MINI MATTERS Sunday 20 th March 2016 County Contact Festival Weekend

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1 MINI MATTERS Sunday 20 th March 2016 County Contact Festival Weekend Hello Datchworth Mini Section Coaches, Managers, Players, Parents and Supporters, This weekend was a busy one for Datchworth Mini s... we were split across 4 locations on Sunday with U6 Training at Datchworth, an U7 and U8 Tag fixture with St Albans and the U9 an U10 County Contact Festival at Hertford and the U11 and U12s County Contact Festival at Hemel Hempstead. All of the age groups enjoyed good player turnout which was great to see. The Match Reports are detailed below but the highlights look to be the performances of the U9s, the team spirit, effort and cohesion of the U10 Blues and the results of the U12s. The U10 Greens and U11s had fairly challenging mornings but we will all learn from the experiences of some very competitive fixture with some big Clubs. I think it is also appropriate to say that the back-drop of all of the Mini Fixtures was the England Grand Slam secured on Saturday evening so a few of the Coaches were nursing sore heads as things got underway on Sunday morning... U6 Training@ Datch Sun shone, ground was dry and conditions were great. All kids did well and started with a warm up and then went into rob the nest. Then moved into a game of 6 v 6. Everyone got involved and it was nice seeing those that played with the 7's last week sharing what they had learnt. In particular getting the defensive wall together and supporting each other when attacking. There were a number of pretty impressive runs (within the touch lines!!!) And most importantly the ball was passed backwards (mostly) Interestingly enough when it wasn't passed backwards the children themselves are now picking up on this and complaining to the ref! Player of the week was Sean Gavin U7 Datchworth Vs St Albans A hospitable St. Albans hosted Datchworth today, great numbers gave us 5 a side games with a floating group carrying out running drills. We played three or four games, it was obvious with the exception of a few of the St Albans players Datchworth were by far more organised, drilled and able. We played 4 against 5 to push our players, setting up the fullback position and trying multiple starting formats giving us opportunity to look to our next season as U8's, of season homework to follow. It was nice to run some moves with the floating group and put that practice in to match situations. Even the St Albans coach commented "What's an 80 move"? Big mention to everyone for turning up, the coaches and Jo for all your help as ever, honestly, well done to all our boys for their hard work and considerable effort today. A special mention to two boys today who I thought stood out and played some excellent rugby they were Zac Harris and Max Willis

2 U8 Datchworth Vs St Albans Another cracking morning for rugby and a chance for the kids to emulate their grand slam winning heroes! The St. Albans team showed great commitment to play our 3 teams on the bounce with some great rugby and fun had by all. We continue to work on the guys straightening their running lines and using the ball to beat the player and we are starting to see some real progress. Everyone showed great commitment and enthusiasm today and Jack was named Player of the week. Thank you to St. Albans for the hospitality and providing a certain contender for the best bacon sarnies on the circuit (obviously ex datch). U9 Hertford RFC - County Contact Festival 2015/16 The magnificent Under 9's managed to field two sides of 7 in pools B & D today for the County festival, given our small numbers, and we were up against a number of big clubs. Warrens blue team of Alby, Charlie, Lucien, Mateo, Reece and Ross started with a win against Tring 7-4 then followed up with a 10-5 win against OA's, a draw against St Albans 6-6 and a final win against OV's 6-5. Alby, Charlie and Matthew scored the majority of the tries with Alby in particular using his size really well today. Woody's green team were George, Myles, Oliver, Sammy, Theo, Tom P and Tom R. They did similarly well first beating Cheshunt resoundingly 5-0, then drawing 1-1 with Harpenden in a tight game, beating Watford 5-3, Hitchin 6-3 and finally drawing again with Charles Morris Cup rivals Welwyn 3-3. Myles, Tom and George run in the majority of the tries. The speed of scrum half recycling was excellent in particular and it made a big difference. However today was not about who scored the tries. We were up against much bigger clubs and the whole team pulled together with every single player putting in tackles, making yards and giving 100%+ effort today. Our tackling was excellent and fair, and I received praise from several other coaches on this given we are not physically the biggest either.

3 We didn't award any players of the week as the coaches really thought this was about team effort today. There are clearly things to work on like support and offloading but we played some great rugby today and should be proud. To chalk up 6 wins, 3 draws and no losses was fantastic so well done everyone. U10 Datchworth Hertford RFC - County Contact Festival 2015/16 The U10 Blues by John McGinty! What a fantastic morning of rugby from the Datchworth Blues who proudly walk away from the festival with 1 win, 1 draw and 2 losses (including a lesson in refereeing which we're not going to talk about). From the first match it was very clear it was going to be a very hard day of contact rugby with rucks, mauls and tough tackling the standard starting against Fullerians Warriors. From the kick off ferocious attacking and defending from stand out scrum half Tom Moore showing technique and bravery; in the loose both, Fabien Whitfield and Jack Ingram, (who may well have secured a haulage sponsors for the number of hard yards they gained in the mauls). A very tough game snatched by Fullerians and a marker for what was ahead. Next up hosts Herford Panthers - the Blues switched in a new set of forwards with Lucas Viudez and Jack Ingram showing the great strength in depth at the club giving everything for the cause especially Lucas in the heavy ground and Jack picking out players in the space for excellent defensive cover. Harrison Norris like an old age flanker was always either in the rucks, pushing the mauls or looking to turn defence into attack at every opportunity breaking up the game and stealing the ball on many occasions. In this game the backline started to show all the months of training with superb handling into space for full-backcome inside/outside centre Damian Murphy to score in the corners. In the end a hard draw against a good Hertford team. The third game is where boys became men with the team working as total unit. Rucking and handling had sharpened and game faces were on. OA Green Emeralds where met with a wall of defence combining with attacking speed and strength. Starting at the break-down Matthew McGinty continued to show the bravery and selflessness needed to set up attacks from defence constantly breaking up play and moving the ball quickly to open play where Harry 'The Bulldozer' King made the most of the space (or frankly making the space) going onto score. The OAs game was the most physical game and the leadership of George Reilly as Captain was essential in bringing the best out of the full squad along with total commitment to the game. And it was Alex Donovan who consistently showed great awareness and skill along with Samuel 'let me at 'em' Wright that brought the game home and a victory including a 30yard maul that had the crowd cheering and applauding when the try was scored. The game had been won; total commitment, no quarter given and it told in the final game against St Albans where tired bodies were starting to show. St Albans took the game but like Scotland against Australia in the World Cup the result may not be remembered for the players. Again outstanding drive from the forwards to win the ball working with the backs to use the space could have led to another tough result. However St Albanss made the most of their chances and the Blues where not able to bring this one back. Players, parents and coaches left tired, a little hungry but satisfied as these boys continue to enjoy the rugby journey The Datchworth Blues were: George Reilly, Harry King, Jack Ingram, Fabian Whitfield, Damian Murphy, Lucas Viudez, Alex Donovan, Thomas Moore, Samuel Wright, Matthew McGinty and Harrison Norris.

4 ***An important note to say a huge thank-you on behalf of all the U10s to John McGinty who stepped into support the U10 Blue Squad at very short notice and did a fantastic job in encouraging and supporting our boys throughout the morning... thank you Coach John McGinty...! The U10 Greens... It was a tough old morning for the U10 Greens. The Greens were in a pool with the County Elite, OA s A, Bishops Stortford A, Harpenden A and Barnet A. Having shown good discipline during the warm up activities the boys took to the field for the first game against OA s top side. The first half wasn t great! We were 4-0 down at half time and the defensive structure and commitment wasn t quite holding up. In the second half the boys came back well and won the half 1-0 to finish the game with a 4-1 defeat. Not the ideal start but a respectable score against probably the best side in the County at U10. The second game and things were not getting any easier, the Bishops Stortford game was very hard fought and the boys were unlucky not to win; a forward pass lead to one of the Stortford tries; but of course these things happen. Elliot Clifford scored twice for us to secure the draw and give our confidence a massive boost. A long delay between the second and third game is never ideal and so it proved. Harpenden A didn t look to have the same power as OA s or Stortford and we were optimistic of a win. It was another tightly contested game, but a few errors and some sloppy structure cost us dear and we finished up losing 2-1. The last game was very tough, another long gap between games before we met a very big, very physical Barnet A side. The intensity of the games had knocked the confidence of some of our players and with a few heads dropping and one or two injuries among the players we found ourselves taking a difficult 6-1 defeat. Not the morning we would have hoped for going into the festival but also much to be proud of. Our small squad held its own with respectable scores in the top pool in the County Festival; drawing with Bishops Stortford and coming back against OAs A team both deserve special mention. Some of our players were not at the top of their games this week but others had a great morning. Special mention must be made of Joseph Marcou, Kyle Haskett, Morgan MacGillivray, Kobie Richmond and Elliot Clifford who all gave 100% and played very well indeed. The Datchworth Greens were: Joseph Marcou, Kyle Haskett, Morgan MacGillivray, Kobie Richmond, Elliot Clifford, William Paine, Theo Tilley, Alick Broster, Nelson DeWolfe, James Bedford, Mackenzie Ellis and Thomas Howard. The scores in the A Pool were: 1. Datchworth Greens V OA s A (4 1) Loss 2. Datchworth Greens V Bishops Stortford A (2 2) Draw 3. Datchworth Greens V Harpenen A (2-1) Loss 4. Datchworth Greens V Barnet A (6-1) Loss U11 Datchworth Hemel Hempstead RFC - County Contact Festival 2015/16 An early start saw members of the U-11 coaching team puzzling on how to erect our new shelter as the rest of the squad trickled in to Hemel Hempstead (Camelot) Rugby Club for the annual county festival. This year the format had changed slightly, and all the games were not scored as teams simply played a round robin of pool games. Datchworth, no doubt due to their success in winning

5 the B Competition last year, were drawn in a group with OAs B, Tring A, Bishops Stortford A, Hertford A and Welwyn A. The squad of Conner, Harry, Barney, Carter, Ieuan, Alex, James, Sidney, Tyler, Flynn, William L and Joseph, all look very smart in their new windproof tops, thanks to Michael Rothwell of Mercury Systems, and despite the daunting prospect ahead started out in fine spirits. I will not report the results, because as per the RFU directive, we did not score the matches, honest! All the team put in a sterling effort throughout 5 very difficult matches against 4 of the biggest teams in the county, and Welwyn. Special mention should go to Joseph, who sustained a serious leg injury in the first game, and had to be taken to hospital. We wish him well and hope the injury is not to serious. Throughout the rest of the day, little niggles began to take their toll, and by the end of the day, we could just field 9 players for our final game. Every player in the squad put in a tremendous effort throughout the day, and all kept trying to the bitter end. The team should not be disappointed by the results, which were not scored honest, as we were unfortunate to be placed in a pool above our level. The commitment and strength of character shown by the squad cannot be praised highly enough, and each member deserved their medal at the end. We now take a short break for Easter, and look forward to some serious team bonding on the Holt Tour. U12 Datchworth Hemel Hempstead RFC - County Contact Festival 2015/16 Datchworth Under-12 s put in a fantastic effort to come 2nd in their Group, and become Semi- Finalists once again in the County Festival, coming 3rd overall in the Bowl competition. After some last minute negotiations over our placing in the Groups, we were finally moved to Group D playing against Harpenden C s, OA s C s, Fullerians A s, Barnet B s & Watford A s. With so many games over a long period of time, only the main results are highlighted here, but every player gave 100% across the entire morning, and the coaches and parents alike are hugely proud of everyone s performances, and for the team ethic running throughout the whole squad. First up was Watford A s, and our boys were switched on from the outset. Some great work by the forwards meant that we were able to win quick ball, and the backs did their bit too with some deft running, and excellently timed passes down the line. Two tries from Josh Staddon, two from Connor and some excellent defensive play with great tackling on display meant we took the WIN Next we were up against OA s C s, and once again we put on a fine display of rugby. A breakaway try virtually the length of the pitch from Thomas Paine, another from Josh Staddon and two from Sam again gave us the WIN 20-0, and spirits were high. After an hour s rest before the next match, we then faced Barnet B s, who were a much tougher opposition with some big units in our way, winning some tough battles up front. However we gave as good as we got, and after a hard fought battle with Josh Staddon picking up the only Datchworth try of the match, we had to settle for the DRAW 5-5. With tired bodies after that match, and only a one game turnaround, we then faced Fullerians A s, who were a good outfit with some pacey runners and strong tacklers. At times we felt we were hard done by through some lacklustre refereeing, but we had to take the decisions on the chin and fought

6 a brave battle. With William Field getting the only Datchworth try of the match, we had to accept our first LOSS of the morning Our final Group match was another tough one, and maybe we underestimated Harpenden C s, but they put on a fine display, and we found it hard to break their lines. The only try of the match came from Jonathan who ripped the ball from the hands of a Harpenden player on their line to then drop to the floor which gave us the WIN 5-0. After a lot of calculations and head scratching in the Control Tent, with a few teams matching our total of 10 points, we were advised that we would progress to Semi-Final 1 of the Bowl competition, playing against our local rivals Welwyn for a spot in the Final. As seems to be the case when we play Welwyn, we are 2 very evenly matched sides, and a bit of luck, or an individual quick turn of speed is often the only difference between us. And so it was once again, with the two teams locked in battle for most of the 12 minute period with nothing to separate them, it was one super quick run around the defending line that got Welwyn the only try of the match once again in the dying moments of play, and we had to accept the LOSS 0-5. With Barnet B s beating Hitchin B s in the other semi-final, we should have taken part in the third place playoff against Hitchin, but as they had all left for the day, we took 3 rd place in the Bowl competition, so a great overall result for the day for Datchworth Under 12 s, which every one of the boys should be massively proud of well done lads! Next Weekend (27 th March) is Easter Sunday... NO RUGBY. Next Mini Fixture Sunday 3 rd April Vs Stevenage RFC Sunday 3 rd April all age group Home Fixture V s Stevenage RFC, 10AM meet for 10:30 Kick Off in all age groups; further details via age group Managers. U14s are on Car Parking Datchworth Mini Pitch Allocation: DATCHWORTH RFC V Stevenage RFC Sunday 3 rd April Not Used Youth Match

7 Remaining Fixtures & Events 2015/16 Season: Week Date Datchworth RFC Mini Section 2015/16 Season Parking Duty Mar Easter Sunday - NO RUGBY N/A 31 3-Apr Home Fixture V Stevenage RFC U th to 10 th Apr 17-Apr Apr 35 Sun 1 st May 2 nd May Bank Holiday END OF SEASON HOLT TOUR No Rugby at Datchworth Training at Datchworth Hertfordshire County Tag Festival U7s & U8s Letchworth RFC U6 Datchworth TBC Away Fixture Vs St Albans RFC U9, U10, U11s Away Fixture Vs Welwyn RFC U12s U9s & U10s Champions Saracens Awards Day / End of Season Celebration and BBQ U15 U17 U18 N/A Minis Reminder - Please Note...Some of you will notice that Awards Day has now been scheduled for Bank Holiday Monday...2 nd May. Two age groups have had teams qualify for the Saracens Champions Final day which had been scheduled to take place on Saturday the 30 th April. This tournament has now been moved by BT Sport for TV reasons and is now on Sunday 1 st May, (linked to the associated Saracens Fixture). Awards Day is an important morning in the Calendar and we are keen for as many to attend as possible so I hope that the movement to the Monday will not cause too many issues. There will be no Rugby on Sunday 1 st May at Datchworth. The full programme for Awards Day is still being finalised but provisionally the plan is: 2015/16 Season Awards Morning Bank Holiday Monday 2 nd May 10:30 11:30 Awards Presentations (all age group players award + Coach of the Year) 11:30 onwards... Bouncy Castle, Cricket games for Mini Players, Parents & Coaches game of Touch BBQ & Bar... Mid Week Training is not taking place next Wednesday 23 rd March as it is the Sports Club AGM

8 2016 Dinner & Dance Photographs A professional photographer attended the Dinner and Dance this year and took a fantastic set of pictures; these images are all available to purchase with all profits going to the Club, the price is 5 for one picture or 5 images for 20. The link below allows you to view the pictures, if you would like to order of any these images please note the number of the image and Nicola Howard: (mrsnicolahoward@outlook.com) In addition the Mini & Youth DVD shown on the evening which is a great record of this Season is available to purchase for 5 per copy. If anyone would like a copy please Nicola. Further Reminder - Dates for the Diary: If you would like to attend the Sports Club or Rugby Club AGM meetings I include dates for your diaries below: Event Datchworth Sports Club AGM Datchworth Rugby Club AGM Date / Details & Location Wednesday 23 rd Datchworth (7:30 onwards TBC) Tuesday 3 rd Datchworth (7:30 onwards TBC) Comments This meeting relates to the whole of Datchworth Sports Club which includes discussions around new Officers and the plans for the redevelopment of our Club House to support Cricket, Tennis and Rugby for the next 50 years. This is our AGM and defines who and how the Rugby Club is run and taken forward please make every effort to come along and have a say in shaping how your Rugby Club is taken forward. Closing Notes A Grand Slam Win and some great performances from a number of the age groups provide the lead into the Easter Break. When we get back to Datchworth on the 3 rd April we have a couple more Fixtures, the Holt Festival Tour and the County Tag Festival before we finally step back for the Summer Break. Thanks for all of your support and efforts over the last few weeks and enjoy the Easter Holidays. Best wishes, Andrew Andrew Howard Chairman Mini Section

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