Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

DRFC - Celebrating 50 Years of Rugby at Datchworth 2019-20


MINI MATTERS & YOUTH NEWS

Week 20

Sunday 12th January 2020

This weekend started on Friday evening with the Second XV playing under the lights at Harpenden. On Saturday the First XV were visiting Luton where they fell just short losing 17 – 20. Back at Datchworth the Third XV had a tough afternoon and lost 0 – 19 against Cheshunt. It was down to the Mini & Youth Section to lift the spirts of the Club on the field with a big fixture with Hertford and Saracens for the Minis; the U13s hosted Cheshunt and the U15s welcomed OVs. It was an excellent Sunday for the Mini and Youth Section and the reflections from this weekend’s rugby are below…

Ladies First

GIRLS RUGBY – NEW PLAYER OPEN EVENING

THIS WEDNESDAY 15TH JAN 7PM TO 8PM

Please encourage girls in school years 5 to 12 to attend the session and check out our promotional video

on our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/datchworthgirlsrugby/

Under 11s

Our U11s travelled to Bedford to play a couple of 6

a side matches. We had mixed teams with Isla,

Charlotte, Sophie and Thea from Datchworth

combined with St Neots, Bedford and Olney. The

girls did our club well with great examples of

utilising the space and creating good running lines.

The second match, we made the pitch bigger and

implemented a couple of rules to get the girls

learning to use their supporting players. We also

saw much improved body positioning for effective

tackling.

Under 13s

The U13s played a 12 a side match against a strong Bedford and Olney side. We were teamed up with

Royston and St Neots and had a few new players in the ranks who were getting their first bit of match

experience. Our team took a little bit of time to gel and although the majority of the play was fairly

balanced, Bedford and Olney were the ones making the breaks and scoring tries. We considered

balancing the teams but to their credit, the girls made the decision that they wanted to solve this

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/datchworth/

https://www.facebook.com/datchworthgirlsrugby/

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Hertfordshire%20RFU%20Sign&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=hertfordshire%20rfu%20sign&sc=0-0&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&id=27E6959BFA40F81157B9F262C379A29341228631&selectedIndex=4



problem themselves. They made some

changes to how they were playing, largely

around communication and their defensive

play which resulted in them scoring 3 tries in

the last 2 quarters and holding off the Bedford

Olney attack a little better. Great effort.

Under 15s

Our U15s supertrooper Mez was in action flying the Datch

flag for the u15s again this Sunday as she teamed up with

Royston and St Neots against Bedford and Olney. She got

a crash course in the arts of the 2nd row and got a taste of

live scrummaging for the first time. A cracking

performance as she helped to secure turnover ball in the

scrums against strong opposition. She also put in some

great hits and made a couple of important carries. I think

the new Hulk green headgear did the trick! Well done

again Mez.

The girls have home fixtures this coming Sunday as Royston, Watford and Tring are due to head over to

Datchworth.

Mini Section

U7s Vs Hertford

This crisp and clear Winter’s morning saw Datchworth’s U7s enjoying a great away fixture against

Hertford (we did not play the Saracens at all, despite them being there). The U7s split into two

teams, the Datchworth Lions with honorary Coach Lewis and the Datchworth Dragons with Coach

Wes. The morning started with a quick warm-up and then we moved onto a series of five-a-side

matches, six in total, each eight minutes in duration.

The matches began really well with the boys demonstrating the skills

they have picked up in training, particularly the ability to run forward

accept the tag/tackle and then turn and pass to their support. This

created some really dynamic phases of play, which were a pleasure

to watch – we counted over 20 phases of play in our initial attack

alone. With the heady excitement of play both teams did find it a bit

tricky to stay within the lines, and focus and concentration did wane

a bit towards the end. However, overall the U7s showed some

excellent dodging, side-steps, passes and interceptions resulting in a

dominant performance. Our Man of the Match this week goes to

Austin for being completely on task, helping his teammates, giving

100 percent and supporting each drive forwards. Well done Austin!




U8s Vs Hertford & Saracens

This week the Datchworth U8s travelled with 23 players to face probably our toughest match of the

season against local rivals Hertford. Datchworth fielded 3 strong teams and with 6 matches each

there was plenty of game time for everyone.

We started the morning with a quick passing warm up before getting the matches underway. All 3

Datchworth teams put in a great effort all morning with some fantastic passing on display. There

were several calls of "good pass" from opposition parents during Datchworth attacking play, but

Hertford were equally potent with the ball. Overall, we experienced a mixed set of results, which is

to be expected against such strong opposition.

After training last week the coaches saw progress with our attack and defensive formations, but a

little more work is needed to maintain shape as play progresses through multiple phases.

Some of the Hertford teams only had 5 players and since we had a few substitutes to spare, several

of the Datchworth squad volunteered to play for the opposition. Therefore, the coaches decided

against an individual player of the week this week and instead recognised the generous

sportsmanship of all those who played for Hertford. Well done to Max, Enzo, Tommy, Ethan,

William, Dally and Sky.

U9s Vs Hertford

Looking out the window at 9am, it felt like we were in for a soaking as we took the short drive over

to Hertford, but the Rugby Gods were shining on us and as we arrived, the sun came out for a cold

but sunny fixture against one of our local rivals.




With 20 boys ready to get down to business, we decided to split into two teams for four 13-minute

matches all against Hertford. It is fair to say, that some of the teams we played were superb, with

some very physical fast past rugby being played, but others were far easier matches, but we were

pleased with how our boys got on with a few lessons being learnt.

Team Slow Death made a great start with perhaps the strongest of the days teams as their first

game. It was nice to see the boys’ structure themselves more than they have been although still a

little too much crowding round the ball. Benji came straight into his own and gave both sides a

master class in what perfect tackling should look like and we narrowly lost out on a draw with a try

on the final whistle. In game two, the boys did a far better job holding their lines and making better

use of the pass. We scored try after try in the game and only conceded one for a comfortable

win. In this game we saw Kyran, Finlay L and Finlay S mount the charge, running deep into the

opposition with them needing three or four defenders to finally take them down. In game three, we

started to make far better use of the space with Aidan and James S looking up and running into the

clear space and again, we dominated in attack and just edged the win ahead of the final whistle. It

was nice to see Jamie take on the scrum half position and his passes where improving at each

breakdown. Game four was one where we clearly got tired and rattled by the opposition. We had

too many high tackles and started lashing out with frustration when tackles were made. Despite

that, Edward made a cracking pass to Bo (who has made the best use of space of all the team)

allowing Bo to run in a great last-minute try. In this game, Olly was keen to get in amongst it and did

a great job as our scrum half.

Team Extreme Death they were called – and for some in the team it might have been what they had

hoped would happen to some of the refs. Despite some idiosyncratic off-side decisions and tough

opposition, the boys played well and with passion. There were two great tries from Finlay J, some

great scrum half work from Charlie, solid tackling from Harry, disproportionately good hits from Max

K and James P, great support play from Ethan, lovely running lines from Tommy and Noah, and an all

round great game from blonde James – or super blonde James as he has become known. Man of the

match went to Ted, who scored two great and much needed tries amidst plenty of applications of

the magic sponge.




The larger pitch put into focus the work that needs to be done on

ball-handling and keeping possession, and the tackling was not as

good as it has been. But once the Christmas pudding has been all

burnt off these boys will be on fire.

Overall, we were really pleased with how they got on, but they

must learn to keep their cool when the mind games start from the

opposition. If you want to fight back, do it in the game where it

matters. Our player of the week could have gone to a number of

players this week, but it was just edged by Ted who is often

overlooked, but constantly does a great job. This week, he ran

some great lines and scored a couple of great tries. Well done Ted.


It was the first time for a while that we have hosted such a big fixture at Datchworth, with Hertford

(bringing 4 teams) and Saracens (3 teams) joining the two mighty teams from Datch on a fresh

Sunday morning!

As ever we started slowly taking our time to get into the swing of the first match after the long Xmas

break. However, as the games progressed, both teams began to find their feet and some super

periods of rucking, tackling and attacking play were seen. It’s always good to test ourselves against

'bigger' clubs. The boys played 6 games on the trot and enjoyed the longer run of games.

However, the cold, and competing against some stronger (non-streamed of course!) teams from the

opposition, began to take its toll in the last couple of

games and unfortunately some of the boys chose to try

and find an excuse when things got a little tough. This

is now another 'Luton learning' point; as we had a

couple of years ago. The squad now need to decide

whether, when the going gets tough, do they group

together and face the challenge with a 'can do' attitude

or try to find an excuse as to why it’s not going so well.

We go stronger next week, where we know the same

effort and commitment that was shown in the majority

of games this week, will be shown in ALL the games

next week.

As ever, thanks to the parents for their support and to

Bazza for trying to find a solution to the waterlogged

pitches and to Jezza's dad for his refereeing advice.

Player of the week this week was Arley. He gave his all for every second this week, plus showed good

leadership and teamwork skills, trying to get his teammates to be as committed as he was - well

deserved!





Always a very strong and purposeful fixture when we have the three way with Hertford and

Saracens. Over 100 players in one age group is fantastic for the game of rugby. Very well done to

Hertford for talking to ourselves and Saracens during the week so we could set the morning up

allowing all our players to have lots of game time. The fixture was also played in the right spirit and

atmosphere by all three clubs.

The matches were very competitive throughout the morning. Both the Hertford and Saracens squads

were very strong in the tackle area and even though we dominated a number of games in terms of

possession, our decision making, and execution just let us down at times when we should be scoring

more try's. That said, we did go over with some lovely scores. Big shout out to Jake who scored his

first competitive try in the corner.

Our tackling and nastiness around the ruck area continue to be a work in progress. In a squad of 32, I

would suggest a third tackle in a consistent way in terms of technique, power and low. Those stats

need to increase if we are to stop conceding long breakaway tries.

Every player put a shift in today but I would like to mention a few players who stood out in terms of

work rate and took their own standards up another notch.

Cameron, Alfie, Samual C and Freddie (who made the tackle of the day)

Well done to all you guys

Player of the week went to Koray. The last two tackle clinics we have

had back at base you can see he has listened and executed perfectly

today. Well done

Well done to all the coaches for excellent feedback and as always

thankyou to our parents for their positive support.


A bright and breezy morning greeted us for a triangular tournament with Saracens and Hertford.

Always one of the highlights of the fixture calendar today did not disappoint with plenty of good

rugby played by all and a stern test for the Datchworth boys. We played over 2 pitches and all the

teams got 4 games of 15 minutes straight through.

The boys played well against some good opposition and could have scored more try’s if our

organisation on the pitch had been a little better. We need to be more contentious of having the

right players in the right places and play with a little more poise. There was no questioning the boy’s

effort as they worked extremely hard all morning and the defence was excellent.

All in all, an excellent mornings rugby and thank you to our parents for doing the car parking.




Youth Section

This week the U13’s had a home friendly against Cheshunt, who we’ve played in the past a lot and

are of similar squad size but physically large. Rugby football is a game of two halves, and so this

proved to be on a windy day. We started off slowly and although had territory we let Cheshunt run

around us to score twice in the first 8 minutes. We fought back in the rest of the half but they ran in

another to make it 0-15 at half time.

However, we maintained our spirit and came out firing on all cylinders in the second half. We tackled

much better, held on to the ball more and the pressure made

Cheshunt give away penalties. We ran in three tries of our own

from Tom, Myles and George without answer, levelling the

score.

There were chances for both sides in the dying minutes but it

ended a 15-15 draw. It was a really good performance from

our boys today to see them come back so strongly and in a

game, we could have won at the end. Player of the Week was

Lucian for putting in a strong performance on the left wing and

assisting with a couple of the tries.

The U15s hosted OVs and enjoyed an impressive home 14 – 5 win, (fighting back from 0 – 5 at half

time).

Tries: Denzel (2)

Con: Logan (2)

MoM : Harry Philips / DoD: Icarus

The U14s and U17s were both training in advance of games next Sunday.




Senior Rugby Fixtures Update:

The Senior Section on Friday evening the Second XV played OAs and xxxx, on Saturday afternoon the

First XV lost 20 – 17 away at Luton and the Third XV lost 0 – 19 at home at Datchworth. Next

Saturday the First XV host Fullerians, the Second XV host Cheshunt and the Third XV are visiting

Welwyn.




Mid-Week Training Plan – Time & Pitch Space Allocations

Age Group

Head Coach

Pitch Space

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

7 till 9 6 till 7 7 till 8 8 till 9 6 till 7 7 till 8 8 till 9

Senior Sides

Ian Reid

Full Pitch

Senior Session

8-9

U18

Simon Little

U17

Phil Barnes 8-9

U15 Phil Nightingale

1/2 Pitch

7-8

U14 Andrew Howard

1/2 Pitch

7-8

U13 Warren Sullivan

1/2 Pitch

7-8

U12

Darren Hales 1/2 Pitch

6-7

U11

Danny Shurety

1/2 Pitch

6-7

U10 Woody

½ Pitch 6 - 7

Girls Phil Solomon

½ Pitch

7-8

Mini Mid-Week Training:

• Mid-Week Sessions will resume as normal this week. The U17s are moving to 8 till 9 on

Wednesdays

• Any squad with 6 till 7 can start earlier if Coaches / Players are able to do-so.

• Later Sessions must end very promptly to give squads training 8-9 a full hour.

• Please always confirm mid-week arrangements on a week by week basis with the age-group

Manager.




Week 21 Arrangements

• Thanks to Chris Bevan from the U12s for getting the Cones out for us today and thanks to Chris

and the U12s for taking care of the carparking. Thanks Richard Carden from the U14s for

collecting the cones at the end of the morning

• Next weekend the U13s are on Parking Duty

• Pitch Arrangements: Sunday 19th January

Mini Section;

Next weekend the Mini Section Age-Groups are playing away at Cheshunt:

Cheshunt Rugby Football Club

Rosedale Sports Club

Andrew Lane

Cheshunt

Hertfordshire

EN7 6TB

01992 623983

Provisionally all age groups to meet at 9:30am for a 10.00 Kick-Off at Cheshunt.

At Cheshunt, Mini Match Food is served after the game in the white marquee next to the AGP from

11:30. The Mini's field at Cheshunt is through the gates in the field past the AGP heading away from

the club house.




Youth Section:

Next weekend the Youth Section are as follows:

• U13s – Home Training

• U14s – Home Vs OVs (Pitch 2 – Kick Off at 10.30)

• U15s – Away Vs Cheshunt

• U17s – Home Vs Twickenham (Pitch 1 – Kick Off at 11.00)

Mini Section Club Fixtures - 2019-20 Season:

Week Date Datchworth RFC Mini Section 2019/20 – 50th Playing Season

Car Parking

21

19-Jan

Away Fixture Vs Cheshunt RFC U13s

22

26-Jan

Home Fixture Vs Royston RFC (U8s, U10s, U12s)

TBC

Away Fixtures Vs Royston RFC (U7s, U9s, U11s)

TBC

23

02-Feb PROVISIONAL Home Fixture Vs Barnet RFC – Still TBC

TBC

24

09-Feb Away Fixtures Vs Enfield Ignations RFC

TBC

25

16-Feb Training @ Datchworth

TBC

26

23-Feb Home Fixture Vs Hitchin RFC (all age groups)

TBC

DRFC Social Calendar – 2019/20 (50th Playing Season)

Month Date(s) Club Event

January

Fri 31st Jan

Mini & Youth Section Inter Age-Group Quiz – Ploughman’s & Drinks 7 for a 7:30 start.

February

Sun 2nd Feb 6 Nations Games - France V England 15:00 Big Screen & Big Atmosphere in the Club House

Sat 8th Feb 6 Nations Games - Scotland V England 16:45 Big Screen & Big Atmosphere in the Club House

Sun 23rd Feb 6 Nations Games – England V Ireland 15:00 Big Screen & Big Atmosphere in the Club House

March

Sat 7th March 6 Nations Games - England V Wales 16:45 Big Screen & Big Atmosphere in the Club House

Sat 14th March 6 Nations Games - Italy V England 16:45 Big Screen & Big Atmosphere in the Club House




Sat 21st March 50th Anniversary Club Dinner & Dance (Tewin Bury Farm)

April 10th to 12th Apr Holt Tour 2019 (U7s to U12s Rugby Tour Weekend)

Sat 18th Apr Senior Section End of Season Awards (Band & Drinks)

May

Sun 3rd May End of Season Mini & Youth Award Day Presentation and Party

Minis Tour to Hilltop and Holt RFC

We are heading to Holt!! I am pleased to say most age groups now have a team to enter to the

festival so the tour will be as planned! If you are still undecided the more the merrier and a few

extras in each age group would help with the matches on the Sunday. Please email your age group

manager or Nicola ([email protected]) but here are the headlines;

• When; April 10-12th 2020; Where; Hilltop activity centre Sheringham and Holt RFC Norfolk

• Who; Age groups U7 – U12

Cost; Total £145 per person (2 nights’ accommodation, full day of activities evening

entertainments, tour top and festival) Final payments due 14th Feb 2020.




GIRLS RUGBY OPEN EVENING – WEDNESDAY 15TH JAN 7PM

Here’s your chance to encourage your

sisters, daughters, friends and any other

girl that you think would enjoy this

fantastic game we all play and love. The

Girls Youth section are holding an Open

Training session on Wednesday 15th

January at 7pm on the floodlit training

pitch. Any girls from Year 5 and

upwards are welcome and encouraged

to attend. It will be a fun focused

session designed to accommodate

novice players and those who might not

have a huge amount of confidence.

If you’d like any more information

please get in touch with Phil Solomon

[email protected]

The girls section has become a real

feature of the club since it was

established in 2018 and they are an

incredibly welcoming group. There is a mix of girls who have come up through the minis section and

those who joined us with no experience whatsoever. Please spread the word and help us grow even

further in 2020.


mailto:[email protected]



Closing Notes

An excellent morning for the Mini and Youth section with all age-groups enjoying a competitive

fixture with Hertford and Saracens. Next weekend the Mini Section look forward to visiting Cheshunt

while the U14s host OVs and the U17s host Twickenham at Datchworth.

By way of a reminder Next Wednesday, (15th Jan), we are hosting a Girls Rugby open evening

between 7 and 8 and it would be great to welcome some more new faces to the Club. On the social

front we have the inter-age group Quiz at the end of the month, (Friday 31st January); The Quiz will

follow its usual format of £8.50 per head for the Quiz and a Ploughman’s Supper in the Club House.

7pm for a prompt 7.30 start. On Saturday 15th February we have our next Ladies Lunch as a

precursor to the First XV game against Grasshoppers; the cost is £20 per head for a 3-course meal;

details are attached, and tickets are available from Neal Jeromson or Jon Watt.

On a more glamorous note tickets for the 50th Birthday Party Dinner & Dance on Saturday 21st March

at TewinBury are now on sale; this year we have gone for a much bigger venue to hopefully

accommodate everyone at the Club along with many of our Veterans and Senior Players. Tickets are

£50 per person and tables are for 10 people, (the venue can take 350)! The Band booked for this

year is Piano Factor so all of our members can relax and enjoy the evening; we will have a couple of

Sundays where tickets are on sale at the Club, in addition please email: [email protected]

to reserve your tickets and request further information.

Good luck to all our age-groups playing next weekend.

Have a great week

Best wishes,

Andrew

Andrew Howard



mailto:[email protected]

http://www.google.co.uk/url?url=http://www.holtrfc.com/club/news-events/item/24-holtrfc-accredited-club&rct=j&frm=1&q=&esrc=s&sa=U&ei=1c5lVOWBONDWapG2gKAM&ved=0CCQQ9QEwBw&sig2=Xy5TzYWf4sia8WnNcW3wgg&usg=AFQjCNHic_PtqxdSPjYCmplojEaWD2EoNg

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Hertfordshire%20RFU%20Sign&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=hertfordshire%20rfu%20sign&sc=0-0&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&id=27E6959BFA40F81157B9F262C379A29341228631&selectedIndex=4

Date post:	17-Jan-2022
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	1 times
Download:	0 times

Datchworth Rugby Football Club

Documents