. Do try to come if you can. Ongoing Mini Section Team & Player Photographs: I am absolutely delighted that we now have orders for 97 pictures. Orders are mostly ready for collection and will be available either next weekend or at our next full home training session on 23 rd November. We will continue to take orders through-out November so please consider getting your orders in if you are yet to do so. The online galleries remain available and can be accessed via the passwords do let me know if you have any problems. Next Weekend 16 th November U7 to U11 Age Groups Three Way Away Fixture at Old Grammarians RFC Next weekend the U7s/8s/9s/10s and 11s are heading over for a three way Away Fixture being hosted at Old Grammarians in Enfield. Datchworth have a long tradition of playing Old Grammarians RFC, (OGs were the first ever team played by Datchworth), and I am looking forward to the fixture. The other team in attendance will be Ongar RFC. The address for Old Grammarians RFC is Green Dragon Lane, London N21 1EP the web site with a decent map is: Can I ask that we all aim to meet / start warming up at 9:45AM for a 10:15 Kick Off across the age groups.

8 Fixture Planner Looking Forward: The period to Christmas for the Mini Section looks like this: Week Date Nov Nov Nov Dec Dec 14-Dec Dec XX 28-Dec Datchworth RFC Mini Section Fixture Card Provisional 14/15 Season Away fixture at Old Grammarians RFC (with Ongar RFC - three way) U7s / U8s / U9s / U10s / U11s Training at Datchworth Training at Datchworth Away fixture Stevenage RFC First XV Mini Supporters Lunch & Game Datchworth V Grasshoppers followed by Live Music & Mince Pies Away fixture at Hertford RFC Training at Datchworth XMAS / New Year Weekend Break No Rugby Summary Notes I hope you all enjoyed some good Rugby away at Harrow or at home at Datchworth this weekend. We were lucky to enjoy good weather and good results across the age groups. I was very pleased to hear that the U12s had a full team and a substitute this week which is absolutely brilliant news for the Club and a great reflection on the coaching team looking after the U12s. Next week most of us are on the road again before a couple of very welcome training weekends back at Datchworth. It is very encouraging to see the whole Mini Section and indeed Club playing well, pulling together and enjoying Rugby this Season. I also wanted to say that if you want a bit more Rugby the Autumn Internationals will all be on in the Club House over the coming few Saturdays and the Club would be delighted to see anyone from the Mini Section who wants to come along and enjoy the game with a bit of atmosphere. Lastly I will keep you posted of this as arrangements firm up but the Club is looking to hold a New Year s Eve party this year in the Club House. It is likely to be Fancy Dress with some music a buffet and the bar! Tickets are likely to be 10 per head (TBC). I will keep you posted but do let me know if you are interested in coming along. Best wishes, Andrew Andrew Howard Chairman Mini Section