Thank to all our volunteers for the hard work over the first half of the season. We have seen growth, success on & off the pitch and praise from all corners on what a fantastic spectacle our Saturday mornings are. Please pat yourselves on the back.

The kids must be enjoying it, as results on the pitch have been very positive.

At the start of the season we were regularly getting 250 youngsters training & we have rarely dropped below the 200 mark, even on the dark, dank days.

2019 – let’s just keep working on keeping sessions fresh & enjoyable, retaining current players whilst nabbing one or two newcomers and ensure you volunteers are having fun. One main goal is to get more kids playing, be that having larger squads on match days, extending number of teams at festivals and getting more commitment to matches from the newer parents.

All our helpers work hard but there are a few personal call outs …

Alan Sewell & John McGuinness have worked tirelessly to get GMS, Pitchero & Subs up to speed.

Sadly, Scott Lehman is moving back to Oz – the u13s will miss his enthusiasm.

And last, but not least, John Ruskin’s work & family commitments mean he will be stepping down as Fixture Secretary & Vice Chair of the Juniors at the end of the season. John was one of the first ‘victims’ we pounced on with that leading question “You’ve coached a bit haven’t you?”. Having led his early charges to a few Festival wins, John got to grips with the viper’s nest of fixtures, as well as sitting through many a ‘talk fest’ of Executive committee meetings. It is John’s ‘go to’ attitude that has played a major part in the phenomenal growth this section has seen.

The competitive year came to a close on 16th Dec with our teams finishing on a bit of a high. The U12s went to Harlequins & thumped both the hosts & Wasps in their triangular league fixture. Our U13s, who had found their early season league games tough, convincingly beat Tabard 7 tries to 2. The U14s (who seem to be the team hit most by injuries) played their hearts out, but lost 12 – 5 to Datchworth. This was quite impressive as our lot had 3 players playing their first ever game of rugby. And our U15s capped a fine morning by winning 22-17 away at Royston.

Onwards & upwards.