Weekly training


The New Season 2011-12

With the Rugby World Cup looming the new season for the mini section starts on Sunday 4th September. This will be the first session of the new season with full training and membership.

It starts at 10am but try and get there by 9.40 as it’s going to be very busy. Please look at the fixtures for the up and coming training/games sessions and just a quick note; Jo is setting up a Teamer.net which will give you upto the minute information via text messages – more will be revealed!!

Hope you have had a great summer, see you Sunday 4th

2010-11 Season

Sunday 27th September

Pinner & Grammarians hosted a training session with Twickenham RFC on Sunday morning as the sun brought a smile to the early risers. The pitches, although a little hard under foot were in perfect condition despite the first team playing on them the previous day. Each age section had a good number of children and coaches were full of praise for all those who attended from both clubs as a great atmosphere of fun, learning and playing took place.

The smell of the bacon rolls wafted across the ground and as one visiting parent remarked; it was lovely to have a coffee in a real mug not the usual polystyrene, and the fact you could get a refill at no extra cost was fantastic. This was the first time Twickenham had visited P&G and the positive remarks from both coaches and parents about the friendliness and commitment to having fun means that this will be a regular fixture despite the distance that was travelled.

U11/U12’s

The triangular training games (10 players per side) saw Pinner’s combined U11/U12 squad playing our visitors Twickenham’s U11s who formed 2 even sides. The initial game was close and well contested with Pinner winning by 3 scores to one (A. Stone (2) G. Sanders ) The second match was even closer and only excellent defensive work by the whole Pinner team kept Twickenham at bay with Pinner eventually running out winners by 2 scores to nil (A. Stone, Carl Laughna). All of the coaches felt it was an excellent work out and the running rugby played by both sides bodes well for both teams in the season ahead.

U10’s

After the warm up session both teams combined together to play some starter activities. Most popular was the ‘touch’ bulldog, a regular feature for Pinner, judging by the enthusiasm by Twickenham it will become part of their training sessions.

The skills based session was led by visiting coach Richard who got the players to pass and defend the ball using defence pads and the scrum half calling looping directions – it seems a little confusing on paper, and in truth required the Pinner coaches to break it down into smaller steps so that all players from both teams understood what they were required to do. In the end, split into two ‘packs’ the players flowed with the ball and movement both in defence and attack looked fluid and ball handling skills were improving as the session continued.

After a break of water and orange slices the two teams prepared to play a game. Pinner, who where a player short owing to an injury faced a well organised Twickenham side. Pinner defended attack after attack in the first half, with Twickenham using the strength and power of one particular player; although the ref did have to warn him about fending off and using the elbow on a few occasions (well spotted Clyde!) by half time Twickenham were one try up

The second half saw a Pinner team come out with a real desire to win, with a change in personal in the scrum; Thomas Matthews playing hooker for the first time, Sam in his role as scrum half managed to control the scrum despite some severe pushing from Twickenham. This commitment was seen by all the team, great tackling by Brenden, who has only just started playing and driving runs by Ben Stone enabled Pinner to equal with an excellent try by the previously mentioned Ben Stone. In the final play of the game a Twickenham scrum drove over the line to make the final result 2 tries to 1 to Twickenham (although the Pinner coach did mention the 1.5 metre rule!)

Sunday 19th April

Pinner mini section welcomed Egham for the final fixture of the season on a bright and sunny morning.  Pitch conditions were ideally suited for some fast running rugby and that is just what both eager sides offered up.  A mix of under 12’s and 11’s on each team saw Pinner demonstrate just how far they have advanced through the season, proving far too strong for Egham running in six fabulous tries in the opening match to only one in reply from Egham.
Adam Stone shone for the U11’s while Callum George excelled at scrum half again showing just how much he had benefitted from his Thursday session with the 1st XV training squad.  The pick of the tries must go to Piers Marx-Carr who caught an Egham kick off and ran the length of the pitch to score with ease.  Other try scorers were Adam Trethaway, Bradley Gilroy and Bradley
To Egham’s credit they made the second game a far closer contest as the Pinner boys all sought individual glory and tired towards the end.  Pinner eventually ran out winners by 5 tries to 3.

A fitting end to what has been a challenging yet rewarding season for all the U12s.  Well done to you all and here’s to Youth Rugby next season.

Doj & John

Sunday 1st March

Pinner entertained the stronger and more established Grasshoppers club at Shaftesbury Playing Fields on Sunday.  Much was gained from the experience and everyone from both clubs enjoyed the morning.

Under 12’s;

Grasshoppers brought a strong, well drilled team for a hard fought contest. The visitors got the better of early exchanges and were soon three tries to the good despite some fine tackling from Bradley Smith and Sam Williams.   P&G’s, with three U11’s playing a year up in this age group, rallied well and continued to play competitive rugby, creating several chances of their own without putting in the finishing touches for a single try.  In the second half, although now five tries down, Pinner grew in confidence to give a much more even game. After some fine mid-field work by Harrison Davies , Bradley Gilroy came within a whisker of the elusive try.  Grasshoppers had one or two very skillful and experienced players. On the Pinner side there were fine displays from Liam O’Riordan, Ben George and the outstanding ‘Player of the Day’ Dominic Seiler.

Report by Doj

Under 8’s and 9’s

On Sunday the weather finally broke and we had a glorious day to play some long awaited for rugby. The U8‘s start with the normal warm up followed by the old favourite

Bulldog, after a short water break the Grasshopper coach Leroy took over for a training session on tagging and running with the ball whilst looking for support, which went down well with all those involved. Later we had a two team race which involved some basic skills which certainly got all the players panting for breath.

Then came the time for the competitive side we split into our respective teams, and after a quick team talk we took to the pitch, at this point our thanks must go to Fiona who stepped up from the U7’s to join the team, Pinner started with the ball and we were soon making the most of the play at one stage we were 4-1 up thanks to some great running and excellent support play, but the play slowed slightly and at halftime it was a close 4-3. Pinner returned to the pitch, after some competitive tagging got a turn over and continued the scoring, the team really geld together this weekend with magnificent play by all the players concerned. The final score was Pinner 9 Grasshoppers 6, the man of the match was Adam Jeeves for the total commitment and support he gave from his wing position, (also what a catch followed by a try Adam it’s on video and hopefully will be on the website soon). The Grasshoppers coach actually came up to me and congratulated us on how well the team had kept there line whilst defending and attacking offering us options to move the ball when it came available, well done to you all.

The second match was a very hard thought game, with refreshed Grasshoppers coming out fast and hard from the start, with 2 quick tries in there favour it was all about catch up for the young Pinner team, a few offside calls gave Pinner the ball and they were able to convert these into tries. The Pinner squad stayed with it until the end and came away with a very respectful 11-10 defeat. All this bears well for the Middlesex Tournament which is next Sunday at Ruislip RFC, as with Pinner in this frame of mind they can really put the name of this small squad onto the Middlesex map.

Report by Paul Parker-Brice.

At this level pick and mix matches were played. Once again the Pinner players benefited from training along side more experienced units.  Several should signs of progress.

Under Pinner 9’s v Grasshoppers

After a great training session with getting both teams completing tackle bag work, a couple of games were played.

Pinner 1 Grasshoppers 1
Pinner scored a very fast and aggressive early try thanks to Ben, what followed was a determined display of great defending. Both teams provide a good show of skill but the equalising Grasshoppers score only came in the final play of the game, a very fair result.

Pinner 4 Grasshoppers 2
With energy levels high it was agreed to play another game and ensure every single player got a game, 11 a side with 2 Grasshoppers(Emily and Aman) joining Pinner.  Another early flash from Ben got Pinner on the score board, Kia scored for Pinner, Grasshoppers did score twice, but with a real turn of speed, Barbarian Emily scored for Pinner, the final try was scored by Ben, bringing his tally to 3 for the day. All players hit the showers 20mins later than usual.

Special thanks to Clyde our referee, who showed great patience and coached the teams in there 1st attempts at scummaging

The U9 ‘Player of the week’ was Kai Gordon and for the U8’s it was Adam Jeeves.

Report by Andy Nash

Sunday 22nd February

An unusually bright sunny morning greeted the mini section this Sunday. After two weeks of postponed training due to the wild weather we were at last able to get onto the green stuff at Shaftesbury playing fields. Although a little damp underfoot in places (its always a good idea to watch where you are running so early in the morning – those cold splashes take you by surprise!)

As a mini section we were split across two rugby clubs – the under 11’s were away at Enfield RFC training with two other clubs in preparation for a barbarian team for future festivals. After a slow start of the ‘getting to know you’ session, all players bonded well as a team and within a short time looked like they had played together for sometime. This was a very positive move by all the clubs involved as they will go on to compete in the Middlesex tournaments.

The remaining age groups prepared to shake of the last memories of snowballs and igloos and got down to a very productive training session. The under 7’s and 8’s combined together and started warming up with a couple of games of bulldogs, this was then extended by practicing keeping a defensive line, jokingly called ‘lazy lines’ but it reminded the players not to move until the attackers were very close. The three pass rule was introduced to ensure all managed to get fully involved. Bert used the 5 4 3 2 1 call to get all players back into positions quickly. A lot off excellent tagging was seen and some extraordinary tries made.

The under 9’s and under 10’s also combined, Steve led the warm up and then practiced pad work, starting with one player, building it up in stages to four players. The skills and knowledge gained in this part of the session were seen in full use during the following games.

The under 12’s led by Dodge were working on playing as a team, practicing scrumaging and line outs. A little more effort was required in the tackling element of the training but they all worked hard and enjoyed the session.

Player of the week awards go to:

Under 7/8’s – Sam Thorton

Under 9/10’s – Wahid Muhammed

Under 12’s – Sam Williams

Grasshoppers at home next week, see you all there.

Have a good and safe week

P&G

Sunday 1st February

A bitterly cold morning greeted the brave at Pinner & Grammarians on Sunday morning. Following last weekend’s successful fixture at home against Harrow RFC expectations were high. The coaching staff, armed with hot cups of tea and one coach donning a beanie that could only be described as a personal bet or fashion failure set up the training pitches awaited the young players to arrive. Many turned up wearing several layers of clothing as suggested by the coaches and training began. The under 7s led by Bert worked on ball handling and passing skills, Paul Parker-Brice the under 8’s coach had the tackle bags ready and children learnt how to hit them correctly and safely under his guidance. Two of the 8’s commented that they couldn’t wait too use them, after seeing the older players ‘hit’ them week after week. Coaches Steve, Keith and Paul got down to skills on protecting and presenting the ball which led to a game which was fast paced and demonstrated that they had listened and learned what the coaches had instructed. John, Ian and ‘Dodge’ worked their team’s very hard, emphasis on quick passing and running being the order of the day. The oranges provided during a break in the play were very welcome, giving the players a hit of vitamin C to allow them to continue despite the ever increasing threat of snow. This reporter must admit that his fingers were starting to freeze onto the very pen he was making notes with and on two occasions the ink froze!

The return to the clubhouse was very welcome – hot showers and bacon rolls were on the tongues of most players and the occasional coach.

Players were informed of the new competition – ‘where’s Scruffy’; children had to find a photograph of scruffy the dog somewhere on the website, email where he was and the first one to do so would win a prize. The winner will be announced next Sunday after the away fixture at the Bank of England RFC.

A big thank you to all of you who made the effort to train this morning, we know the weather has not been that brilliant for the past weeks and hopefully will have improved for next weekends fixture.

Then again some people think its summer (note the flip flops!!!)

Player of the week awards go to:

Ciara under 7

Morgan under 8

Felix under 9

Carl under 10

Oscar under 11/12

Welcome to the 4 new members this week, we hope you enjoy your time at Pinner & Grammarians

Wishing you all a safe and good week,

P&G

Sunday 25th January

Visiting club: Harrow RFC

On a damp and grey morning the Shaftesbury playing fields (home to Pinner & Grammarians RFC) were buzzing with sound of hot drinks being slurped, sloshing of boots through mud and puddles and the excited hum of expectant young players ready to start a joint training session. The car park was full, surrounding roads groaned with an assortment of vehicles, the fresh smell of bacon rolls wafted from the clubhouse, coats were being removed, waterproofs put on, wet laces threaded through damp boot holes, mouth guards rinsed and grit removed, hellos were exchanged, umbrellas expanded, slippery balls passed…….

It could go on!

This was the first fixture / joint training session with Harrow RFC. All age groups were represented and around 170 players split into mixed training sessions led by both Pinner and Harrow coaches.

On the ‘hump’ there was tag training, ball handling skills, and fun games with the under 6/7’s

The under 8’s were practicing tagging techniques and passing the ball through ‘pop’ passes – getting prepared for matches

The under 9’s started with a warm up session led by Lee – a couple of times around the pitch saw me observing from a distance! Then onto tackle bag work – presenting the ball and support play. During the games Harrow were introduced to netball rugby – a great favourite of Big John

Under 10’s joined the strong Harrow team for some tackle and passing practice being led by a combination of Harrow coaches, Martin and Lee

The under 11’s/12’s worked well with the Harrow players, developing skills in rucking, mauling and scrum work. This all led onto some fast paced games.

At present I do not have any of the results of the games but will endeavour to find out in the next day or two.

It was a great induction to three new members to the club, they loved the morning and hopefully will tell their friends about us.

It was great to see so many children not only playing rugby at Pinner but also the enjoyment that was had by all.

From Kevin Keen: Chairman Harrow RFC mini section

First of all thank you very much for hosting us, particularly as we asked for the fixture swap.  We had a lot of feedback from parents saying what a friendly reception we had and what a good set-up you have.  It was a good job we swapped round as Harrow was unplayable today (and I heard other clubs were too).

Thank you again to:

The children for playing so well and getting so mucky, I guess many a washing machine was groaning when they got home!

The parents for your continual support and work for the club.

Last but not least the coaches and admin who put up with the continual stream of emails and phone calls and who work so tirelessly for the club to make it a place to be proud of.

Next training session – Sunday 1st February 9.45 warm up 10.00 start, don’t be late

The coaches found it very difficult to select individuals as everyone was brilliant.

Sunday 18th January

The U9s/U10s really gelled this week. Mini’s Chairman, Steve George, said in the club house during the award presentations that he hadn’t seen the U9s/U10s play so well. This was all encouraged by the presence of Rezza, 1st team captain, who took part in the training session ( and really enjoyed it).

The older players were concentrating on narrowing the pitch to get the kids to create the��space in channels. Under 8’s were introduced to tackle bags in preparation to learning contact.

The mini section (age 5 -12) are still looking for keen and enthusiastic youngsters who would like to try tag and contact rugby. For more details see www.pinnerrugby.com or email jotalbot2002@yahoo.co.uk .

Players of the week

U6/U7 Harry Batten

U8 Mike Murphy

U9 Ben Stone

U11/12 Ben George

Sunday 11th January

Unfortunately owing to the weather it was decided that the home match with Staines RFC would need to be postponed until later in the season.

However, Mini’s chairman, Steve George decided that a fun training session could get the go ahead. Despite very cold weather a good number of ‘layered up’ players turned up for an action packed session. The U9′,U10’s,U11’s and U12’s combined together and guided by Ian’s well thought out and delivered session kept players on their toes, on each others backs! and created great games that involved ball handling, team work and pad work. The use of the scrum machine was introduced at the end of the session to great success – photos in the gallery

Paul and Bert ran their respective age groups and again the emphasis was on keeping warm, active and having fun – the pads did make their way over from the U9’s so that the U8’s could have a practice.

Well done to all those that suffered the inclement weather and made the session great fun.

The coaches made a special announcement this week – despite not listening when being told! Ian was voted coach of the week – well done.