June 2011
The Pebbles are the Future
The future of our organisation rests very firmly in the hands of our Junior Section, something I have emphasised in a number of recent articles. It is interesting to note that some rugby clubs locally do not have junior teams. I realise that this requires a great deal of hard work by parents and “willing volunteers” but we would strongly argue that it is storing up serious issues of continuity and viability for those clubs in the years to come. Our Juniors’ are exceptionally well run by knowledgable coaches and parents where teamwork, discipline and fun are the key ingredients. We would not have a Club without them and our continued thanks and congratulations go to all of them. A short summary of their achievements is given below.
Our Junior Section known informally as “The Pebbles” (little Rocks) have just completed another highly successful season. The under 7’s and 8’s played numerous games of tag rugby (non-contact) and many of them are now well prepared to move onto tackling next season. Some were pretty keen to launch right it into contact in their first year but had to be restrained! The under 9’s finished the season very strongly with an appearance in the final of the Cardiff and Vale District Tournament and then won a tournament in Abergavenny.
Continuing the above theme, the under 10’s had another successful season without adding to their trophy cabinet whilst the under 11’s produced some great results before losing narrowly in their cup to a good Ystrad Rhondda side. The under 12’s starred in their cup final at the Arms Park narrowly losing to Pontypridd late in the game. Compensation came from their winning the Cardiff and Vale District Tournament earlier in the season. The under 13’s were not burdened with trophies either and nor were the under 14’s but both squads showed great promise and worked hard adding some promising new recruits along the way.
Under 15 and under 16 age groups provide representative rugby opportunites with Cardiff Schools and the Blues Region and this can be a double-edged sword for the clubs. On the one hand everybody wants these sides to do well and to be stacked with their players but it can mean that less club rugby is played or is played to a lower standard because of this. This has been the case since I turned out for Cardiff Schools way back in the 1974-75 Season and not much has changed. We were good though, very good and now I am coaching the sons of boys I played with then……….tempus fugit and all that. Despite these representative challenges our under 15’s won a strong 7-a-side tournament which they hosted and went on to win a 10-a-side tournament in Bristol where remarkably, they entered two teams and played each other in the final! The under 16s finished the season on a high, winning a strong tournament at Abergavenny.
It may surprise many readers that competition is introduced to Juniors at such a young age. It is easy to argue the merits or demerits of doing so but this is part of the Welsh Rugby Union’s Pathway strategy which moves year groups along a clearly defined path from a highly controlled environment for the youngest into a more competitive and recognisable version of the game by the time they join the youth team at 16 years of age. All of this sounds a bit heavy and where is the enjoyment you may say? Well, I would simply suggest you come along on a Sunday morning in the season and watch 200+ youngsters enjoying themselves away from computer screens, fast food and texting each other. They are not press-ganged into playing and keep coming back for more. Roll on next season for the young “Pebbles”. New players of all ages are most welcome. Please see the website for details.
Both our 1st XV and 2nd XV finished third in their respective leagues and there is a real optimism about next season. At the time of writing our 2nds are in the East District Cup Final and will play UWIC whilst our 1sts are in the equivalent first team competition semi-final and will Llantwit Major. Who knows, they may both need to have another shelf installed in the trophy cabinet.
I have banged on in the past about the community we are part of and the diverse role and responsibility we feel we have within that community. This no better illustrated than last Friday when it came to our notice via the internet that a large group of 16 year olds with no affiliation to our Club had just finished school and planned to assemble on our pitches to have a major alcholol-fuelled celebration. This happenned last year and we picked up 12 bin bags of bottles and cans, many of them broken in the aftermath of this. We reported the matter to the local Police and let it be known what we had done via the internet. I am pleased to report that there was no party although I believe the Echo ran a story about marauding youths in other parks across the City. We will continue to ensure as best we can that the Harlequins Ground and our facilities are used properly by as wide a cross-section of the community as possible.
Finally, now that “election fever” has died down we must congratulate our new Assembly Member, Jenny Rathbone who has been a keen supporter of the Club and we look forward to continuing our relationship with her.
If you have any questions, issues or ideas please do not hesitate to contact us at the Clubhouse on 029 20 460461 or by e-mail: root@stpetersrfc.co.uk
Our website can be found at: www.stpetersrfc.co.uk
Vince Nolan
Youth Secretary
St.Peter’s RFC
