Russ Tinsdale Lead Coach Tel: 01202 389732 Mob : 07788 147 841 Email: Russ Co-Ordinators Anne-Marie Clark Tel: 01202 672439 Mob: 07799 262 214 Email : Anne-Marie & Sue Tinsdale Tel: 01202 389732 Mob : 07854 649 912 Email: Sue	Welcome to the 2009-2010 season for the U9's, it has been great to see so many familiar faces returning and to meet the new players and parents interested in joining the age group for the start of contact rugby. The children have been training hard over the past several weeks learning the new rules and getting to grips with tackling, a big welcome to Danny Moore and Paul Goddard who have joined the coaching team this year.

Assistant Coaches
Chris Allder	John Clark	Russ Deacon
Paul Goddard	Danny Moore	Paul Cahill Referee

Sunday 18th April 2010
Havant 'A' Festival

Squad: Alex, Barnaby, Ben, Ethan, Jake, Jamie, Kam, Morgan, Noah, Om, Rob, Sean
Another early start, but again under beautiful clear skies and not a vapour trail in sight.
Our first match in our group was against our old foes from Salisbury. Our boys seemed to be enjoying the sunshine too much and started very slowly allowing Salisbury to get the upper hand at the rucks and mauls.
So first game over and well forgotten, we were against Pulborough in the next and needed someone to step up and show the way to the try-line. Just as he had done at London Irish, Noah 'Sniffer' Clark erupted away from a maul following a period of concerted pressure and darted across the try-line. Our campaign was on its way and Sean duly delivered the knockout blow in the second half.
Lost one, won one, we entered the next game with high spirits, however we came up against a solid wall of blue. The hosts had put out their strongest team and were extremely well drilled particularly at the breakdown. Our boys certainly had their hands full and never backed down, with Om and Ethan putting in many fine tackles and making life hard for the opposition.
Our final game was against Andover and a win would put us into third and a place in the plate semi-final. Starting brightly, our forwards exerted pressure with Alex and Morgan putting in several powerful drives. Ben and Jake both made good use of the ball and really stretched the defence. Running out worthy winners we now had to face Aylesbury in the semi-final. A couple of volcanic tackles by Jamie really demonstrated how much the boys wanted to get to that semi final. The pitch had now turned into a dustbowl and made life difficult for those not wanting to tackle to the ground. There were many mauls in this game, with Kameron seemingly driving every one. Rob had shown great pace and effort throughout the day and was always pressuring the opposition into handling errors. This worked to our advantage and we secured our place in the final.
That we had to play Andover in the final, and that both Havant and Salisbury had reached the main cup final highlighted how strong our group had been. To finish third was a fine achievement. Andover had improved their game since our earlier match and were much tougher to breakdown, particularly at the maul. However we put together some excellent phases of play and ran out 3-1 winners.
It was a pretty tough day in hot and dry conditions and on a hard dusty pitch. The resolve of the boys was severely tested in those two groups games against the eventual finalists, but they bounced back each time and showed they can play some excellent rugby.
Well done boys, another piece of silverware to add to the collection.

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Sunday 11th April 2010
Bournemouth Festival

Squad: Alex, Ben, Bradley, George D, Kam, Jake, Jamie, Leo, Morgan, Noah, Oliver, Sam
This was an opportunity for some our less experienced players who had missed out on previous festivals due to the bad weather to get some time playing in a big tournament.
We found ourselves up against teams from Ruislip, Havant, New Milton and Upminster.
There were 22 teams in all playing across three pitches and unsurprisingly the schedule was so far behind that towards the end of the pool stage we were due to be playing on two pitches at the same time.
Although our boys were on the wrong end of the score-line in all matches they put up a superb effort against the opposition who were all fielding their 'A' sides.
Our final match against Upminster was especially tense with the lead changing hands several times.
The boys rugby improved with every match and really stuck at it all day.

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Saturday 10th April 2010
Touring sides Chelmsford and Cranbrook

Under blue skies and bright sunshine we played host to touring sides from Chelmsford and Cranbrook. Its not often the boys play rugby on a Saturday and they took full advantage of the firm pitch by starting off with an encouraging display of running rugby to win against Cranbrook in the first match of the day.
This was followed up by a narrow one-try loss to Chelmsford. The two visiting teams then drew against each other.
We then mixed up our team and again beat Cranbrook finishing the morning with a loss to Chelmsford.
The visiting teams really entered into the spirit of touring rugby with Chief Geronimo leading the Cranbrook coaches.
Chelmsford then donned their blue war paint for our final match and it seemed at times we were playing against the aliens from Avatar.
An excellent mornings rugby played in good humour and great enthusiasm.

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Sunday 28th March 2010
London Irish Tournament

Squad: Alex, Noah, Sean, Ben, Jake, Rob, Ethan, George, Om, Barnaby, Morgan, Kam

It's Sunday morning, 6.30am and having lost an hour due to the clocks we board the bus to Reading bleary eyed and looking for the nearest dose of caffeine. Getting to Reading University sports ground with plenty of time before our first game, the boys went through their paces to get rid of the journey and ready themselves for their first game. Unfortunately, Kam had a high temperature and couldn't take part in the day although having travelled up the previous night.

Up first in our pool was the second string from Chipstead who put up a spirited performance initially but soon Noah broke away from a maul and raced over the line to open the scoring. Keep this up boys and the parents are in for a good day. This try was rapidly followed up by five more with Jake scoring from a trademark steal in a maul, spinning off to score in the corner. Rob (2) and Om (2) added to the scoreboard with some typical mazy running. The tackling was superb and the inexperienced team from Chipstead never really threatened our line.

Having run the coach trip out their legs the boys now went up against a well drilled team from Farnham. The boys were improving all the time, typified by Sean and Alex who led the forwards all day with some powerful tackling and mauling. Ben provided a great link with the backs and constantly threatened the defence. Our rucking and driving was irresistible and we set up a continuous period of pressure in which we crossed the try line three times only for a Farnham hand to appear under the ball and prevent the score. It took a fine solo run from Ethan to break the deadlock. We kept up the pressure to the end and didn't let Farnham into our half.

With Reading 1 having also beaten both their opponents it looked as though our game against them would decide the group. With no half time at this tournament and just 10 minutes one way per game the boys had to take a lot of responsibility for organising themselves and they didn't let the coaches down. Reading were an extremely resilient team with several strong tacklers and we couldn't exert the dominance we'd shown in the previous two games. Both teams kept a solid line of defence and the game barely left the half way line. Time and again our attacks were snuffed out until the very last minute when a Reading player latched onto an enthusiastic offload, intercepted and hared off toward the try line. Travelling at close to the speed of light, Ethan tackled him within a couple of metres of the try line, the back up arrived swiftly and managed to drive over, secure the ball and win the scrum. Game over. Thoroughly absorbing and extremely tense, an excellent game of rugby and a fair result with neither team able to score.

Our last was against Reading's second team, and with their other team having played just before us we knew we had to score 6 tries to draw level on tries scored. Never have I witnessed such a sense of urgency on a mini rugby pitch!! Wimborne struck straight from the kick off and didn't let up for the entire ten minutes running in eight tries to secure our berth in the final. Some great work by the forwards to secure the ball kept the pressure on our opponents who just couldn't keep up with the pace in the outside backs. Morgan and Barnaby both made telling bursts to influence the game and George made some forceful runs down the wing.

To the Madejski Stadium which was packed out for the match against Sale. The atmosphere was fantastic and we hoped nerves wouldn't get the better of the boys. Playing down in the north-east corner of the ground against Fordingbridge, we started extremely well putting huge pressure on their line eventually a good pass on the move from Ben putting Rob in to a gap to surge over the line and open the scoring. Fordingbridge showed some excellent touches of handling, offloading well out of the tackle and really stretching our defence until they broke back with a try. The first we'd conceded all day. The final minutes were spent with neither team able to break through the excellent defence. The continuity we showed throughout the day was formidable, epitomised by some very good rucking and driving mauls in the final, trying to create the space to seal the victory. The eight minutes quickly disappeared and the game ended on a one all draw. The referee confirmed that having scored first Wimborne were the winners. Pure magic, our first cup win and in front of 21,000 people as well. What a day.

Throughout the day the boys had applied themselves to the task of playing good rugby and never lost focus. They were very disciplined on the pitch, tackled their hearts out and stuck to their positions. We're all very proud of the way they conducted themselves, well done boys.

Game 1- Wimborne - 6 v 0 - Chipstead 2
Scorers: Noah, Jake, Om (2), Rob (2)

Game 2- Wimborne - 1 v 0 - Farnham
Scorer: Ethan

Game 3- Wimborne - 0 v 0 - Reading

Game 4- Wimborne - 8 v 0 - Reading 2
Scorers: Ethan (3), Om (2), Rob (3)

Final- Wimborne - 1 v 1 - Fordingbridge (Wimborne win having scored first)
Scorer: Rob

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Sunday 7th March 2010
Alex Grieve the London Irish Community Roadshow coach visits Wimborne RFC

Please click here to visit London Irish's report on the visit

.The coaching session given to the U9s & U11s by London Irish coach Alex Grieve was greatly received by the boys and coaches.
Lots of good ideas and drills for us to try in the future.Alex did say that he was very impressed with the commitment and quality of play that was shown by the boys and wished us well for our forthcoming tournaments.

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Sunday 31st January 2010
Training Session at Swanage RFC

Pictures taken from a vary cold training session, however the boys still had fun. Alex, Noah, Alexis, Sean, Cam, Barnaby, Ethan, Leo and Oliver were all entertained, kept warm and enjoyed their fitness session.

Salisbury Tournament 18 October 2009

Squad; Alex, Ben, Bradley, Elliott, Ethan, Jake, Kam, Morgan, Noah, Om, Rob and Sean

Following on from the excellent display at New Milton and a fiery training session last week, the boys got off to a flying start against a big, physical North Dorset side. The tackling was tested to the limit and through some resilient defence, particularly several big tackles from Kam, turnovers came and Ethan broke free to run in two long range tries. Sean, in his first competitive match of contact rugby displayed some real toughness in the tackle. Keeping the opposition scoreless was a fine start and really set the tone for the day.

Next up were our regular group competitors Winchester, with their pacy runners and never say die attitude. Om had a real job on his hands to keep out the Winchester winger, but displayed some good speed in tracking back to cover tackle. Bradley and Morgan got stuck in in their first start making some crucial tackles and driving forcefully in the mauls. Going out to a 3-1 lead, Winchester struck back and it was a nervy last couple of minutes in which our defence held firm and bagged another three pointer.

Chippenham were also unbeaten and this game was to be the group decider. The hard tackling opposition rarely gave our backs a chance to show their speed, with Rob and Noah making good breaks only to be hauled down. Alex made several surging runs breaking from the line out and showed good strength to hold off the defenders. Despite our best efforts we couldn't turn possession into points and Chippenham won the game through a couple of breakaway tries.

The game against the hosts would decide our group position with North Dorset also having won two of their games. The game ebbed and flowed with both teams trying to get the upper hand. Time and again Jake went into a maul and came out with the ball having stripped the opposition. Elliott got his head down in the mauls and really drove the opposition back. Leading 2-1 Salisbury were awarded a late penalty on our try-line and the strong runner managed to find his way through to the line so drawing the game 2-2. The result was good enough for us to finish 2nd in the group and go on to play Havant for the plate. Havant had finished ahead of Bath, Bournemouth and Devizes in the other group with Brigdend going on to play Chippenham for the Cup.

Right from the start our tacklers stayed firm and solid. Ben showed great determination in driving through the rucks to secure the ball. Havant defended very well and eventually managed to create a scoring chance to lead 1-0 at half time. The boys responded brilliantly after the break and applied real pressure to the Havant defenders eventually leading to a try in the corner. The pressure didn't let up with all the boys making tackles and winning ball. We managed to take the lead and looked like we were going to hold out against the now constant attacks. A late penalty gave Havant the opportunity to create some space on which they capitalised and scored. The game soon ended and with the scores tied we waited for the law-book to be consulted. Havant had scored first and took the Plate.

The standard of rugby had increased significantly from two weeks ago and the energy and enthusiasm of our boys never faltered. The commitment and work ethic was fantastic and we're all very proud of the way the boys performed.

There will be more to come from this group. Watch this space.

New Milton Tournament
4th October 2009

Squad; Adam, Barnaby, Ben, Elliott, Ethan, Kameron, George, Harry A, Jake, Noah, Oliver, Om and Rob.

Four weeks of training over and the first test of how the boys were going to cope with proper contact. We arrived at New Milton to find us up against Salisbury in the first match. Our boys were traditionally slow starters last year, and this was no different, tackles were missed and the ball left all on its own unguarded at the breakdown. Salisbury capitalised on our sloppiness and ran in a couple of soft tries, eventually winning 3-0.

Next up were Fordingbridge and again the boys let in a couple of tries but came back well starting to get to grips with the need to keep hold of the ball in contact. We lost Adam to injury and although we were defeated 4-2 there was a glint of light at the end of the tunnel in that when we kept hold of the ball and worked our runners into space, scores would come.

We came up against an inexperienced side from Tottonians next and this was the turning point the boys needed. Tackles went in, rucks were cleared and ball was snaffled. Running in six tries, we never looked in danger of conceding. With one win gained we knew that another would put us in with a chance of finishing higher in the group and the boys really delivered with a sterling performance. Whether this had anything to do with the arrival of the head coach, who'd raced (and got lost) from training the other boys at Wimborne, I couldn't possibly comment. Some big early tackles from Kameron and one try saving effort, which became Ethan's trademark during the day, went in and gave the boys real confidence. Ben and Jake started to get more vociferous, in typical scrum-half and fly-half style. A resounding 4-0 victory put us into 3rd place in the group and a semi-final against Bournemouth beckoned.

The game was dominated by our tackling performance; over and over the boys knocked the Bournemouth runners back. A lucky try late in the first half, despite the efforts of Ethan to deny the rangy Bournemouth player put us behind by one at half time. Now playing uphill in the second half the boys continued with the big hits and forced Bournemouth back giving our strike runners some room eventually leading to an equalising try. We were on top as the whistle went, and after an excruciating delay whilst the officials consulted the law book, we went through to the final on count back to group points, to face Ringwood and Ellingham.

A score direct from the start saw us in control, and we never looked back running out 3-1 winners. Our tackling really was the crucial difference between the sides, direct running and a real desire to rip the ball in the tackle and mauls gave us the edge in the contact area. There was real promise and but for the slow start could have been even better. Well done boys, keep it up. One piece of silverware on the sideboard - lets go get some more.