grasshoppers rfc minis - Under 7's news

MIDDLESEX COUNTY TAG FESTIVAL SUNDAY 01/03/08

Well done to the Under 7 ‘C’ team –winners of the Middlesex County Development Plate.

Grasshoppers Under 7's C Team- Winners of the Middlesex County Development Plate

Sunday proved to be a day of premiers, it was the club’s first time of hosting the Middlesex Tag Festival and the first time that this current crop of Under 7’s had secured a trophy, so well done to the entire squad for their performance, spirit and hard work. I hope all those Sunday mornings (and some Saturdays) of training seem worthwhile now.

So onto the post match report. I’ll apologise now for any errors in getting the try scorers in the wrong order or names omitted, but the collective memory of the coaching team couldn’t quite recall all the details as we were too caught up in the emotion/excitement of the games.

Grasshoppers 7 - Pinner and Grammarians 5

An unfamiliar opposition proved no barrier to getting off to a flying start and the first half saw both teams trading scores, with Jack, Jamie & Erin all going over with tries to make it 4-3 at the break. The second half proved a little less frenetic as the G’s settled into the game and started to keep ball for longer periods & defend more positively, resulting in a brace of tries to secure the win 7-5.

Grasshoppers 5 – Ealing 4

As expected, Ealing were well organised and the G’s were made to work hard to defend and keep ball, matching each other try for try until the very last seconds, when Jamie broke free & ran in a try to secure the vital win for Grasshoppers.

Grasshoppers 2 – Teddington 3

Buoyed by the earlier wins, Grasshoppers went into the game with a determination & spirit that suggested victory was on their minds and certainly proved that with early tries from Jamie & Ciara. The second half proved to be a nervous affair, with Teddington able to capitalise on the G’s errors, picking up turnover ball in crucial areas & making it count with tries to equal the score. With a cruel twist of fate & with only seconds to play, Teddington were able to run through the hole in the Grasshoppers defence & score the winning try.

They say football is a “funny old game”, well it certainly applied to rugby on Sunday. Just as the U7’s were preparing for home, we were informed that as winners of our pool we had qualified for the Plate competition and would need to play another match. Unfortunately, none of the remaining teams we were due to play could field a team (perhaps they couldn’t face the thought of losing to the mighty G’s) and Grasshoppers were awarded the Plate.

Team captain for the day, Erin, stepped up to collect the Plate on behalf of the team, which was duly held aloft by the proud squad for the photo session.

I’m hoping that the trophy will be on display in the clubhouse next weekend; although we may have to extend the bar to accommodate all the silver the club keeps collecting!!

I would like to say a personal thank you to all the players; Erin, Jamie, Coran, Hannah, Jyanthi, Jack, Finbar, Ciara, Tom, Bradley and Harry and to the parents, family & friends who supported the festival and who contributed to its success, both sporting and financially. Let’s not forget Nick, Paul, James, Kim & Sam who give up their Sunday mornings to run the team.

Finally, a reminder that we are training at home this coming Sunday 09thMar 0945 for 1000am start.

Best regards

Neil

Under 6 and 7’s Team News 17/02/08

Despite a slightly frosty start, the sun was out and the kids were soon warmed up ready for their training session with Hackney Bulls. Although only a small squad of players had made the journey from East London, what they lacked in numbers they made up for in enthusiasm in both the drills and during the match.

The match started well for Grasshoppers with an early run by Coran Stewart ending in a try scored by Jack Hurley. Hackney Bulls almost replied immediately from the restart, with a jinking solo run only stopped by last gasp tag and an eventual knock-forward.

With the game poised at 1-0 to G’s, there was everything to play for in the second half and Hackney Bulls were rewarded with a try early on following a period of good handling by both sides.

With the game at one try each, there was a nervous few minutes with both teams stringing together several phases of play, which ended with Jamie Johnson successfully touching down to make the score 2-1 and secure a narrow victory for Grasshoppers.

Our thanks to the players and coaches from Hackney Bulls.

As some of you already know, we have recently launched a new age group for under 6’s called the “Knee Highs”, as in knee high to a grasshopper (if you haven’t got the pun).

Last Sunday was the first opportunity for the Knee High’s to model their new t-shirts and reveal the brand to the remainder of the club.

The Knee Highs provides a simple and fun introduction to rugby, based on playing games and is suitable for reception year boys and girls (age 4 and 5). If you would like to find out more details, please contact any of the U7 coaches or come along and watch us one Sunday morning.

Special thanks to Marion Mason and Val Hobson for organising the T-shirts.

A reminder that in preparation for the forthcoming Middlesex Tag Festival, we are holding extra training sessions on Saturday 23Feb at 10:00am and Saturday 01March (time tbc). These sessions are primarily for the U7’s, however as there will be no training at home on the 02ndMar, we would welcome players from both age groups to attend.

I look forward to seeing you all training at Ruislip RFC Sunday 24Feb, please try to arrive early. Directions to their ground can be found by following the link on our fixtures list page.

Under 7’s Team News 181107

Just a reminder to all our players, parents (and coaches) that were training away at Redingensians RFC this coming Sunday 25Nov, 0945 for 1000am start.

The club is suituated off the A4 (old Bath Rd) east of Reading.

The address is: Redingensians Rugby Football Club Ltd, Old Bath Road, Sonning, Berkshire RG4 6TQ

Link to Club site click here

We had a good turnout at our last away fixture and whilst we appreciate that it’s a little further than we normally travel, it’s always good to visit new clubs, so please keep up the momentum & lets see as many as players as possible. Corran’s dad (Alex) has generously offered to drive their seven seater from Osterley and will leaving at approx 0900am, so if you are interested in car-sharing, please contact me by e-mail or mobile.

Finally, we’ve been lucky with the weather (so far) this season, although it felt like winter was with us last Sunday, so can I just remind parents to pack an extra layer of clothing, preferably something waterproof and perhaps a hat. Some children find it difficult to handle the ball with wool gloves, especially when it’s wet, so you may prefer rugby mitts, which can be purchased either at the Grasshoppers shop, or through good sports shops.

Neil

Grasshoppers B festival

Just a quick note to say thank you to all the players and supporters who attended the Grasshoppers B festival last Sunday.

Although the team were not able to win their semi-final, the entire squad once again demonstrated courage, enthusiasm, sportsmanship, spirit and commitment.

A full match report will be posted separately, but in summary the results were as follows:

v Finchley won 3-2
v Kings lost 4-6
v Hammersmith won 3-2
v Farnham lost 5-2

A special thank you to those parents who helped out with the setup, control point registration, pitch marshalling, touch judging or running a stall. Remember these festivals are important to the club, both from a player development perspective and for the financial security.

Lastly, we will be training at Kings RFC this coming Sunday 11Nov 1000am-1200. The ground is located in Motspur Park (between Kingston and Wimbledon)

We look forward to seeing everyone, but please ensure you arrive in good time.

Neil Mackenzie

Grasshoppers B festival 4th November Match report

After a seemingly unassailable start putting Grasshoppers 2-0 up at half-time, Finchley recovered after the break and were able to draw level. With only seconds remaining, Jamie Johnson was able to cross the try line & secure the win for G’s.

In their 2nd pool game v Kings, despite a valiant effort by the entire team, the G’s went down 6-4, in what was a closely contested & thrilling game, marked by a debut try for Sophie Johnson.

Hammersmith proved to be equally dogged opposition in the final pool game, in what turned out to be another tight & evenly matched game, with the G’s edging the result & securing the victory 3-2.

The 2 wins provided enough points to progress to the semi finals, where they played the winners of Pool B, Farnham. After falling behind to a brace of quick tries from Farnham, G’s managed to recover and return with their own score, to make it 2-1. Early in the 2nd half, Farnham were able to capitalise on some confusion on the G’s try line to increase their score, but despite another try from G’s, the clock was running down and a further 2 breakaway tries from Farnham put the victory beyond the G’s, with Farnham running out winners 5-2.