Festival 5 match report (Hammarby 31st August)

Another weekend, another festival. Sorry for no match reports from last week, but Ray was the only coach who could make it and he tends to communicate with letters written with a quill sent by pigeon...

First up was Enköping. Hats off to them, they have improved no end since the beginning of the season. After a tight start, we got into the groove and took advantage of their tiredness in the second half. Great to see some awesome tackling against a particularly powerful young lady who is a very powerful runner and rucker.

The second game against Exiles was a different proposition. We didn’t look busy in the warm up and that flowed into the first half, which was tough. We gave the kids the old Churchill ‘fighting on the beaches’ chat at half time and they pulled through. Two things in particular impressed the coaches. First, some passages of play were the best team rugby we’ve ever played. Second, some of the defence on our line was nothing short of heroic.

The third game against Hammarby was pretty much a rerun of the second game.

So what should you discuss with your kids?

Well, we say to them all the time that success is 80% in the head. If you’re up for it and in the right frame of mind, everything is easier. The second halves of the last two matches showed that.

We say that you are never alone in the rugby family. All of the coaches have life long friends from playing the game. Much more importantly, it means that we all fight for each other on the pitch and make sure no player is ever left alone.

Team tries are everything. It’s extremely rare for an individual to score at higher levels. Passing to team mates in better positions is better for the team (75% of tries in the third game were team tries, our best ever).

Turnovers and tackles are as important as scoring a try. We give the players stats on these every game. The try scorer is usually always part of a team effort.

Tackling low is never wrong. Bring them down and ruck over quickly. It works for the kiwis and they are the best team in the world.

Your kids are amazing. They respond to tough situations like no other. A special hat tip to the newer players, who get stuck in regardless. It’s a real pleasure to coach them.

The coaches