Sunday 5th October

“The first full contact game for the under 9’s and they couldn’t wait to get started. Harrogate, who are always formidable opponents, came across with numbers to match our own and looked ready for the season to start too. Friendly referring and coaching during the games was great to watch and settled some of the less seasoned players into the games. All the boys showed great commitment in the tackle area, and seemed to be grasping the relevance of straight running. As a coach I was really pleased with the first performance. I have no clue about the scores and I am not too fussed; the main thing is we more than held our own and the boys played much better than I had anticipated. There are still many many area’s for the Coaches to work on; many of which were highlighted during the games. We will not come across much stronger opposition this season so things are really promising.

Our game line strategy, defence and communication all need work, but this will get better as the season progresses. For me today was about introducing the tackling and seeing how the players coped in and around the tackle area and myself and all the coaches were very pleased. Many of the parents commented on how it is much better to watch and they feel they are now doing something with their Sunday mornings!! We thank you for your commitment and hope you feel the same in the depths of winter.

We will continue to promote an all round squad approach with as many players as possible getting the same amount of game time. It’s not always easy for the coaches to make sure the rotation of players is equal so let us know if you or your son has any issue’s.

I am away for the next couple of games, including the world cup. I hope the performances go really well and that everyone enjoys the games. I am looking forward to seeing how much better we are over the next few weeks !!! “

Graeme Borchard Head Coach
Ripon RUFC Under 9's