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Sun 14 Apr 2013
Ashton on Mersey
U9s (Year 4)
10:00
New rules, new week, better performance !
John Stevens14 Apr 2013 - 15:51
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Ashton on Mersey and our friends from Aldwinians made up the opposition today but more important was the preparation for playing to new RFU rules.
As we approach the season finale, it's interesting to note we have played more competitive rugby in the past 2 weeks than in the whole of November and December combined. During that barren spell we never saw a drop off in training attendance and will still take 2 teams into the Kendal tournament next week.
So to todays unusual encounter , an orientation around new rules of the game - a few weeks ago, a nice chap from the RFU visited the club to explain changes to the rules involving junior rugby for under 9 and 10 age groups. It's clear that the RFU have sought to " soften " the transition from tag to full contact and this has inevitably provoked mixed reactions - although in Lancashire it's clear where opinion lies . What we saw today proved to be a good advert for the policy if you enjoy watching good flowing games with strong running and passing, with the emphasis on involvement and participation. It's a bit too dismissive to brand the initiative as " bulldogs with a ball " but sport is all about opinions and so the discussions will doubtless rumble on.
One good benchmark though was the " crowd " reaction during the games, which reached fever pitch in some passages of play - with the Mums Army being especially vocal as Rossendale ably got to grips with these new rules.
Either way, these rules will apply next weekend, and so based on today's familiarisation session, we are in for a good weekend of entertainment and no shortage of excitement.
In terms of the action,we were pitted against 2 teams from the ever improving Aldwinians and from our enthusiastic and welcoming hosts Ashton. This week we came away undefeated as the whole squad responded with a mature display of team work, with some great inter play, support and communication. We began proceedings with a well fought 3-1 victory over Ashton, followed by a hard earned 6-6 draw with Aldwinians before finishing the morning with a narrow 4-3 win over their colleagues.
Great to see all players taking active part - like last week we are seeing individual efforts and improvements but today it was more about how all this came together as a team and is very encouraging timing for the tournament.
Recognition for big performances from last week were afforded to Ieuan Bissell as player of the tournament and to Dan Stevens as Tackle Hero, with both players carrying their recent run of positive form into today's games, linking particularly well for a number of scores.
Good to see the Return of the Rowanator as a driving influence , offering timely reminder of his absence last week, along with a determined display of tackling from Tom Leech and also nice to see strong effort from Elijah Jones on his return to action.
And so to our season finale and anticipation grows - the BBC have employed a weather girl with the comedy name of Sara Blizzard ( honestly !) , let's hope there's none of that nonsense next week and that we have a dry and enjoyable weekend . See ya there .......
So to todays unusual encounter , an orientation around new rules of the game - a few weeks ago, a nice chap from the RFU visited the club to explain changes to the rules involving junior rugby for under 9 and 10 age groups. It's clear that the RFU have sought to " soften " the transition from tag to full contact and this has inevitably provoked mixed reactions - although in Lancashire it's clear where opinion lies . What we saw today proved to be a good advert for the policy if you enjoy watching good flowing games with strong running and passing, with the emphasis on involvement and participation. It's a bit too dismissive to brand the initiative as " bulldogs with a ball " but sport is all about opinions and so the discussions will doubtless rumble on.
One good benchmark though was the " crowd " reaction during the games, which reached fever pitch in some passages of play - with the Mums Army being especially vocal as Rossendale ably got to grips with these new rules.
Either way, these rules will apply next weekend, and so based on today's familiarisation session, we are in for a good weekend of entertainment and no shortage of excitement.
In terms of the action,we were pitted against 2 teams from the ever improving Aldwinians and from our enthusiastic and welcoming hosts Ashton. This week we came away undefeated as the whole squad responded with a mature display of team work, with some great inter play, support and communication. We began proceedings with a well fought 3-1 victory over Ashton, followed by a hard earned 6-6 draw with Aldwinians before finishing the morning with a narrow 4-3 win over their colleagues.
Great to see all players taking active part - like last week we are seeing individual efforts and improvements but today it was more about how all this came together as a team and is very encouraging timing for the tournament.
Recognition for big performances from last week were afforded to Ieuan Bissell as player of the tournament and to Dan Stevens as Tackle Hero, with both players carrying their recent run of positive form into today's games, linking particularly well for a number of scores.
Good to see the Return of the Rowanator as a driving influence , offering timely reminder of his absence last week, along with a determined display of tackling from Tom Leech and also nice to see strong effort from Elijah Jones on his return to action.
And so to our season finale and anticipation grows - the BBC have employed a weather girl with the comedy name of Sara Blizzard ( honestly !) , let's hope there's none of that nonsense next week and that we have a dry and enjoyable weekend . See ya there .......
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