MINI MATTERS Week 24 Sunday 12 th February 2017 Hello Datchworth Mini Section Coaches, Managers, Players, Parents and Supporters, It was a busy weekend at Datchworth this week with a good number of Mini Players, Parents and Coaches coming down to the Club on Saturday afternoon for the England V Wales game. With a few sore heads after a big Saturday evening it was nice to be back at Datchworth on Sunday morning for a relatively quiet training morning with numbers down in most age groups at the start of half term. It was a cool damp morning with plenty of mud to contend with today; but most age groups seemed to have reasonable sessions. The stories of this weekend s training sessions are set out below... U6s Training at Datchworth The U6 squad had another great turnout this week with the lure of the Village Hall. This week we built on the drills and relays from last week, but added in a few extra ball handling skills. It was great to see how much progress the boys have made with their passing and the number of dropped passes was really low. Although the parents (and some of the boys) are clearly enjoying the Village Hall, it is quite a tight space (along with the lure of the stage) when they are all running around. We have been really impressed though how well their listening and organisational skills have progressed whilst in the hall, so it s been very worthwhile. It certainly has kept them engaged and enjoying their rugby. When they get back into open space, we are all sure this will really have paid off. Our player of the week this week goes to Tommy who has missed a few sessions of late, but came back and made a real impression. His listening skills have progressed along with his running skills and even managing to win our game of bulldog. U7s Training at Datchworth The main focus of the U7's training session this week was tagging. The first game on the agenda was tag thief, the aim of which was to grab as many tags as possible. The children then used their tags for two 'tails' and the other members of the squad had to collect the tails. Once both tags had been
taken, they stood on the side line cheering the rest of the players on. The next game was Rob the Nest. The children had to work together as a team and get as many rugby balls as possible in their 'nest'. During this game the teams practised picking up the ball, running and putting the ball down with two hands. They then played this game again but with a partner to practise their passing, too. The squad then split into four teams and played a round robin of games. The session finished with the balldog game where our parents were the taggers... well done to Arley for his fancy footwork and for weaving through the adults with skill, making him the last child standing! Well done to William for having a great session and for being our Player of the Week! Congratulations! U8s Away - Bishops Stortford RFC Vs Datchworth This morning the U8's travelled to our local rivals Bishops Stortford. We seemed to be in luck as the weather was tropical! Ok, not really... it was cold but the fixture went ahead and we got to play 3 games against a very evenly matched Bishops Stortford. We wanted to take as many players as possible to this fixture and managed to field 3 teams, Greens, Reds and Blues. What stood out today was the commitment of the U8's - the effort and enthusiasm and ability to keep going was impressive. Across all three teams the games were competitive and pretty evenly matched. It wasn't a day for extravagant rugby, but a day to be dogged in defence, make the most of space (and cold hands) and support each other in attack. The rugby was played fairly and compliments to our hosts who were equally happy with the spirit the games were played in. We hope this is a fixture that will be repeated next season across all age groups. Well done and thanks to all the players and parents for coming along - it is very much appreciated.
U10s & 11s Combined Training at Datchworth The 10s & 11s joined together this morning for a useful training session that focused on defensive shape and discipline; line speed and communication. A good turn-out of 22 players from the two squads all got stuck into the session after a much need warm-up to get the blood flowing on a cold morning. We finished the morning with a game playing hybrid 10s and 11s laws. All the players seemed to enjoy the session and the game saw some very good passages of play from both sides. From the 11s Lucas and Alex Donovan were again recognised this week. Lucas took the ball forward with great confidence and strength; Alex tackled excellently but also communicated well with his team mates in both the drill and the game. It was a great collective effort this morning from the two squads and thanks go to Alex Richmond, Phil, Paul, Warren and Woody for helping run the session this week. U12s Home - Datchworth Vs Epping Upper Clapton RFC A bad day at the office, and hard day at the coal face, call it what you will, Datchworth U-12s were given a lesson in simple, efficient and effective rugby today by a well organised and well drilled Epping Upper Clapton U-12s side. E&UC had played a very simple game. They tackled, they rucked and they passed the ball. That is all they did. They kept their shape, they did not get sucked in and hence they always had an overlap. Datchworth worked hard and were committed to the end, but some bad habits returned with a vengeance. We seemed to think that tackling was an optional extra, and passing was just a throw away. Having said that, E&UC were a very good side, who have beaten both Hertford A and OA A this season, so we knew that today would be a hard day. If we analyse what E&UC did, it really was a simple game plan. They kept their shape and positions, did not get sucked in, and passed the ball along the line. I hope that the boys can look at what they played today, and take the lessons in and think about how they can improve. Four by 10min sessions were played today, and Datchworth only really competed in the third period. I am sure the cold weather played a part; but for some reason the Datchworth boys were not switched on today. To move forward as team, we need to encourage and support each-other and play as a unified team. We know that if every member of the squad plays to their best, as they did at the start of the year against OGs and Hertford Cs, we can play some very good rugby. We need to work together to improve and progress. Next week we welcome Enfield Ignations for a return fixture. We need to believe in ourselves; if we all play to the best of our ability, we can beat EIs. Let us learn the lesson from today, move on and play the best rugby we can next weekend.
Youth Rugby (timings subject to change) Sunday 19 th February: U16 Home Vs Pinner & Grammarians - TBC 11am KO Pitch 1 Senior Rugby The First XV were away this weekend at Grasshoppers and unfortunately came away from the game empty-handed losing 34-14. Next weekend the First XV looks forward to welcoming Hackney to Datchworth to make the most of the home support from the VP Lunch Crowd! (Very)...Senior Rugby RBS Six Nations Championship Week 2: Rank Team P W D L F A B Pts 1 England 2 2 0 0 40 32 0 8 2 Ireland 2 1 0 1 85 37 2 6 3 Wales 2 1 0 1 49 28 1 5 4 France 2 1 0 1 38 35 1 5 5 Scotland 2 1 0 1 43 44 1 5 6 Italy 2 0 0 2 17 96 0 0 A good crowd in the Club house, (mostly), enjoyed a fantastic Rugby Test match and narrow England Win. There is a break next weekend before England take on Italy immediately after Datchworth take on Welwyn in the Charles Morris Cup! Mini Mid-Week Training: U9s & U10s 7 till 8 at Datch U11s & U12s 7:30 till 8:30 at Datch (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 U9s The car park duty will be undertaken by the U9s next Sunday morning: It will be busy with all of the Mini Section playing at home; please can people car-share, walk or cycle where possible to reduce the parking burden for a home fixture.
Thanks to the U15s for looking after the cones and car-parking duty this weekend. There were no reported incidents Next Weekend s Mini Arrangements: Next weekend the Mini Section can look forward to welcoming Enfield Ignations back to Datchworth for a home fixture across the age groups. We will meet at 10AM for a 10:30 kick off in all age groups. The long-range weather forecast for next Sunday is currently ok; 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 Section 19 th Feb 2017 Home Vs Enfield Ignations Youth Other Club News & Event Information Mini & Youth Annual Dinner & Dance Friday 3 rd March now sold out. This Seasons Black Tie Dinner & Dance has sold out. 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 take place on 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 Rugby Fixtures & Events Week Date Fixture Parking Sat 18 th VP Lunch at Datchworth First XV V Hackney 25 Feb Home Fixture V Enfield Ignations RFC all Mini Section 19-Feb U9 26 26-Feb Datchworth RFC V Welwyn RFC CHARLES MORRIS CUP WEEKEND U11 27 Fri 3 rd Mar 5-Mar then...england V Italy - Clubhouse TV & Bar 3PM K/O Mini & Youth Section Dinner & Dance at Brocket Hall 7- PM Confirmed - Away Fixture V Tabard Datchworth Minis @ Tabard U13 (TBC) 28 Sat 11 th Mar 12-Mar 6 Nations Rugby England V Scotland Clubhouse TV & Bar 4PM Home Fixture Vs St Albans RFC U10 29 Sat 18 th Mar 6 Nations Rugby Ireland V England Clubhouse TV & Bar 5PM 19- Mar Home Fixture V Old Grammarians RFC U14(TBC)
Closing Notes Thanks to everyone who came down and contributed to a great atmosphere in the Club House on Saturday afternoon for the Wales V England game. The positive atmosphere continued on Sunday morning with a good mix of Youth and Mini Sides all at home. The U12s had a tough morning against a strong Epping Upper Clapton side but the U18s had a great win over Stockwood Park. As you will have seen above it was also great to hear that the U8s had a positive morning away with Bishops Stortford and we hopefully look forward to playing more Stortford age-groups next Season. It will be a big and busy weekend at Datchworth next week with the VP Lunch on Saturday before the First XV Game with Hackney and then an all age group home fixture against Enfield Ignations on Sunday. See you all next Sunday, have a great week, Best wishes, Andrew Andrew Howard Chairman Mini Section