Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

MINI MATTERS – November 16th

2014

Hello Datchworth Mini Section Coaches, Managers, Players, Parents and Supporters,

This week’s newsletter reports on the three way fixture we enjoyed with Old Grammarians and

Ongar that most of the Mini age groups took part in along with some of the usual news updates. It

was also great to hear that the U12s secured a last minute away fixture against Hitchin which went

very well as you will see below. You may also note that the First XV secured a cracking away win

against Wasps which really consolidates the good run of results this year. The Mini Section can now

look forward to two weekends of Training back at Datchworth which I have no doubt everyone will

enjoy and appreciate after our recent travels. Hopefully we can sharpen a few things up before our

away fixtures at Hertford and Stevenage as we run in towards the half-way point in the Season and

the Christmas break. I hope you enjoy this week’s Newsletter…. See you at mid-week training or

Datchworth next Sunday Morning.

Old Grammarians RFC / Ongar RFC (& Hitchin) Vs Datchworth RFC: Match Reports

The U7s/8s/9s/10s and 11s played a three

way Away Fixture at Old Grammarians in

Enfield. Datchworth have a long tradition of

playing Old Grammarians RFC, (OGs were the

first ever team played by Datchworth), the other team in

attendance were Ongar RFC. The U12s played a fixture

against Hitchin

U6 - Training at Datchworth

U6 Coaching Team Steve and John took on a lively U6 training session at Datchworth with 17 little ones,

working on passing, defence and listening, finishing the session with two fun matches with Louis being

awarded player of the day

U7 –Match Report & Summary

The U7 children took on Old Grammarians in a three way tie with Ongar. We had 14 children and

managed to field three teams, two established teams and one developmental team, who

are relatively new to matches.

Our developmental team which consisted of Owen, Niall, Trent and Louis gained a lot of experience and

enjoyed it immensely. Our blue team consisting of Sam, Henry, Jessica, Alex and Jack just lost their

matches by a single point, some great tries were made as well as lots of passing and getting back to

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

defend. Sam Gore was a little lively with the hand-offs but quick word from Ref sorted that. Alex ran

some fantastic figure of 8 tries in, Jessica was all over the pitch tagging and calling for her defence with

Henry and Jack supporting them really well. The team are really starting to get the hang of staying onside

- although the raised hand with the tag did slow them down a bit as they did award it back to the

opposition in a small ceremony!

The U7 Green team was as lively as ever, William and Woody never letting an opposition player out of

their sight, they really are a force to be reckoned with, as they do hunt the players tags down. Then on

attack Sam and Will would make some flying runs down the wing making great tries, Finlay made some

good runs and supported the team well. In the last match the opposition was a little bit physical but our

children behaved beautifully and let their great rugby stand them apart. They are starting to pass the

ball beautifully between each other and just looked to be having a great time. They came away

continuing their unbeaten run.

A good day was had by all and what all the coaches wanted to highlight was how well behaved the

children were both on and off the pitch; they were a credit to the Club. They all worked and encouraged

each other and the team ethic was great to see.

U8 – Match Report & Summary – by Brendan Jolly

Both Datchworth U8s Blues and Greens were in

action again today at a tri-club friendly at the OG's

(along with Ongar RFC). Both teams were up against

well drilled and organised OG teams as well as a

smaller but, none the less enthusiastic and capable

Ongar team. Our boys played very well with good

performances in passing, tagging and tries.

Blues Played 3, Won 3 (9 - 6 against Ongar with 5 - 3

and 11 - 8 against OGs), in each game the Blues led

up to half-time and continued their great team work

into the second half. The Greens also continued in the

same manner, playing 2 games against the OG's

winning both 10 - 4, and their final match a nail-biting

event against Ongar coming back from a 3 - 4 half

time deficit to draw the match 7 all, the final try

coming in the last few seconds!

Another great weekend all round - congratulations guys

Datchworth U8 Greens: Played 3 – Won 2 /Drew 1

Old Grammarians (A) 4 Datchworth Greens (10) Won

Old Grammarians (B) 4 Datchworth Greens (10) Won

Ongar RFC (7) Datchworth Greens (7) Draw

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth U8 Blues: Played 3 – Won 3

Ongar RFC (6) Datchworth Blues (9) Won

Old Grammarians A (3) Datchworth Blues (5) Won

Old Grammarians B (8) Datchworth Blues (11) Won

U9 – Match Report & Summary – by Andrew Howard

This week’s three way

fixture with Old

Grammarians and Ongar

provided a fabulous

morning of Rugby. The

warm up quickly

highlighted the significant

‘hill’ that we were playing

on and it was clear that

scoring tries up hill was to

be a fairly challenging

affair! With the Teams

split into Match Day

Sides, the Green Team

got the morning off to a

great start with a strong display against a good Old Grammarians side. The First game highlighted

the improving understanding of the game and knowledge of defensive pressure and looking after

the ball in contact. Through the morning the Greens ‘clicked’ and the side grew in confidence as the

morning went on. The win against Ongar was the first defeat Ongar have suffered this season which

really marks out the effort and talent in the side. The last game against Old Grammarians ‘Blues’ was

particularly pleasing as the boys turned round being 2-0 down at half time to come back to win 4-2

which was a big effort. So much so felt it would be wrong to single out any player this week for

player of the week and we gave the Green Team a shared ‘Effort’ award that was taken by Captain

Mckenzie….well done to you all! It is also worth highlighting the benefits of ‘Sponsorship’…. At the

end of the first game OGs marked the traditional three cheers… with “Three Cheers for Kings

Group”… reading off our shirts!!! Datchworth Greens were: Oliver Wheeler, Oliver Griffin, McKenzie

Ellis (Capt), Thomas Howard, Elliot Clifford, Alick Broster, Theo Tilley, William Paine and Max

Coltman.

Datchworth U9 Greens: Played 3 – Won 3

Old Grammarians (Whites) (5) Datchworth Greens (11) Win

Ongar RFC (2) Datchworth Greens (4) Win

Old Grammarians (Blues) (2) Datchworth Greens (4) Win

The Blue Side had a confidence boosting win at the start of the Morning which saw the side grow in

belief. Strong tackling and commitment across the Blues was heartening to see as the depth and

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

talent of the U9 Squad continues to develop this season. Notable performances included upper body

driving strength from Fabian Whitfield and some excellent running and Try scoring from Nelson

Dewolfe, (who also worked hard in defence all morning to take away the Player of the Week Award

for the Blue Side). Alice Field ran forward with confidence to score a much deserved Try in the first

game and Harry King showed a great deal of commitment and determination when running with the

ball in hand. Isaac worked hard across the pitch and made a number of key tackles across the

morning. The Blues played well all morning and we can look forward with confidence to our

upcoming fixtures with Stevenage and Hertford. Datchworth Blues were: Morgan McGillivray (Capt),

Kyle Haskett, Alice Field, Harry King, Isaac Oldham, Jack Ingram, Nelson Dewolfe, Fabian Whitfield

Datchworth U9 Blues: Played 3 – Won 1 / Lost 2

Old Grammarians (Yellows) (2) Datchworth Blues (5 ) Won

Old Grammarians (Blues) (8) Datchworth Blues (1 ) Lost

Ongar RFC (4) Datchworth Blues (2) Lost

U10 – Match Report & Summary – by Jason Phillips

Datchworth U10 Greens: Seb, George, Conner, Flynn, James, Tyler, Harry, William H, Cameron, Sam, Alex

Old Grammarians 1s (4) Datchworth Greens (0) Lost

Old Grammarians 2s (3) Datchworth Greens (4) Won

Ongar RFC (2) Datchworth Greens (3) Won

We were warmly met by our hosts OG's and fellow guests Ongar on a dry but chilly Sunday morning.

Our hosts had requested that we create two equal ability squads, rather than the traditional A and B.

Unfortunately our first game for the Greens found

us half asleep and far too slow at the breakdowns

and the first game saw us lose 4-0 against an

extremely fast and well drilled OG team. A tough

talking to from their coach Jason Presence clearly

had the desired effect because the next two

games saw hard fought wins of 4-3 and 3-2. The

squad were very physical in running the ball

forward but once into contact we made it difficult

for ourselves by slow and sometimes hesitant

support. We secured the wins by some heroic

tackling resulting in some minor injuries which the squad bravely played through. Once we passed

the ball around we began to find the space and secure our wins, well done the Greens!!

Datchworth U10 Blues: George/Seb, Barney, Ieuan, Stanley, Sam, Finlay, Rugby (c), William L, HeinOg, Alex

Ongar RFC (0) Datchworth Blues (2) Won

Old Grammarians 2s (3) Datchworth Blues (3) Draw

Old Grammarians 1s (3) Datchworth Blues (0) Lost

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

The Blues by contrast fell the other way, kicking off with a great win then a draw followed by a 3-0

loss. OG's had two well-disciplined and fast

squads who were fast into every breakdown

turning us over time and again. Ruby played her

socks off, tackling player after player and very

nearly nicking a try in the final game. She was

everywhere, well done. Barney was our mauler

of the day, time after time he drove the

opposition back with his physical strength. I

wonder how far he could have gone with a

supporting player! Again this squad lost players

to injury due to the physical battle but they

played on. Alex and Sam, our new guys, had a

fantastic morning. They have really taken to the game at a terrific pace.

Lots of great effort shown by all the players but there is much to improve upon. We need to be

much quicker in support of colleagues and we must remember to not crowd around the breakdown

but get wide and take the ball at pace.

U11 – Match Report & Summary by Phil Goff :

A Tough day at the office for Datchworth Under 11's - 1 win out of 3 not the result we would have

hoped for, but a great effort from the boys across the park.

Datchworth U11s:

Old Grammarians ‘Faith’ (15) Datchworth (5) – Lost

Old Grammarians ‘Duty’ (10) Datchworth (25) – Won

Ongar RFC (20) Datchworth (10) - Lost

This week we headed down to Enfield for a 3-way friendly with Old Grammarians and Essex based team

Ongar RFC. As OG’s had plenty of players, they formed 2 teams which ensured that we were able to

play 3 games during the morning to give everyone plenty of game time. While the weather was dry,

the pitches were very wet & muddy underfoot with very long grass, which made for a gruelling

morning for the lads.

First up was Old Grammarians “Faith” team, and the story of the match was too many missed tackles

on our part unfortunately. Rucking was great and we saw some nice flowing rugby, particularly from

Finlay who also popped up a perfectly timed pass to Isaac for him to power his way to the line for

our only try of the match. Joshua Staddon’s driving into contact, coupled with his and Spencer

Bayford’s tackling skills saved us from a heavier defeat, but it was disappointing to give OG’s some

soft tries simply by us not committing to the tackles. Some strong rucking from Matthew and a great

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

run from William Goff was not enough however to make the difference, as the match ended 15-5 to

OG’s Faith.

After a short break we were up again against OG’s, this time against the team they decided to call

“Duty”. With some fresh legs on the pitch from Datch, and maybe benefitting from a weaker OG’s

side than their first, as well as the pep talk from the coaches in-between games, we put on a much

more impressive display. With some perfect passages of play by our players drawing in the defender

before making a pop pass to the supporting player, we scythed through the opposition defence,

crossing the line several times through Finlay (2), William Bacon (1) and Spencer (1). A fantastic

jinking run from Thomas Paine virtually the whole length of the pitch saw him cross the line too,

making it a 25-10 win to Datch. He also put in a great display in terms of tackling with some excellent

try saving tackles, and the whole team stepped up their tackling effort, including Benjamin and Aidan

who are really getting more confident in their games of late.

Our final game was against Ongar, who appeared to have some very tall, fast & powerful lads, who

made their physical differences count as they went 15-0 up by the half time whistle. Again some

sterling tackling went in from many players including Joshua who made a huge impact from the

bench, and Spencer, Finlay and William Goff to name a few. Thomas Beechey made some great

ground by bouncing off tackles, and Isaac crossed the line twice in his usual driving fashion for our

only tries of the game. Final score was 20-10 to Ongar.

Some great rugby from the lads this morning, but as always some areas to work on, in particular

making sure we make those tackles, and by keeping hold of the ball in contact. As usual, the parents’

Player of the Week was very close, but finally it went deservedly to Finlay who made some great

runs, some excellent support play, and stayed fresh for all 3 games – well done Finlay.

U12 – Vs Hitchin Match Report & Summary – by Phil Barnes & Kieran - Cloudy with a chance of fog

This was a hastily arranged fixture , so thanks

to Hitchin for fitting us in! Datch played 2 hard

fought, closely contested games against

Hitchin. Datch started the day by losing 2

players to “cuts”! This was a real shame as we

would have had a full team for the 2nd week

running but it was not to be.

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth U12 V Hitchin U12s:

Hitchin RFC (35) Datchworth (35) – DRAW

Hitchin RFC (14) Datchworth (28) – Win

1st Game v Hitchin – Drew 35-35 - Kieran’s Comments - We started off slowly but then we woke up

and had a good first half. We carried on in the second half trying to put the tries in. Even though

they had a strong team we kept at their level and drew the game. Coaches Comments: This was a

tight affair with 2 evenly match teams. Datch initially seemed to control the game but Hitchin played

themselves back into the game to achieve a deserved draw (as neither team deserved to lose).

Our new chap Lewis crossed for the first try after a fine run down the wing, Ollie B added the

conversion (and in fact added another 7 conversions!). Ollie B showed his strength to cross from

short range and then added another with a searing run. Patrick capped another great performance

with some typical strong tackling and a well taken try. Will Ross completed the Datch scoring before

going off with a wrist injury which we all hope is not too serious. All the forwards played well and the

scrummage in particular went well in all the games.

Game 2 v Hitchin Win 28-14 -Kieran’s Comments - We started well, even though we were tired from

the first match. We kept on pushing and never stopped. Then Paddy had an amazing run and scored

a try without stopping. We kept on going to win. The ref blew the whistle and we knew we had

won.Man of the match goes to Paddy in the second game for the amazing run and try. Great work by

the Coaches for organising a couple games for the U12s .

Coaches Comments - Datchworth upped their game in the second game and once we had the lead

we were not going to let it slip again. Our tackling was again fierce as we drove the opposition back.

Will B enjoyed his spell on the wing with some nice tackles. Matt G also played well and continued to

grow in confidence. Kieran had a number of strong runs and he opened the scoring with his

trademark searching run. Patrick went over twice in this game and his second was an absolute peach

of a try where he went around and through most of the Hitchin team to go over after getting the ball

deep in his own half. Ollie B completed the Datch scoring showing good speed to go over in the

corner. Datch showed real spirit in this game to ensure that we held on for the win despite Hitchin

pressure.

Summary: Both games were played in exactly the right spirit and Datch U12s again showed fine

team spirit against a strong and very tall (!) opposition. It was too close to give an individual man of

the match so it went collectively to all the forwards for all the hard work they put in and quality

scrummaging. Thanks go to the Hitchin players who kindly volunteered to make our numbers up to a

full team (Oscar, Ben and George).

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Senior Section Update

This weekend the First XV were away against Wasps and secured a fantastic 14 – 32 Away Win. The

boys are now sitting 5th in the table and have won 4 out of the last 5 games. Brilliant stuff lads,

hopefully we can back it up with a home win against Fullerians next Saturday afternoon.

Datchworth Vets Rugby!

It is fair to say that the response to last week’s article about the opportunity for

a Vets fixture against Belsize Park has been quite limited! It looks like the back-

row and midfield has a couple of good candidates and I think I now have a

player earmarked for the second row but beyond that we are still a bit thin on

the ground! So in the interests of trying to get this off the ground I will ask one

more time if anyone is keen on a run out please drop me a short email and if

we have sufficient numbers we will work something out. If we do get a game off the ground we will

look to play the rules mentioned last week, i.e. Uncontested scrums / 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. / 35 to 55 age / 1 hour game time.

Club House Opening Arrangements

A number of people have asked me to include details of the Club House Opening arrangements in

the Newsletter. The ‘standard’ Winter Season, (Rugby), arrangements for the Club House Bar is as

below:

Saturday 1pm onwards

Sunday 11.30am - 6pm (10am start if appropriate)

Tuesday 8pm till close

Thursday 8pm till close

Plus in addition to the regular times above the Bar is open during the winter at other times for many

events, the Autumn Internationals and 6 Nations etc. I have also been asked to highlight that the Bar

can be open on request if we have a specific request / need…e.g. regular Age Group Coach and

Managers meetings etc. If you have a request let me know and I will talk to Will Nash to see what we

can work out.

Pitch Side Advertising@ Datch

Further to last week’s information about the intent to add some temporary

advertising sign boards in front of the hedgerow along one side of the First Team

Pitch. I have been asked to provide some provisional guide pricing in this regard. We

are still finalising the likely costs but we expect them to be in the order of £250 per advertising

board; further details would take into account size / position etc. As per last week if you own a

business or know somebody who does or indeed if you think your employer might be interested in

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

taking a sign board at Datchworth please let me know so we can have a more detailed conversation

on cost and timings.

Holt Tour 2015 – Expressions of Interest:

We are in the process of firming up planning for this Seasons’ Mini Section Rugby Tour. As many will

know we are planning to play in the Kingswood Festival at Holt RFC on Sunday 19th April next year.

We will be staying at Hill Top outdoor centre on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th April in advance of the

Rugby Tournament. There is likely to be pressure on available places this year to attend so if you

would like to come along to this seasons Rugby Tour then please can you provide an expression of

interest to your Age Group Manager so we can start to firm up likely numbers and arrangements.

This Season the whole of the Mini Section will be going on tour U7s to U12s.

Mid-Week Mini Training at Datchworth this week U9 – U11 Wednesday 19th November 6:30 till 8

Last week we enjoyed a good turn out from the under 10s and 11s in particular under the lights for

the mid-week training session; this coming Wednesday 19th Mid Week Training will take place as

usual 6:30 till 8 - £2.50 per child for the external coach and flood lights. Please make every effort to

come along if you can.

Further Reminder - Xmas First XV Saturday – 13th December - Datchworth Vs Grasshoppers

The Christmas Season First XV Mini

Supporters Game is now under 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.

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Ongoing – Mini Section Team & Player Photographs:

Orders are mostly ready for collection and will be available next weekend in the Clubhouse at our

full home training session on 23rd 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 23rd November:

All Age Groups are Training at Datchworth – in a change to the earlier published arrangement Car

Parking Duty for 23rd November is with the U8s

Fixture Planner – Looking Forward:

The period to Christmas for the Mini Section looks like this:

Week Date Datchworth RFC Mini Section – Fixture Card Provisional 14/15 Season

12

23-Nov Training at Datchworth (U8s Car Parking Duty)

13

30-Nov Training at Datchworth (U7s Car Parking Duty)

14

07-Dec Away fixture – Stevenage RFC

15

13-Dec First XV – Mini Supporters Lunch & Game Datchworth V Grasshoppers followed by Live Music & Mince Pies

14-Dec Away fixture at Hertford RFC

16

21-Dec Training at Datchworth (U9s Car Parking Duty)

XX

28-Dec XMAS / New Year Weekend Break No Rugby

Summary Notes

Another great weekend of Rugby across Datchworth RFC. An Excellent Result from the First XV was

mirrored across many of the performances in the Mini Section. It was good to see so many children

getting some game time this weekend with the different fixtures against OGs, Ongar and Hitchin.

Have a good week and enjoy next weekend at Datchworth….which could in itself be a busy morning

with Youth Fixtures also taking place alongside the Mini Training Sessions.

Best wishes,

Andrew

Andrew Howard

Chairman – Mini Section

Datchworth Rugby Football Club