Under 10's News and Update
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Tim Peach is head coach of Under10s Email: tim@northernminis.com |
AWARDS for SEPT/OCT 2011
COACHES' CHOICE
Jonty Collins
Jonnie Bell
Euan Davies
MOST IMPROVED
Seb Fretwell
Charlie Kain
Ben Proctor
Freddie Ford
Eddie Howe
PLAYERS' PLAYERS
Jonnie Bell
Toby Peach
Alex Ling
Zac Kain
AWARDS for NOV/DEC 2011
COACHES' CHOICES
James McArdle
Hamish Burr
Ollie Johnstone
PLAYERS' PLAYERS
George, Anish, MatthewG
Freddie
Toby and Seb
MATCH AWARDS
v PERCY PARK
(h)
Men of Steel
Matthew Garwood (B)
Matthew Jennings (V)
Will Haslam (W)
Team Players
Sam Cook (V)
Oliver Stevens (B)
Alex Ling (W)
v ROCKCLIFF (a)
Men of Steel
Anish Dhir (V)
Harry Nesbitt (B)
Toby Peach (W)
Team Players
Aaron Rafique(V)
Seb Fretwell (B)
Ruairidh Reed-Embleton (W)
v NOVOS (h)
Men of Steel
Hamish Burr (W)
Jonny Bell (B)
Harry Cowper(V)
Team Players
Jonty Collins, Will Haslam (W)
James McArdle(B)
Seb Fretwell (V)
v ROCKCLIFF (h)
Men of Steel
Ruairidh Reed-Embleton (W)
James MacNaughton, Flynn Tynan (V)
Hamish Burr (B)
Team Players
Will Haslam (W)
Matthew Jennings, Anish Dhir (V)
James Holder, Sam Cook,
James McArdle(B)
2011-12 SEASON
SUNDAY 22nd JANUARY (McCracken Park) v WB ROCKCLIFFE (h) 1000 start
THE WARRIORS team played very well and defended brilliantly.
We changed the game plan with big rough tough peachie at inside center and asked Seb to play a more structured game. This game plan allowed the forwards to know where they were going to support the play. On occasions this worked wonderfully and we carved up the Whitley bay team.
Great forward driving form Zac and Charlie gave us some go forward and Zac worked hard to protect the ball a big improvement as was his tackling.
George worked well in combination with the others and flattened their big runners. And scored a great supporting try.
Jonty helped the forwards and backs and added a try spinning out of tackles. Just needs to work on which option to take at times.
Will's support was good and his defence was simply amazing at times.
A try added to his all round impact.
Ruariah and Euan offered great support and huge defence when Whitley bay attacked the blind side.
We won 7 nil due to hard work from all the players. A good performance.
To work on:
Aggressive rucking Charlie and Zac
Options Jonty and looking up to see where the defenders are before choosing an option
Seb to remember he is a fly half and not get involved in all the mauls
Will and toby keep up the aggressive defence and hard running
Euan and Ruairidh to come in off their wings and call for the ball.
To keep up the teamwork and wonderful tackling (Rich)
MAN OF MATCH Will Haslam
MAN OF STEEL Ruairidh Reed-Embleton
VIKINGS
A much improved performance this week from the new look VIkings side.we had a good warm up session with darren working the boys hard on the tackle bags and we also worked on our set piece plays. For the first time this season the boys looked and felt ready for the match.
In the forwards Freddie again played well and his line out throwing and energy around the paddock have really improved this season. James and Flynn at last got aggressive and did some excellent scrum work with us winning all bar one of all scrums, they contested the line outs well and if they can just get their driving and rucking body positions better ie lower they will be a fearsome unit!
Anish at scrum half played the best game of his season; he passed well ,tackled well and scored a great solo try to make the scores level.
A good first half with only a soft try being given away when we forgot we could tackle!
Matthew was our captain and fly half and lead the line well in addition to some excellent tackling most notably a try saver near the end of the game. At this stage we had fought back to 3-2 after rockcliff had scored two more unoppossed tries but we had come back with a great try from samir who barged over after a strong run. Good tackles from Samir also and good to see him back in form.
Aaron establishing himself as a very robust centre played well again and just like the two big lads up front needs to remember how strong he is!
Harley also had his best game so far getting really involved, showing good tackle strength and some mazy running.
Harry on the wing didnt see as much of the ball as we hoped but kept looking for the action and also put in some great defensive work.
Overall, despite just being beaten, a good performance and well done to the boys for their focus and effort. Plenty to build and to work on:
Freddie, cleaner hooking
James, Flynn, low driving, rucking and tackling and getting angry
Backs: keeping the line and not getting clustered, tackling and supporting.
Thanks to all the boys and parents for the support. (Angus)
MEN OF MATCH
Matthew Jennings
Anish Dhir
MEN OF STEEL
James MacNaughton (for steely work in scrum - work on your body positions
Flynn Tynan and you will both find even greater strength!)
BARBARIANS
The session started with some training - the forwards having some practice on line outs, scrums, rucking and mauling (good aggression shown by all) and the backs practicing handling. We then had a 4 (forwards+scrumg-half) against 5 (backs) session where the forwards maintained their discipline well. We did not quite get all the players to give their all in this session, but Tim and I were not aware that, seemingly, they were all saving themselves for the match against Rockcliff!
The match started superbly and throughout the first half the boys more than held their own. Ollie showed good aggression with some powerful, head-down runs. Ben also ran hard, mauled hard and took some hard knocks, unfortunately resulting in him being injured at the end if the first half. James got really stuck in all around the field and made a couple of good breaks from line outs - well done. Overall the forwards battled hard in the mauls and rucks - yes we even managed a few rucks where we came out with the ball - a big improvement!
The backs, despite often all being too closely gathered around the ball / maul, were an inspiration in the first half. There was some great tackling from a number of players - namely: Hamish, Matthew, Sam and James Mc - which was really heartening to see. There was also some really powerful running, direct at or through the opposition, from Matthew, Ollie, Louis, Sam and James. All the boys had really stepped up from what they were doing in the practice session. The half time chat was a delight "Do more of the same please boys!"
Second half was closely fought again, but our old friend - the missed tackle - came back to visit us, alas. This allowed Rockcliff to score a couple of unopposed tries, even when it felt like we were controlling the ball going forwards. Toby replaced Ben and helped us drive forwards both the scrums and the ball in open play and of course his tackling.
All the boys can be really proud of their efforts - you could see in their faces at half time how much fun they were having and how much they wanted to win. If we play like that every match and make ALL the tackles count, we will be hard to beat.
Well done all, Tim and I were really proud of you all. (Andy)
MEN OF MATCH
Sam Cook (mauling and powerful runs & a couple of tackles)
James Holder (runs off line outs and mauls)
James McArdle (great tackles and running)
MAN OF STEEL
Hamish Burr (really got stuck in to tackles)
SUNDAY 29th JANUARY (McCracken Park) TRAINING 1000 start
SUNDAY 5th FEBRUARY (Stewart's Melville) EDINBURGH trip to STEWART'S MELVILLE RFC CANCELLED
SOCCERDOME for mini festival
SUNDAY 12th FEBRUARY (McCracken Park) TRAINING 1000 start
SUNDAY 19nd FEBRUARY (Tynedale RFC) v TYNEDALE (a)
SUNDAY 26th FEBRUARY (McCracken Park) TRAINING 1000 start
SUNDAY 4th MARCH (Morpeth RFC) v MORPETH (a)
LEEDS FESTIVAL for one team at WEST PARK
SUNDAY 11th MARCH (McCracken Park) TRAINING 1000 start
SUNDAY 18th MARCH (Novos RFC) NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY CUP
SUNDAY 25th MARCH (Novos RFC) BACK UP for NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY CUP
or TRAINING 1000 start
SUNDAY 1st APRIL (McCracken Park) TRAINING 1000 start
DURHAM FESTIVAL at DURHAM CITY RFC
EASTER
FRI-SUN 13-15th APRIL SCARBOROUGH FESTIVAL
ARCHIVE/MATCH REPORTS
SUNDAY 15th JANUARY (Gosforth HS) TRAINING 0950 start for 10-11 session
SUNDAY 8th JANUARY (McCracken Park) v NOVOS (h)
WARRIORS (Rich/Phil)
The Warriors started the ball rolling against a very strong Novos team, a bit complacent and were surprised to be a try down as the big Novos players tackled and supported well.
Once we got going, we had some great charges from Eddie and Zac who got us close to their line. And after exerted pressure and a mis-understanding about the try line a try was awarded to Northern.
Straight away a blistering run from Will Haslam scythed through the defence and he touched down, unfortunately on the wrong line - try disallowed.
Novo's rolled out their big guys and managed to get over for a try. We tried hard, no-one harder than Jonty who seemed to be helping with every tackle and grabbing the ball back. Jonty's stealing of the ball freed James Holder who fed the energetic Ollie Johnson who was hauled down close to the opposition line. Hamish's support of the next break almost got the team the equalising try they deserved.
…to work on next week.
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE OPPOSITION
Tackle and support each other
Body positions when going into contact get the ball behind and go in with your shoulder to protect it.
TIM PEACH to let everyone know where he has put the lines
Man of the Match: Jonty and Will
Man of Steel for his support play Hamish RICH
BARBARIANS (Darren)
There were some solid performances from many of these players and they won convincingly 7 -0 against quite a strong (and big) Novos side.
Man of Steel should go to Jonny Bell who not only scored a couple of good tries but also took down the huge Novos lad by tabckling low - excellent work. In fact most players tackled really well, which is why the Babas kept their clean sheet. (Darren says it was due to his full-back sweeper system…?!) BenP was beginning to play with some aggression and confidence before he injured his foot - he, Toby and George were splendid in the scrum, driving much heavier opponenets off the ball - well done, great body positions and technique. George made some great runs when he had the ball in space and Toby powered over for a couple of scores as well as foraging and winning the ball on a number of occasions. Matt and Jonny created a great partnership and Matthew's service was very good. Euan was solid in the middle of the field and showed his strength and pace well. Samir enjoyed his time in the backs and was good in defence. Harley helped out in defence too (am sure there was some brown on his shirt!) Player of the team was James McArdle who not only had some great runs but also defended superbly covering both wings and really putting in a massive effort. He was everywhere … and played with a smile on his face - excellent to see.
Man of the Match: James McArdle
Man of Steel: Jonny Bell TIM
VIKINGS (Angus)
It was great to see, virtually, all the Vikings team turn out and looking to carry on where they left off before the Christmas break.
The forwards, James, Freddie and William, picked themselves and in the backs we had Anish at scrum half, Harry N in a new position for him at fly half, Aaron in the centre with Alex T and Harry C on the wings.
We were also fortunate to welcome Seb into the centre to make up our team.
After a reasonably good practice session involving passing, rucking, our restart and penalty moves and some line out work we took the field for the inter club games.
Unfortunately we left our focus and concentration of the basics back at home with our Christmas presents and this was especially true of our tackling and rucking where we left too may big gaps for the opposition to run through at will.
However, to their credit, the boys kept their heads up and approached the Novos match with much more purpose and determination.
James and William had some good direct runs and scrummaged well too. Freddie was his usual darting self looking for the action and also executed our new line out move, “Boshi”, with James very well indeed; this will be a good weapon for the future.
Anish, our captain again, remembered he could tackle big and small opponents and also had some lovely mazy runs and Harry N settled into his new position well, leading the back line and getting some good tackles in.
Aaron started doing some of his strong direct running and Seb was like a boy processed with his direct running, rucking, tackling and support play and thoroughly deserved his try.
Harry C went looking for the ball and opponents as did Alex T. HarryC had one memorable hit late on in the first half. It’s just a pity we could not utilise the speedy wingers more often.
A much better half and 1- 1 at the turn.
Unfortunately the second half started very badly with Novos scoring unopposed direct from the restart. The heads did then go down and we let in a few very soft tries and a sense of frustration all round developed. There was some good direct running from all towards the end however and they did keep going.
It’s always demoralising to be on the end of heavy defeats but if we can work on the following areas we will get the confidence back and start to really take on all comers.
• Tackling; everyone and always, low and hard. Don’t leave it to someone else its 9 v 9
• Driving; Our big lads, James, William, Flynn, Aaron and Sam realising how big and strong they are and driving hard, low and full of aggression in attack and in the scrums.
• Rucking; everyone and always low and hard and clearing out the ball and opponents
• Supporting and making noise; always looking for the pass and being in the game and letting the team mates know they are there.
Thanks for all your own support.
Man of the Match: Seb
Man of Steel: HarryC ANGUS
SUNDAY 11th DECEMBER (WB Rockcliffe RFC) v WB ROCKCLIFFE (a)
The WARRIORS confronted Whitley Bay on the potato pitch with a few changes from recent weeks. Eddie starting on the wing and Ruariah propping giving much more mobility but considerably less bulk than The Kain Boys.
A good start and handling from Seb and Jonty set up a well worked try for Jonty. Followed by a bullocking Toby charge to allow him to crash over. Some silky running and pace got Jonny Bell in in the corner.
The second half saw Jonny run in another pacey try and passed at least twice - well done mate.
Euan did a couple of wonderful tackles but needs the ball in his hands
Eddie got hold of the ball and made great yards and defended well.
Matt Jennings service was great good passing from a dive pass, and very tight defensive work.
Alex coped well with a serious graze to his cheek - weaker men would have died.
Will Haslam work up a bit and his running created space for others.
Charlie and George did a lot of unseen work and got the ball back for the glory boy backs.
What will live long in the spectators memory was "that tackle" or more accurately 3 tackles in a row from Master Peach, destroying their big ball carrier and then driving on further and further before a big loopy (not the best) pass out, caught skillfully by Eddie who opened his stride to score in the corner as the final play.
Well done Warriors - a completely different team to the one starting this year, I was impressed how we continued to play rugby and really put them to the sword.
To work on:
Will waking up
Matt getting hold of the ball and passing out as soon as he can
Eddie lining up deeper
Toby showing the same defence and passing better
Jonty, tackling a bit lower
Seb tackling lower
Jonny Bell Passing
Alex Ling passing
George clearing out at rucks
Charlie doing the same as this week, great driving and clearing out a rucks
Ruariah gaining 4 stone
Euan, getting involved early in the game
(Rich)
VIKINGS
We welcomed some reinforcements into the Vikings this week although we took some time, after only a short practice, to gel and get into the “zone”.
This meant a slow start to the game and we found ourselves 0 – 3 down after a few minutes with our lack of tackling, once again, letting us down. We also committed too many guys to the rucks and left open field for the sea - siders to stroll through and score.
However we slowly got our act together and were rewarded with a great try from Freddie picking up from a ruck and charging down the wing crashing over for our first score.
The front row of James, Freddie and James performed well in the scrum winning most of the set piece ball and also contesting the line outs well.
At scrum half Anish found his terrier like qualities in tackle and attack and Ollie , new at fly half, had his usual bursting runs and chasing down of opponents.
Our crash ball centre pairing, Aaron and Sam, continued with the recent excellent progress and must strike fear into smaller opponents.
On the wings Alex and Matthew ran and tracked well and showed good wing speed.
First half summary; great attacking and set piece play but poor tackling and rucking and 1-3 down.
At half time we reshaped our front row bringing on Zac and Flynn and also Hamish and Harry into the back line.
Zac immediately showed his power and driving skills in the lose and was reward with two crash over tries.
Hamish, filling in for the injured Anish at scrum half, did very well in a new position and Harry tackled and tackled.
Indeed the whole side woke up and started to tackle and ruck with much more purpose and although we did not win the match, again letting in two more soft tries, we drew the second half 2-2 so 3 -5 overall.
This side has great attacking threats and started to play some good supporting rugby…if we can tackle, ruck and tackle some more we will not be far short.
The side was well led by Ollie and well done to them all for sticking at it and starting to believe in themselves.
BABAS
The final game was just wonderful!
The team, drawn from those guys who had not had much match time on the day, performed quite superbly and in true Babas style.
They tackled, they rucked, they mauled, they pushed, they jumped, they supported, they passed and they scored a bucket load of tries.
Some of the off-loading from tackles was the best we have seen this year and when Alex touched down virtually all of the team had touched the ball in the move - superb!
No individual mentions here just a simply terrific performance by all the 15 guys in this particular squad and it was great to see.
(Angus)
I thought all the teams and players did fabulously. There were lots of highlights - tries and tackles. I congratulate all the players on their discipline, especially Alex who was tackled very high and Toby who received a Rockcliff clothes' line neck-tackle and I did enjoy his lack of reaction, apart from a disgusted look back at the culprit, half-smile and shake of head jogging away - just store that for later, eh?!
I also have to applaud the Babas awesome try which I believe included not only almost every player, but also the pass of the season so far, from Seb, at great pace, taking out the defender with Alex running onto the perfect ball, at even more pace - could I keep up with my whistle? No chance! Memories of Babas v New Zealand (1973) Cardiff Arms Park - google Gareth Edward's try…
My biggest satisfaction was from the last game which really did see all the players coming into their own and showing us what we now know they are call apable of in a match. Great to see their confidence rise, albeit at the expense of Rockcliff, but am sure they will be back tougher - remember County Cup last season…
Well done Northern U10s - brilliant stuff. Looking forward to some fun games on Sunday…and those who cannot make it, Merry Christmas and look forward to catching up in 2012.
SUNDAY 18th DECEMBER (McCracken Park) TRAINING 1000 start
SUNDAY 4th DECEMBER (Kingston Park) JOINT TRAINING with MORPETH and FALCONS COACHES - 1000 start
SUNDAY 27th NOVEMBER (McCracken Park) v PERCY PARK (h)
Barbarians v Percy Park (Darren)
1st match
A great team spirit despite it being cold.
Oliver S volunteered to play for Percy Park and had a great game some commanding runs too.
Barbars seem to be asleep or too cold to move, 2nd half seem to be a different game for the barbars
We started to drive in the pack, Harry was passing out. Matthew and Eddie were working well in the middle. Defence with James McA, Hamish & Harley started as well in the 2nd half
Final score 7-1 to Percy Park - bring on game 2
2nd match
Boy we were ready.
We lost Ben and Harley to Percy Park.
They both had a great game some great runs and tackles, look forward to their return,
The barbars part - 2 Ollie was fired up for this one, with his signature runs,
We had great play and super defence, Super Eddie with his great speed, Matthew with his zig zag runs. James and Oliver had powerful runs and tackling was superb and seeing the wingers play well hamish & James McA.
It was a great turn around and final score 6-1 to the mighty Barbars.
Best Team Player : Oliver Stevens for his powerful running
Ring of steel : Matthew Garwood - defence was superb
Roll on the next games….
Vikings (Andy)
A good warm up before the game saw us putting in some good practice tackling and then some ruck and maul drills. This warmed us all up nicely for the two games.
Both games were quite close with lots of effort and control from all the team. In the forwards we had a new team member - Will Earp who slotted in as prop really well. Along with Flynn (who showed great strength in the training and both games) and Freddie (who hooked well and did great line out throws) the boys pushed well in the scrums and more than held their own in the rucks and mauls. Matthew had another great game as scrum half (his passing is really improving and his control at the restarts is superb). Samir , Sam (good try) and Aaron were all excellent in the backs. All of them ran really hard and were not afraid to run straight at the opposition and take some hard tackles. They all then worked really hard to make the ball available for their team - I was very pleased with them all. Another newcomers Louis had a good game in the backs and got really stuck in. Alex and Harry played some of the games for us, but also played for Percy Park as they were short of players. Both ran hard, supporting their team mates and putting in key tackles. Good try for PP Harry - great support.
Although we lost both games, the boys all played their hearts out and deserved to win the first game. There was more aggression from our bigger players, which is great to see, and I hope is showing them what they can achieve when they put huge efforts in - we will build on this as it allowed us to keep moving forward most of the time. As ever we need to do more work on tackling (rather than cuddling!), but that will come with practice.
Man of steel: Matthew Jennings - all can learn from him as he tackles properly all the time…
Team player: Sam Cook for his crunching runs and scoring a try in each of the last 2 weeks
Well done all and be proud of yourselves!
Warriors came up against 2 very strong Percy Park teams who played aggressive confrontational rugby.
in the 1st games starting playing up the steep slope they conceded 3 quick tries as rings of steel were broken and the rucking was non-existant, we then realised that actually we could take them on and great tacking by Will and Toby forced them back, and we turned round as the better team, down hill and with the wind we started to play a bit more and grabbed 2 tries through Jonny's elusive running and Toby on the crash ball.
we had them rattled and in the last minutes Jonny again crossed the line to be denied by a wonderful cover tackle and forced into touch in the dead ball area.
The second game was notable for the return of Master Peach to the forwards and his controlled aggression allowed Charlie and Zac to get some go forward, with Euan making hard yards and Ruariah elusive as usual we were soon in front up the hill.
Suddenly Percy Park looked mortal and Seb had a bit of freedom to try and create 2 passes just missed their recipients in the difficult wind and both would have led to tries. Alex harried their scrum half as he had done all day in a wonderful performance playing out of position. George and Will defended magnificently Will's rucking was also a great example for others.
Well done warriors!
Homework is:
More aggression in the rucks and scrums
Better talking calling names and where you re in support and defence., this is improving but can never not be improved.
Backs realigning to get deep on the scrum half.
Man of steel: Will Haslam
Team player: Alex Ling
SUNDAY 13th NOVEMBER (McCracken Park) v TRAINING CANCELLED
SUNDAY 20th NOVEMBER (McCracken Park) PONTELAND (h)
Warriors had an excellent day. We started warm ups concentrating on tackling and getting the defensive line moving up to the opposition quickly when they have the ball. The forwards were immense, Charlie and Zac really using their strength in the maul, and driving forward. George played excellent with all round support, and would have got man-of-the-match had it not been for Jonty whose passing was precise and never failed to allow the backs to attack. Seb made some fantastic direct runs, making the defence commit to the tackle, whilst still distributing the ball excellently to centres. Will, Euan, Alex and Ruairidh all tackled well, and all 4 of them had a chance for some great fast weaving runs.
3 things to think about
1) Tackle cheek-to-cheek – around the top of the runners legs – there are still a few chest and shoulder high tackles to be seen – you won’t stop big men by trying to cuddle them. Get down low, tight ring of steel and drive with your legs
2) Don’t run sideways – run straight and pass the ball sideways to get it to the wings
3) If you take the ball into the tackle, keep tight hold of the ball, but think of going to ground and placing the ball back (let go!) for your support players. If you get held up in the tackle and a large maul develops, it’s difficult to get the ball out and then you might lose possession.
Well done. Excellent team play from everyone.
Nick, Phil and Tim
The Barbarians played against Ponteland strengthened by the addition of James Mcardle and Harley who added pace out wide a brave defence in their 1st game against the ponteland a team the forwards OliverJ , Flynn and James Holder were strong and competitive James scoring a well deserved try. Tackling was good in patched but better rings of steel would have prevented the ponteland reply.
In the second game the backs came into their own good passing and support from Amish and Matthew Garwood freed Eddie for 2 amazing pacey tries with the referee mr peach gasping for air to keep up. Harry supported and tackled bravely never far from the action A well deserved victory for Babas To work on rings of steel and listening to the coaches to avoid running lengths of the pitch
Vikings Match report vs Pontelend.
Angus and I were very proud of the whole team today and we hope all the boys went home proud of themselves too, if a little bruised. Everyone trained and played as a team today and supported each other. It was hard for Angus and Andy to pick out our one team player at the end.
The forwards were really strong especially in the mauls today - we came out with the ball almost every time - we mauled better in the game than we usually do in practice! The scrums were tight and we pushed really hard - well done James, Flynn and Freddie. Other players got involved in the mauls where necessary and they too used their strength and improving technique to wrestle the ball from the oposition. The boys are beginning to believe in their strength and ability, which is brilliant to watch. It makes a real difference when we come out of a maul driving forwards with the ball.
The backs, especially Matthew and Anish controlled the game well and set up great ball from the kick-offs as well as some fast, strong running. There was great runinng from every switch move at the start - some to the backs and some to the forwards. In both cases the runners ran straight at Ponteland and drove them back. We had some crashing centres who smashed their way through the opposition - namely Sam and Aaron - both of whom ran straight and refused to stop even when they were tackled - really excellent play both of you. Harry and Alex tackled very hard and gave really good support to the other runners as always.
Even though we did not win either game we played, Angus and Andy agreed that the Vikings fought really hard in the first match and actually deserved to win the second one. We will all work on tackling over the coming weeks, because everything else was fantasic today. Well done all
Andy Angus
SATURDAY 12th NOVEMBER (Kingston Park) FALCONS CUP U10s
Well done all players, especially substitutes for being patient and supporting your teams so well.
Vikings had a cracking first game winning 5-1 and looked in great form, tackling everything and playing as a team, supporting each other. Most of the team played as well as I have seen them all season. Then after a tightly matched half of rugby in their next game, which was staight after the first, their opponents started playing fast effective rugby and breaking through tackles which won them the game. Well done for keeping heads up and playing well in a rough final game agains WBR.
Warriors did brilliantly to win ALL their group games including some close encounters with Carlisle and Morpeth Magicians. The semi-final was against Carlisle again and the guys did so well to win again so had the chance of playing the final in half time on the main pitch. Sadly the opponents, Morpeth were just too strong, winning by 2-0 but we were all proud to see the players out on the pitch. Well done all. Second place in festival of 14 teams!
Firstly thanks for all your support at the Falcons Festival with all the encouragement and food and drinks for the boys.
VIKINGS. On the playing side it was a bit of a frustrating day and certainly a tale of 2 sets of 1 ½ matches!
We started the day with a very good warm up session running through passing and rucking drills and also on our restart and penalty moves.
In our first match against Percy Park the hard warm up session bore immediate fruit with a score from the pivot kick off move that we practiced and we then played some of the best rugby of the season with solid tacking, aggressive rucking and some wonderful passing leading to 4 more scores and only letting PP in for 1 consolation score. This was a tremendous team performance where all the guys worked hard for each other and showed what can be achieved with team work, support and getting the basics right. This was also the first time this team had played as a unit before.
Similarly against a big Tynedale team in match 2 we started well and were playing for each other and went into the second half drawing 1 -1. However the wheels then came off a bit and we suddenly stopped doing any of the basics especially tackling and let the opposition in for some very soft tries. The disappointment of the boys was very evident but they kept going.
However into our final match against a very fired up Whitley Bay we did carry the disappointment hang- over into the game and let ourselves down badly with some poor tackling and panic play when we forgot how to pass and ruck. This game which we lost heavily was also soured by some very aggressive, and in my view totally unnecessary, intervention by a Whitley Bay coach and some soft refereeing but not making that an excuse it just summed up the general frustration I think we were all feeling.
We did have a very big squad yesterday and I took the view that it was better to play as many of the 16 lads as possible but this inevitably upset the balance and we almost had to restart everything when we changed things around which then meant we had little or no continuity or rhythm. I just hope the lads enjoyed the experience and can see what we can achieve when the simple things are done right.
Thanks to all the boys; in the forwards James, Ollie S, Ollie J, James, Fred and Flynn stuck to the task against some big opposition and showed real spirit in some of their drives and in the backs Matthew J, Ruairidh (who captained the side really well), Will, Eddie, Anish, Matthew G, Samir, Harry, Hamish and Ben showed some wonderful passing moves and good strong direct running.
Angus, Nick and Phil.
SUNDAY 6th NOVEMBER (McCracken Park) TRAINING 1000 start
SATURDAY 5th NOVEMBER (McCracken Park) Calcutta Cup v STEWART'S MELVILLE, Percy Park, Morpeth (h)
CALCUTTA CUP ROUND ROBINFirstly thanks to all the support yesterday. I think we have the most supportive group on the circuit on our touchline with plenty of constructive encouragement for all the boys and support of all the teams.
Despite not registering a win all the Vikings performed well against some powerful A team opposition and importantly kept their heads up during all four games.
In the front row Ollie, Fred, James and Flynn fought hard against some bigger and older boys and never gave in; rucking, mauling and having some good direct strong running during all the matches. Ollie is a classic loose forward but stuck to his propping duties well and Fred continued to show improvement in his game with Flynn and James beginning to realise they are big strong lads and can be very useful when they get a bit angry!
In the backs Mathew J did some great work at scrum half with some good breaks and sound tackling. Jonnie, our captain, at fly half again showed his pace with his excellent mazy runs but it was his tackling yesterday which stood out. Similarly our centres, Eddie and Matthew G had some great runs and were strong in defence. Alex was asked to be somewhat of a utility back filling in many positions and did so with his usual terrier like approach in attack and defence.
Euan, on the wing this week, covered well and was able to use his pace with some lovely running and Harry N showed his speed and aggression on and off the ball.
Harry C had his first match experience and did well and clearly is a speed merchant!
Although it was of course a pity we did not manage a win, and we have work to do on tackling and rucking in particular, it was the boys attitude which impressed the most and it was really good to see so many of the players back at training for more this morning. The boys will only benefit from playing against strong opposition.
Thanks to you all.
Angus.
The Warriors started out against the Vikings a good victory achieved from great defence and strong running.
Next up Morpeth, our regular bogey team. Super running from Toby almost led to an early score. Morpeth just had a bit too much bulk and pace, taking the lead. A great cover tackle from Seb kept it at 1 nil at half time. Rucking and support from Charlie and 3 amazing tackles by George smashed "big" Phil backwards. A breakaway from Morpeth led to their second try. And a defeat which still boded well.
Stuart Melville were next and played wonderful rugby passing and supporting really well. Our defence started to struggle as fatigue and wave after wave of scots attacked. Zac crashed in, Jonty tackled like his life depended on it, but too often we were in 1 's and 2's.
Percy Park were the last group game and the boys were all exhausted and it really showed as we slipped off tackle. There were some highlights - Anish running and supporting, Samir boshing in, Ben P showed good industry (remember to tackle with your shoulder mate).
Aaron played so well and with enthusiasm as did Ruairidh who showed pace when called upon.
When we were good we were really good but we need to improve on support and defence.
Rich
BRAVEHEART CUP FINAL
We put out what was left of our strongest players with plenty of useful subsitutes making appearances due to the bruised bodies from the group games. Unfortunately a few of the star players form earlier on were completely spent and we lost this fixture against the Scots again 4-1. There's always the return fixture to look forward to though…in Edinburgh….
SUNDAY 30th OCTOBER (McCracken Park) TRAINING 1000 start (Half Term)
SUNDAY 23rd OCTOBER (McCracken Park) TRAINING cancelled (Half Term)
SUNDAY 16th OCTOBER (Percy Park RFC) v PERCY PARK (a) 1015 start
Barbarians
After a slow start, the Barbarians started to pull together as a team
Jonnie was a super star, always driving forward . Also his tackling was great and he had support from Harley who was playing full back.
I enjoyed seeing the forwards starting to pull it together - Oliver, Ollie and Aaron played really well by stealing, rucking, driving & tacking. Ollie was great off the line he just needs to pull the rest with him. By the third match, Oliver got well stuck in by ripping the ball back - great work. Ben had some nice runs, doing some great off-loads to feed Jonny.
In the backs, Matthew was great in delivering the ball. Jonnie was man of the day. Will did some great support play. Ruairidh was playing out on the right wing and doing a good job keeping the backs in a line.
Harley had a great day at fullback again with his tackles stealing and getting a try.
Hamish got the pick of the tries after another winding run from Jonnie, a good pass to Ollie who managed a great offload from a tackle to Hamish who ran on to score. Super stuff!
To sum up, everyone had little moments of greatness - it would be great if we could keep the teams together for training & games. I think the team need to learn from each other so they play as a group.
Great Jobs Barbarians - see you soon! (DARREN)
Vikings
Vikings today worked really hard as a team and were unlucky to lose all three games - the first two were really close. The first (vs 10 men) was really close and we were in the lead for some of the game. The second game probably say us play the best with better tackling and rucking. Good tackling from all the backs today especially Eddie (at least three try-saving tackles), Alex (in amongst it all but was on the receiving end of a few hard blows) and Euan (darting runs as always), with great support from Samir (really hard running), Harry (excellent weaving runs down the touch line) and Matthew (excellent scrum half work, getting the ball out to the backs). There was some really good passing and supporting today. All the backs can be really proud of themselves today - well done
The forwards worked hard today also and when they got really stuck in they did an great job in the scums, line outs (really good) and some rucks and mauls. The Vikings forwards need to make sure that they all work together to push hard with their shoulders in the rucks and mauls and are not just watching the opposition. Some good scrumming, especially in the second game, when we won most of the scrums. We were at our a best in the second game and managed to feed some good ball for the backs to run with.
Angus and I hope you all enjoyed today in the sun and against some good players from Percy Park. When we return in two weeks' time we will do a little more tackling and rucking practice to make sure we win all the ball that we deserve. Well played all. (ANDY and ANGUS)
Warriors
The Warriors marched on at Percy Park today reinforced with Toby and George in the backs.
Known for not waking up till late in the day this Northern side surprised everyone by scoring 1st and then defending brilliantly, scores by Seb and Toby notably from a stunning planned switch move led to victory over a strong side.
Next up a huge Percy Park team took the pitch only to be out thought and outmuscled in a great team display again Seb and Toby scored these tries made by the scrummaging of the Kain boys and James Holder good running by James McCardle set up George for an Ashton like splash down. A 6 nil win
The last game started with Percy park making the ultimate mistake laughing at "mini" Anish - he scored a great try out flanking the defence - a great repost. Seb and Toby weighed in with tries for a 5 to 2 win.
Coaches and parents were really impressed to see great maturity coping with some aggressive opponents and differing interpretations of the laws on the 3 pitches.
Special praise again for Jonty Collins who tackled everything and ran with power and enterprise looking to link with the backs and encouraging the forwards.
WELL DONE WARRIORS. (RICH)
SUNDAY 2nd OCTOBER (McCracken Park) v ALNWICK (h)
VIKINGS (Sam Freddie JamesMcN Flynn MatthewJ Eddie Euan AlexL AlexT Harry)
A huge WELL PLAYED to all the Vikings today - Angus and I were really proud of the way you played as a team not only in the matches, but also in the training exercises before and after it.
You all played well in both games winning the first one convincingly (HURRAY) and working even harder in the second, tougher game.
The forwards today played brilliantly as a group and were always supporting each other with loads of running, mauling and rucking. The scrums were excellent - we pushed Alnwick off the ball, even when they had hooked the ball back on their side - excellent! Great mauling, especially from James McN who stole the ball and had a stirling run (held up just short of the try line in the first game) and Sam, who scored a try after ripping the ball out of a maul. Freddie did some excellent line out throws and pushing in the scrum and also supported well when he moved into the backs. It was good to see Flynn back in the team and he came back all guns blazing - strong scruming and supporting all morning.
At scrum half, Alex L was full of long jinxing runs today (he is almost impossible to catch) as well as putting in some hard tackles. Euan was always keen to carry the ball to the opposition - running at full speed through tackles all morning as well as dishing out cruching tackles.
The centres - Alex T, Matthew G and Freddie or Flynn - put together some great runs and a few really inspiring passes down the line - just what we had practiced. Great handling and running right through the Alnwick back line and some crunching tackles that forced Alnwick into touch or to ground. When tackled the backs all looked to get the ball back on our side for the next phase.
The wingers - Harry and Eddie - both supported well today and would have liked more chance to run with the ball. Whenever they got it they ran fast and hard at Alnwick - both are tough to tackle when they get up to speed. A superb pass from Harry, just as he was tackled, is worth a mention as it allowed Euan to race on with the ball.
You all really seemed to enjoy today and you all put 100% effort in - thanks and well done again. Thanks parents and boys for the hard work and loud support.
Andy & Angus
BARBARIANS (OliverS Aaron BenP MatthewG Hamish Ruairidh Will George Ollie Toby)
Barbarians had an excellent day and after a slow start played well as a team. Ollie and Oliver has the look of front rows keen to scrummage, and Ben and Aaron showed what they could do when they kept moving and driving into the contact. George has all the makings of an excellent back row, tackling his heart out and competing at the breakdown. Mathew was reliable with passing and had a great game a half back, and Ruairidh, Hamish and Will enjoyed a series of runs through the defence to score tries. Man of the match was Toby who was determined never to lose the ball when going into the contact and terrorised the opposition with his direct running in the 2nd match. Well done. Key points to think about 1) pass wide to the wings – don’t run sideways 2) try to be first to the breakdown and drive over to secure possession.
Nick & Phil
WARRIORS (Charlie JamesH Zac Jonty Seb JamesMcA Anish Samir Harley)
The warriors started with a bang from the 1st pivot they played well as a team doing the simple things, great defence, a powerful scrum.
Anish and Johnty passing, seb passing all freed up toby, will and especially James Mcardle for strong runs. the deadly trio of kains and james Holder did great rucking to reclaim any ball.
a stunning 4 try win.
next up the Alnwick a team and eddie joined to add steel to the defence, great running and power made space for Harley to support wonderfully for a try. Johnty was man of the match for me with his amazing defence and great hands. Samir was a one man wreaking ball crashing on when he had the ball and making tackles when he didn't have it, always fighting to get the ball every time. a 2 try win against clearly Alnwicks A side was a great result well done boys.
today this team played very well and won because:
1 they all tackled
2 Seb passed it wider
3 they all rucked
4 all of the boys was switched on for the game.
this was good to see after a frank exchange of words i had with them all.
things to improve
1 rucking, much better but still keen to pick up some times.
2 running on o the ball out wide
well done the warriors as we said at the end there were some very proud parents and coaches watching.
thanks
Rich & Darren
SUNDAY 25th SEPTEMBER(McCracken Park) v MORPETH (h)
Thank you all for staying on till end today. Sorry the games went on a bit longer than expected but imagine the boys wil have all had a good run out - hope they enjoyed it. We certainly have some work to do to beat Morpeth this sason but we coaches were pleased that the guys competed well and certianly seemed to improve as the morning went on.
Those worthy of extra mention:
Warriors: Eddie continues to impress - well done. Jonty and Seb ran and tackled well and Alex was very lively as always - hope the swimming went well.
Barbarians: Jonnie was great to see scoring and evn passing and tackling too. Matthew Jennings played well and George was abslutely awesome. Ben Proctor and Ollie Stevens seemed to play with more confidence too - well done.
Vikings: James and Sam did start to drive really well and look forward to seeing them hitting the contacts next week. Euan was termendous and made some great tackles as well as scoring. And Samir really got involved enjoying being out in the backs.
SUNDAY 18th SEPTEMBER (McCracken Park) TRAINING 1000 start
SUNDAY 11th SEPTEMBER (McCracken Park) TRAINING 1000 start
PLAYER AWARDS 2010-11
SEPT/OCT
Coaches'Choice Player of Months - ALEX LING
Most Improved Player - GEORGE DALKIN
Man of Steel - WILL HASLAM
Players' Players - TOBY PEACH and MATTHEW JENNINGS
NOV/DEC
Coaches'Choice Player of Months - EUAN DAVIES
Most Improved Player - JAMES HOLDER
Men of Steel - OLLIE JOHNSTONE and HARLEY TOWART
Players' Players - BEN ASKEW
JAN
Coaches'Choice Player of Months - GEORGE DALKIN
Most Improved Player - AARON RAFIQUE, SAM COOK
Men of Steel - MATTHEW GARWOOD, HARRY NESBITT
Players' Player - JONNIE BELL
FEB/MARCH
Coaches'Choice Player of Months - JAMES HOLDER
Most Improved Player - JAMES MCARDLE, JAMES MCNAUGHTON
Players' Players - JONTY COLLINS, HARRY NESBITT, ANISH DHIR and BEN PROCTOR
MAN OF MATCH AWARDS
v ROCKCLIFFE
BEN ASKEW, TOBY PEACH, SEB FRETWELL, MATTHEW JENNINGS
v PONTELAND
WILL HASLAM, CHARLIE KAIN, TOBY PEACH
v MORPETH (touch rugby)
BEN ASKEW, JONTY COLLINS, JONNIE BELL, GEORGE DALKIN
v MORPETH
GEORGE DALKIN, JONNY BELL, WILL HASLAM, TOBY PEACH
V TYNEDALE
OLIVER STEVENS, WILL SLATER, ANISH DHIR, ZAC KAIN, JONTY COLLINS
FALCONS FESTIVAL
EUAN DAVIES, ZAC KAIN, SAMIR SEGHAL
v MORPETH
JAMES MCARDLE, JONNIE BELL, JONTY COLLINS, (EUAN DAVIES MOS)
v RGS
TOBY PEACH
v NOVOS/PERCY PARK
ALEX LING, SEB FRETWELL, JAMES HOLDER, (GEORGE DALKIN MOS)
SEASON AWARDS
Most Improved - GEORGE DALKIN
Players' Player - BEN ASKEW
Best Player - TOBY PEACH
