MINI MATTERS Week 22

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1 MINI MATTERS Week 22 Sunday 28 th January 2018 Hello Datchworth Mini Section Coaches, Managers, Players, Parents and Supporters, This weekend Datchworth Mini s were hosting Stevenage; the temperature was mild and the pitches were a bit muddy but it sounds as though most age groups enjoyed some good rugby Datchworth U6s Vs Training: The first spell of relatively mild weather meant a record attendance of 25 turned out for the U6s this week. We are certainly building a healthy crop of young talent and it was great to see so many in attendance this week for a roll around in the mud...literally! Due to the wintery weather, last weekend the U6s training pitch didn t take much to make it a place where pigs would be just as happy as our under U6s! As we went through the session it was clear that a number of the team were trying to win the muddiest player award - Skye, I think this went to you, full marks for the facial muddy war paint! We started the session with some run and swerve relays and then ensured everyone was suitably warmed up with the usual bean game. Due to the conditions, it was only right that we squeezed in a game of stuck in the mud and this set everyone up quite nicely for the rest of the session which included ball carrying and try scoring drills, an assault course and two games of the teams favourite, Bulldog. This is always very competitive and with 25 players competing this week it was even more difficult than usual. All the team did exceptionally well however and continue to improve, constantly looking for space and showing some great footwork. I say this every Sunday, but it is true that player of the week is now so difficult to choose due to all the squad always giving their best. The enthusiasm and energy from every member of the team is fantastic each Sunday no matter what the conditions are like. This week s player of the week however went to Harry T. Harry has shown some real focus in trying to improve his

2 passing over the last few sessions and this showed in this weekend s drills. Great performance this weekend Harry, well deserved! Datchworth U7s Vs Stevenage: Our pitch seemed to have turned into a mud bath this morning, however we welcomed two teams from Stevenage as this week s opposition. It was another pretty cold and windy week, but even so we put in a stronger performance against Stevenage with some great tackling from Felix and excellent running from Bo and James. George did a great job organising defence well. We had more players than Stevenage so it fell to Coach Dave to keep the children not playing warm and motivated, running them up and down the field, chasing one player with the ball to try to collect the tags. Hopefully our visit to Enfield next week will bring some warmer weather! We welcomed a new player this week, William, who put on a shirt and belt and got stuck in within a minute or two of joining us. For a first week, he did a great job, and showed a few of the team how it should be done. Well done William!

3 Datchworth U8s Vs Stevenage: Three U8 Stevenage tag rugby teams arrived at Datchworth this Sunday. After warming up in our squads, we split into teams and played some great tag rugby against the three opposing teams. Our players ran well and showed some great dodging which allowed them to score lots of fantastic tries. They also supported each other really well... great teamwork U8s! Well done to Edward, our player of the week this week! Datchworth U9s Vs Stevenage: A nice sharp tackle clinic warmed all the players up this morning along with 30 second bursts of on your toes mirroring your partner s movements. The warm up set the tone for the whole session. Our opponents visited with 10 players so we decided to rotate our 4 teams around Stevenage. We played 4 15 minutes continuous games. We had our usual group huddle before the games and our challenge this week was to turn our tackling into a form of attack and not let the opposition in to our half!! For three of the four games, Stevenage only scored on a couple of occasions. We turned the ball over on nearly every other occasion pushing the opposition backwards to their own try line. Stevenage to their credit kept at it but we were relentless with every Datchworth player making hits. Meanwhile on the training paddock we concentrated on restarts giving our players challenges from different areas of the pitch using dummy runners, pivots, loop arounds and quick passing. The challenge, take the moves in to the game, no one person just running in tries for fun, emphasis on team. Wow...boy did we see some moves!!

4 It was not all about beating Stevenage it was important they got benefit from the session which they said they did. Nice coaches and players from Stevenage behaviour from both clubs a credit. Balance achieved. Huddle at the end, praise for everyone coaches challenge to all, the bar is set high we don't slip back. Player of the week, Harry Munns who listened and played some great rugby. Datchworth U10s Vs Stevenage: After last week s sub zero temperatures it was good that the kids could actually feel their hands this week while trying to play rugby! We welcomed a strong Stevenage side and played a round robin tournament with their team staying on the pitch while we rotated our teams to play them. Stevenage gave our boys a lesson in rucking which will stand them in good stead going forward. They showed excellent technique and were very aggressive at the ruck which made it very difficult for us to gain any momentum. The Stevenage defence was also strong and they constantly put us under pressure. It was good to see the Datchworth boys respond to the challenge and take the opposition on at full tilt. It was certainly one of the most eagerly contested games we have had this year. When coming up against sides like this we need to learn to back our handling skills and move the ball wide early to use our pace and take the ball away from the heavy contact areas. It was great to have such strong opposition and all the boys will have learnt a lot this morning. Tomas k stood out for his aggression in both attack and defence and was awarded the man of the match. Datchworth U11s Vs Stevenage: On a pleasant Sunday morning once again the U11 s had great numbers with 23 boys and girls turning out. First up we played our blue team but included Tom P in the centre so he could hone his skills in the back line, every one played well and we won comfortably without conceding a try. What to do next against the same Stevenage 10

5 that played the first game. We decided to restrict our green team to six paces with ball in hand and it was a pleasure to watch as no one took any contact and we ran in 9 tries in the first half. All in all we had a really good days rugby, Charlie and James were given player(s) of the week! I must also mention the effort the Stevenage team put in after being completely over run in two games they wanted to play a third and never gave up. An example to all Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and sportsmanship. Datchworth U12s Vs Stevenage: The U12s had another great squad turn-out this Sunday and it was good to see every player of the squad make a contribution to the team. We played two games against a physical Stevenage Town side but in both games the handling and distribution of the Datchworth boys saw us come out on top. The forwards contest was an even match up but when we found space the Datchworth boys were scoring with ease. The first game was an 8-0 (40-0 in proper Rugby scoring); the second game was 6-2, (30-10). There were lots of good performances again today from across the squad; Ronan, Oli G, Kobie, Owen, Thomas and Elliot were all excellent with the ball in hand; Nelson and Fabian were powerful runners this week; Alex Donovan and Kyle contributed for both teams today! James Bedford did very well filling in at full-back, William Paine and Matthew McGinty were both brave in the break-down. But this week it was great to see Jack Ingram get stuck in at the breakdown and it was really pleasing to see the attitude, commitment, bravery and try-scoring of Harry King who was our deserved Player of the Week. Well done to all and thanks again for more great photos from Warren! Datchworth Youth Rugby Round Up: Datchworth U13s vs Welwyn friendly result: loss Datchworth U14s vs Bedford friendly result: win Datchworth U15s vs Royston Cup result: win Datchworth U16s vs Chess Valley Cup result: 50-7 win

6 Youth Rugby Sunday 4th Feb:- U13s - Training pitch 2 / 3 U14s - Home Friendly vs Welwyn Pitch 1-11am KO U15s - Training pitch 2 / 3 U16s - Training/game Bishop Stortford with the U17s U17s - Away League game vs Bishops Stortford Girls Rugby Update: Warrior Camp Datchworth RFC hosted our first Girls Warrior Camp on Sunday afternoon attracting new girls to the club and boosting numbers for our future u13s Youth squad. We were very lucky to have Hannah Botterman with us for the whole session and the girls enjoyed the novelty of playing Stuck in the Mud and being chased down by an England prop forward. Some big thanks goes out to her. After introducing the newer girls to the game, we finished with what was intended to be some light contact work. The girls had other ideas and put on a very impressive display of tackle bag relay. Following the event, we have potentially doubled our numbers of girls in the under 11s and opened the door to building both an u15s and u18s. We will aim to run another camp before the close of the season so please keep up the recruiting efforts. It s all starting to pay off. The Ladies Touch Rugby sessions on Monday evenings are starting to gain some traction and great fun is had by those who attend. I d like to encourage the mums and older sisters from the club to give them a try. You can either get in touch with Lynne beforehand ( lcsolomon@btinternet.com ) or just turn up. It s a 7.30pm start. Datchworth Girls Promotional Video:

7 Mini Mid-Week Training: Continues - WEDNESDAY 24 th JANUARY The first sessions are approx. 6:30 till 7:30 and the second session 7:35 till 8:35. Details and locations as below: Age Group Time / Date / Location Notes U10s U11s U12s 6:30 till 7:30 PM Flood lit training pitch 6:30 till 7:30 PM Flood Lit training pitch 7:35 till 8:35 PM Flood lit training pitch Wed 10 th Jan Confirmed Session Wed 10 th Jan Confirmed Session Wed 10 th Jan Confirmed Session Mid-Week Training Pitch Space Allocation as usual at the two-time slots: Other Club News & Event Information: Senior Rugby The First XV enjoyed a solid bonus point, home-win against Hitchin on Saturday afternoon. With good support the boys came home winners. The Second XV also beat Hitchin while the 3 rd XV fell short away against Cheshunt. Well done to the First XV and all of the Senior sides Datchworth Rugby Club - Mini and Youth Dinner and Dance: For those people who secured 2018 Dinner and Dance Payments can I now please ask for any outstanding payments by the 30th January. Payment of 55 per ticket can be made either by Cash or Cheque passed to you age group manager or directly to Nicola Howard, (made payable to Datchworth RFC), or a bank transfer to the Datchworth RFC club account (with reference Name age group and dinner dance); Club Payment details: Datchworth RFC Sort code: Account No: Reference 'Dinner Dance and age group Following confirmation of payment tickets can be collected from Nicola.

8 Next Weekend s Mini Arrangements: Next Sunday the Datchworth Mini Section (U7 to U12s) are away at Enfield Ignations meet at 10AM in Enfield for a 10:30 Kick Off. Enfield Ignatians Rugby Club Donkey Lane Enfield Middlesex EN1 3PL Club house tel: Sunday Parking Arrangements: Thanks to all the U11 parents who arrived early and helped control car parking this weekend Warren S for helping collect the cones at the end of the morning. I am delighted to say that I have not been made aware of any parking issues from this weekend. Mini Section Fixtures Plan 2017/18 Season: Week Date Datchworth RFC Mini Section Provisional 17/18 Season DRFC Parking Duty Friday 2 nd Feb 04-Feb 10-Feb 11-Feb U11s & U12s Flood Lit Fixture St Albans RFC - Friday Night Game & Social 7PM DRFC Away Vs Enfield Ignations at Enfield TBC Allianz Park Saracens Festival N/A Friday Youth N/A Training at Datchworth - U9s Away Vs Bishops Stortford U Feb DRFC Away Vs Letchworth at Letchworth Youth Feb Charles Morris Cup Weekend Vs Welwyn U Mar DRFC Minis Vs Chess Valley at Datchworth (U7 to U11) U Mar U12s Training at Datchworth DRFC Minis Vs St Albans at Datchworth U Mar DRFC Minis Vs Old Grammarians at Datchworth U12

9 Mar Hitchin Festival U7s, U8s, U9 Training at Datchworth, U10, U11, U12 TBC 31 1-Apr Easter Sunday - No Rugby Easter Sunday Closing Notes & Roundup It was a mild Sunday morning at Datchworth and while the pitches were still very soft and muddy from the recent rain-fall we were able to enjoy some good rugby in all of our age-groups through the Mini and Youth Section; in addition, the girls Warrior Camp was well supported and on the back of excellent wins for the senior First and Second XV on Saturday it really was a good weekend for Datchworth from U6s to the over 40s! Have a great weekend and see you next weekend, Best wishes, Andrew Andrew Howard Chairman Mini Section