MINI MATTERS Week 22 Sunday 29 th January 2017 Hello Datchworth Mini Section Coaches, Managers, Players, Parents and Supporters, After the loss of last weekend s fixture with Barnet it was great to get back into action this week with an all age group fixture with Letchworth! We started earlier than usual to accommodate Youth games kicking off at lunchtime and we saw a great turn out across the age groups for this fixture. This weekend I also want to start by extending sincere thanks to Mark Felton for putting the road cones out early on Sunday and for Woody and Warren for collecting them at the end of the morning and for the U7s for taking on the car park marshalling duties! Thanks also to Jeremy Gilham and Rob McGuinness for helping ref and coach our U12s this week while the regular coaches were away. Back on the rugby field the feedback was very positive about this fixture and the match reports and news from each age group is detailed below... U6s with Letchworth! It was an early start for the under 6s and, to join in with our visitors from Letchworth, we were lured out of the warmth and dry of the Village Hall to join the rest of the club for a joint session. Despite this, we had a great a great turnout with 15 boys plus nine visitors. We started with a very energetic game of Stuck in the Mud and a game of Beans. Wanting to keep things simple for such big numbers, we then had a few games of Bulldog followed by Rob the Nest and finished with some ball chasing relays with passes. We then got the boys (and girl) into four teams for some games of tag rugby. It was remarkable to see how much progress they have made in a few months of regular training and all coaches commented that they really seem to be getting the hang of it. We must have clearly tired the kids out as when asked what else they would like to do, the general consensus was for a final game of Bulldog before retiring for Hot Dogs in the Club House. A big thank you to Letchworth who got really stuck in. Player of the week this week went to Bo who got back into the game after recovering from his sprained ankle and to Bailey who gets a special mention this week for his consistently great improvements week on week.
U7s Datchworth Vs Letchworth Sunday saw our first home fixture of the season and it was a really good one. We played host to three Letchworth U7 teams. The away teams were well organised and played some great rugby to which our teams responded by showing some fantastic tagging and defensive work. The teams were evenly matched with both scoring some great tries. The session ended with a group team talk, after which the children met up again in the club house for a well deserved hot dog! Congratulations to our new recruit, Isla, for winning our Player of the Week trophy this week! A big thank you to all our U7 parents who were on car park duty this week... much appreciated (especially because of the earlier than usual start!)! Finally a massive well done to the U7 parents who took part in the Datchworth Rugby Club Quiz last Friday and won! Amazing... See below!!!! U8s Datchworth Vs Letchworth The morning started with some fantastic cone placement by coach Danny. There was a red pitch a blue pitch and a yellow pitch. The first team pitch has never looked so colour coordinated... The standard from our boys and girls just gets stronger as the weeks go by. Letchworth fielded two strong teams with replacements our numbers as they have been every week were very strong and allowed us to field four teams. It s worth mentioning, Hertford apart (and not by much) our numbers have been stronger than our opposition every week, a big thanks to all that make that happen. (Well done and thanks U8s... Andrew)! We allowed Letchworth to play their two teams continuously on both pitches whilst re rotated our four teams, two teams in opposition and two teams participating in a 'scramble defence drill' run by coach Jamie ably assisted by coach Martin and coach Kirston. The boys and girls then took that drill straight in to a game situation with a great deal of success. Each pitch saw 4 matches, so lots of game time.
The skills, discipline and more importantly the concentration was excellent. The boys and girls are now comfortable playing with different team mates each week. The comradery and team togetherness two main ingredients for success going forward are beginning to shine through. Its great to see all the team members not afraid to try things sometimes it works sometimes not but hey, never mind. All teams played some great flowing rugby, bringing the defensive drill (thanks coaches Jamie/Martin!) into the game - holding our line and trying not to get drawn into the ball; shuffling left and right and moving backwards with the play to stay onside. There were of course some moments of brilliance; examples include Sam S's outrageous spin pass the entire width of the pitch for Luke to take with style and run in a try! Tagging from everyone, really pushing forwards to take tags and communicating with team mates and plenty of great tries from all. Everyone had a moment of magic today but player of the week went to Sam Gore. As well as a fine individual display, showed good leadership, communication and not afraid to take time to help the newer players find their feet. Finally, it was nice to hear the compliments from the Letchworth coaches which were reciprocated by us, the entire morning played in a fantastic spirit. U9s Datchworth Vs Letchworth Firstly thank you to all the parents for making the early start it was great to have so many kids out playing after losing last week to the weather. We were well matched in numbers by Letchworth who had 3 teams with a few subs as did we with each team playing each other there was plenty of rugby for all. The rugby on show was high quality and all the games were played in the right spirit with a decent competitive edge to them. In attack it was pleasing to see the guys continue to embrace passing before contact on occasions and we scored some fantastic try's as a result. The defence also continues to develop with a number of players improving their tackle technique turning defence into attack with the strength of their hits. The results of this being we won all of our games played today. There could have been a number of players of the match this week but the deserved winner was Ollie Hoggett who's direct running caused the opposition all sorts of problems and created space for his team mates. Well done all on a successful mornings rugby.
U10s Datchworth Vs Letchworth This week the U10 s played a home fixture against Letchworth who were previously the victors when the 2 sides met late last November at the Hertford Floodlight Festival. Nevertheless, this weekend saw a return to form for the U10 s against a Letchworth side who whilst small in numbers were big in stature. With a good show of 15 players turning out for Datchworth, against just 9 from the visiting side, we played 2 consecutive matches rotating our players throughout both games. (The U10 s were only missing Oliver, Ross and Theo due to illness and injury and we all wish the boys a speedy recovery.) In the first game Datchworth fielded a strong side from the off with Harry, Lucian and Troy S running in 4 first half tries between them to finish the first half 4-1 up. Harry Dadd s try was particularly noteworthy resulting from a side step infield throwing both the opposition and the referee! The second half matched the first for its physicality with plenty of tackles being put in across the team including a try saving tackle from George King with the game ending 5-4 to the home side. The second game followed a similar pattern to the first with Tom P and Mateo showing strength in the ruck in turn creating well recycled ball for the try scorers Tom R and Troy S. This second encounter ended a close fought 4-3 to Datchworth. The men of the match accolades went to Tom R for an all round great, if not bruising, performance and a positively spirited George King who ran hard in support of his team mates and tackled throughout. In fact, it was the increased rate of tackling across the team which stood out this Sunday with special mention to Alby, Charlie & William who threw themselves in with the usual suspects. Final words of thanks go to a tough playing friendly Letchworth side for making it such an evenly matched and entertaining contest. U11s Datchworth Vs Letchworth The U11s had a fairly tough morning against a well drilled and very quick Letchworth squad. Split into two teams, Greens and Blues we agreed to play two 20 minute games with Letchworth. The Green team were slow to start and did not cope well with the ferocity of the Letchworth rucking and speed in the break down; (this will be our big focus over the next two training weekends). Although rather challenging for our boys the, 0-7 score was a fair reflection of the overall performance of the two teams. On the day there were some notable contributions among the Datchworth Green team. Luke Griffith s continues to tackle very well and was unlucky not to score a break-away try. Kobie, Thomas and Kyle rucked well and maintained pressure on the Letchworth
side throughout the morning. Tom Moore did well as hooker and Alick was reliable as ever in the tackle. In the second game, which we lost 0-3, the Green team were much more focused; aware of the challenges they faced and played much better as a team; in the second game Nelson DeWolfe made a big impact and drove the ball forward with great power and strength. On a difficult morning against good opposition Kyle Haskett was a fantastic, mature captain. Lifting the players around him and demanding effort and commitment from his team; for his captaincy and rucking, (particularly in the second game), Kyle was the Green team player of the week. We will take some useful lessons from these hard games and look forward to facing Enfield and Welwyn later in February. The Blue team... Datchworth's Blue team had a good morning of rugby with two closely contested matches against a strong and well-drilled Letchworth side. Datchworth saw the importance of getting off to a good start with two early tries putting distance between them and the opposition in the first match. Letchworth struck back with two tries of their own; however Datchworth had established control of the game and sealed victory with a third try to make it 3-2 in the first match. The second match was a different story with Letchworth taking control early on with a try scored with the first move of the match. The Letchworth team must have had a galvanising team talk between the two matches as they were much better organised in the second match dominating much of the play at breakdowns and running forward strongly with the ball. Letchworth were deserved winners of the second match with a 4-2 score line. However, it is worth noting a really good Datchworth try created and scored as a real team effort. Strong ball-carrying from Fabian; aggressive play at the breakdown by the Datchworth forwards to secure possession once the maul had turned into a ruck; and a sniping scrum-half's try by Morgan. Really good to see
that Datchworth CAN do it when we play aggressive rugby as a team! Lastly thanks to John McGinty for helping to coach and support the Blue team this weekend and to Warren DeWolfe for the match photographs... much appreciated! U11 Team Building!!! After the Rugby the U11s had a well deserved break from rugby and enjoyed a team building event, bowling in Stevenage...as it turns out our Coach Simon is in fact a bit of a Bowling Shark... and while the boys all enjoyed the event few could live with Simon s bowling prowess! See picture for the master bowler in action...thanks to everyone who came along and thanks to Tanya for arranging and coordinating a great bit of team-building for the U11 squad... U12s Datchworth Vs Letchworth 15 boys gathered on a grey cloudy morning for the home fixture at Datchworth against Letchworth. We were joined by Rob McGuiness from the U-14s and Jeremy Gillham who kindly acted as referee for the day. It was agreed to play 2 x 20min games, of 10min per half. The first game saw Datchworth at their best as the boys tore into Letchworth with a vengeance, looking to avenge our defeat at their hands at the start of the season. The improvement that our Datchworth squad has made since September was clear to see. Our rucking was improved, Letchworth players were held up in the tackle and mauls won, the ball was moved through the hands and pressure was applied to the attacking team, causing errors to be made and turnovers won. The teams were closely matched, and both sets of coaches were pleased with the commitment shown by both sets of players. Datchworth came away with a deserved 2 1 win. Both tries were scored by great support runners following a player on the break. In the second game, Letchworth upped their effort, and Datchworth seemed to sit back a bit. The ball was thrown away when we had possession, and we lost a lot of turnovers at the ruck. The intensity of the tackle also seemed to drop off at bit, if we are honest, and we still have a tendency to get sucked into the proximity of play, commit too many players to the ruck and leave open spaces on the outside which the organised Letchworth backs were able to exploit. The consequence of this, was that despite a sterling effort and bags of commitment from the boys, they succumbed to a 0 4 loss. Given that we knew we had to be off the pitch by 11.00hrs, we agreed to play a third 10min game, to use up the little time we had left. By this time, Letchworth had the bit between their teeth, and Datchworth were beginning to tire a little. As a result this was a rather one sided affair, and did not do justice to the effort the boys had put in earlier in the day. With hindsight, maybe this was a game too far on the day, but as we build toward the festival and tour days, we need to build up the boys stamina Overall, the improvements in the standard of play from the start of the year continue, and the boys should take great heart from the effort that they put in today. All players continue to make a positive contribution to the overall team effort, and we need to encourage them to continue to keep their heads up and try their best.
Youth Rugby (timings subject to change) Sunday 5 th February: U13 Training behind village hall U14 Home vs Saracens- Pitch to be confirmed - KO 12.30/1pm U15 Away vs London Welsh U16 - Home Friendly vs Barnet Pitch 1 - KO 11am U18 - Away Friendly vs Letchworth Senior Rugby This weekend we had a full house in the Senior Section with the 1s, 2s and 3s all recording wins! The First XV beat Old Merchant Taylors 27-12 at Datchworth on Saturday afternoon with an impressive second half display...well done to everyone in all three squads! Mini Mid-Week Training: U9s & U10s 7 till 8 at Datch U11s & U12s 7:30 till 8:30 at Datch (possibly combined this week) U13 - Weds 6.30 to 7.30 pm U14 - Weds 6.30 to 7.30 pm U15 - Thurs 7.00 to 8.30pm U16 - Thurs 7.30 to 8.30 pm U18 - Training with the seniors Next Weekend Car Parking Duty U13s The car park duty will be undertaken by the U13s next Sunday morning: The U15s have an Away Fixture with London Welsh and are arranging to leave their cars at the turkey farm, as they have a coach to pick them up from there Last Sunday we did unfortunately receive some complaints about parking on the access road at the top of the Village Green. We will be making sure this area is coned to deter any parking but please avoid parking on any part of the village green or pavement areas. Next Weekend s Mini Arrangements: Next weekend the Mini Section can look forward to a welcome training session at Datchworth. We will revert to our usual 10AM meet / 10:30 start next Sunday with training finishing at 12 Noon
The weather forecast for Sunday is currently ok, (most likely wet); if we do have to cancel due to frozen pitches the decision will be made at 9AM and communicated by the age group head coaches and managers as early as possible on Sunday morning. Youth Training DATCHWORTH RFC Mini Training Sunday 5 th February 2017 Youth Game 11AM Other Club News & Event Information Mini Section Inter Age Group Quiz Night Friday 27 th January 6 quiz teams turned out to contest the Mini Section Quiz Night last Friday... it was a close fought affair and after 10 rounds of questions I am delighted to say that the U7s, Hills Alive, (Possibly Hills Angels)?!?!?! team emerged victorious! I was very pleased to see some new faces come along from both the U6 and U7 age groups; we raised over 200 on the night which will be put towards the Mini Tour to Holt. The U7s now replace the U9s/10s as reigning Quiz Champions in the Mini Section!
Mini & Youth Annual Dinner & Dance Friday 3 rd March now sold out. This Seasons Black Tie Dinner & Dance has sold out during the first week of ticket sales. If you have confirmed tickets these now need to be paid for please. We always have one or two people who have to drop out so we are maintaining a waiting list for anyone who hasn t got tickets but would like to come along if seats become available; please email Nicola if you would like to be on this list: mrsnicolahoward@outlook.com We are still looking for Auction items if anyone is able to provide anything suitable for the fundraising Auction. Minis section Tour To Norfolk, April 2017 The 2017 Mini Section Tour is now booked for the 7 9 th April 2017 @ Hill-Top; outward bound activities on Saturday; the Tour Court on Saturday night and the Kingswood Holt RFC Festival on Sunday; final payment arrangements should be sent out by age group managers to those coming this year. The final deadline for payment this year is the 24 th February. We are still looking for sponsors for the Tour Tops / Shirt if anyone is interested please now email Nicola...mrsnicolahoward@outlook.com Forthcoming Fixtures & Events Week Date Fixture Parking 23 05-Feb Training at Datchworth (All) U13 24 12-Feb U6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Training at Datchworth U8 only - trial fixture Away with Bishops Stortford U15 25 19-Feb Home Fixture V Enfield Ignations RFC all Mini Section U9 26 26-Feb Home Fixture V Welwyn RFC all Mini Section CHARLES MORRIS CUP WEEKEND TBC 27 Fri 3 rd Mar 5-Mar Mini & Youth Section Dinner & Dance at Brocket Hall Confirmed - Away Fixture V Tabard Datchworth Minis @ Tabard N/A No 28 12-Mar Home Fixture Vs St Albans RFC Yes 29 19- Mar Home Fixture V Old Grammarians RFC Yes
Closing Notes In closing this week it is nice to look back on a very positive weekend for the Club; three wins in the senior section, success in the Youth section and very positive feedback and on field results from the Mini Age Groups is a great testament to the strength and health of the Club from top to bottom. Thanks to all of the volunteers who supported the Club this weekend and thanks to those who came along on Friday evening to this year s quiz night. After a hectic weekend it is nice to look forward to a training weekend next week and fingers crossed for some more mild, dry weather! See you all next Sunday, have a great week, Best wishes, Andrew Andrew Howard Chairman Mini Section