7^th May Players player votes in.

11^th May 10:30 AGM and Prize giving. (American Supper)

Minis Tour - Croyde Bay 2008

CLEVE FESTIVAL – 20 April

All the boys gave a great account of theirselves today. With 3 tough games the boys dominated every game and put in outstanding performances. The forwards were on top in the scrum, line outs, and everyone contributed to dominating the breakdown situation, be that either ruck or maul. We were so dominant in this area we did perhaps not get too much good quality quick ball out to the backs (something for the coaches to work on).

All the forwards had barnstorming runs and on rare occasions the forwards deemed to let the backs have the ball. It was good to see the backs try things, a couple of loops, scissors and on one occasion the quick hands were breathtaking with one player taking it off his toes and passing it to the wing in one movement. The first game against Winscombe, Mary’s dominated possession and territory only to lose out to a breakaway try to the eventual winners. In the second game we gained a bonus point by beating Taunton 4 :1 and then in the final game against Chew Valley we were unlucky to come away with only a draw after again dominating for most of the game. So we didn’t qualify for the semi’s after playing in by far the strongest group but we came away with our heads held high after playing great committed rugby.

Team for Sunday 30th at Keynsham Somerset invitation festival:

Sam Hesketh, Tom, Stuart, Archie, Kieran, Mitch, Big Jack, Chris Fraser, Oli, Harry Watts, Ellias, Bradley,Adam, Matt Witts, Harrison, Jack Ainsworth, Harry Brooker, Jack Hodges.

Meet at 9:30, If you cant make it please let Andy know ASAP.

Don't forget the clocks go forward this week! So early nights!

All those not playing will be given priority for the Cleeve festival.

Sport Relief Mile!

What a great day after the disappointment of the tournament being called off lots of the boys and friends turned up to complete the Bristol Sport relief mile. The media stars from St Mary’s only just made the 12:00 am run after a radio interview (clic on interview then "listen again",select Richard Lewis on Sunday and fast forward to1hr 44 and 2hr 20)and photo shoot before the big off. The highlights of the run were Steve Fraser trying to keep up with his 6 year old son Nicholas who finished a good two minutes before mum and dad, Archie, Oli and Harry Brooker passing a rugby along the line constantly for the whole 2^nd half of the run and never dropping the ball and the ‘pièce de résistance’ was Gary trying to keep up with a few of the quicker boys, taking a wrong turn and doing two miles instead of one, then collapsing over the line. Of course all the boys & Jason were concerned for Gary’s welfare and poured bottles of water over him to cool him down! With the green and black out in force, not just local but the national TV media were keen on this human interest story and so the cameras turned up. The exhausted Gary was interviewed where he puffed the immortal words “I didn’t realise a mile was quite so far.” I’m sure this incident will never be mentioned again!!!!! But it was all in a good cause and I’m sure it will die down after a week or two Gar. See the TV coverage and a bit more here.

Some Photos of the event added 17/3/08.

Super Saturday 1st March

Old timer and -11s coach Gary is being wheeled out to play for the first on Saturday if you fancy an aftrnoon of rugby. Bet he can't walk on Sunday! Has anyone told him St Mary's are out of the combo cup already!

Super Sunday 2nd March

Longlevens 24^th Feb

Always going to be a tough encounter after we were beat quite convincingly earlier in the season by them. But our improvement across the board was plain to see, as with Bridgend they were a very physical side but the recent rucking work must be working as we held are own and everyone stood up to be counted, the passing is also improving as we worked the ball to the wing quickly on numerous occasions. The Longlevens coaches were very impressed by the 11s performance, from what I gather most teams they play don’t stand up to them, roll over, and loose heavily.

Bridgeend showed that we needed to be more physical and move the ball quicker, Longlevens have shown us we need to be more ruthless at the tackle area, all be little Richie McCaw’s and now that we can pass in the backs, that we need to be more dynamic and change the angles of attack. Some thing for the coaches to work on!

Gordano 17^th Feb

Another fantastic morning of rugby with the holiday period we couldn’t stretch to three teams this week but we had two evenly contested games play. Another Mike Rafter quote comes to mind after the games “These are rugby people”. The games were played in the right sprit and with the correct mini rugby ethos. Both games were close with the Bears coming from 3 nil down at half time to draw level and were unlucky not to sneek a victory. The Bulls in another close encounter managed to win 1-0. The rucking and ball work drills from Wednesday training were defiantly on show and goes to prove quality practise breeds quality play on a Sunday.

Clifton 10^th Feb

3 teams

What a great days rugby the new boys putting in a fantastic display to power to victory over Clifton’s new boys by several tries to nil. The Bulls put on a great performance after playing all the rugby to go down by a try. The Bear’s started slowly conceding 2 tries but fought back in the second half to be camped in the Clifton half but not quite being able to score. An all round great display of rugby by all three teams with some fine individual and team performances..

Bridgend 3^rd Feb

3 teams

We welcomed our visitor from over the bridge hoping for revenge after England’s dismal 2^nd half display the Saturday before. Bridgend like their national team the day before gave St Mary’s a lesson in how to play fast committed rugby, rucking aggressively and moving the ball wide with great finesse. Today was a day when bodies needed to go on the line and it was good to see the boys never give up and really show their character.

Cirencester 27^th Jan

3 teams

Sunday 20th January Versus Wells RFC

What a great morning’s rugby after everyone’s initial reluctance to step out into the abyss. We had a great turn out considering the weather, distance to travel and any confidence that the game was on. Mike Rafter’s famous quote comes to mind “At the end of the day rugby football was the winner!”

In both games the boys displayed all the skills they have been practicing for months. We saw dynamic running, barnstorming runs, deft passes, a scintillating length of the pitch individual try from Elias and a few more try’s involving several phases of play and great team work . The little tackling session before the first game definitely paid dividends as the defensive work was excellent - low tackles, attackers held up over the line, attackers driven into touch and several crunching tackles. The list goes on! An all-round great squad performance against an historically strong Wells team.

Coupled with recent displays at training a thoroughly enjoyable morning’s rugby for parents players and coaches alike. Keep it up!

Super Sunday.

Our Super Sunday for this season is arranged for 2nd March 2008, at Ashton Gate. Bristol will be playing against Bath on this day.The cost will be £15 per child, and each child can bring up to 2 adults, also at a cost of £15. There will be a goody bag provided, along with the pre-match walk around the pitch.The morning training session will be run by the Academy guys, as it was last year. We are not restricted to 60 kids this year so everyone should be able to attend.Please let Neil now if your interested. All details are available on the Bristol Rugby website. http://www.bristolrugby.co.uk/29_4479.php

Wednesday night training will be a fun session with a hour and half fitness including a bleep test so we can monitor present fitness levels…..only joking we will be playing kabady(if we can find the rules), rugby rounders, tag and basketball.

See this link for a christmas message from a couple of the lads and some others you may recognise! and next years tour dance.

St Mary’s versus Nailsea and Backwell RFC (25/11/07)

Under discussion?

See everyone Wednesday and don't forget your tour deposit cheques.

St Mary’s versus Cleeve (Sunday 11/11/07)

It’s hard to believe that we lost to Cleeve only 3 to 4 weeks ago at the Keynsham festival. What a turnaround. In the first game the players translated everything they have been coached and were by far the more superior of the two sides. Following on from the previous 2 weeks, we witnessed again, a great display of attractive, attacking rugby.

When there was a need to tackle it was done with great effect and we were quick to the rucks resulting in us winning most of them. The way the ball was being passed around and the ever presence of a support player, completely stretched and demoralised the opposition. It is irrelevant what the final score was least said it was a magnificent win. This style of rugby is a joy to watch so please keep it up.

The second game was a more closely fought game and included a lot of our newer players. Although not as strong as the team that played in the first match there was some evidence of emerging talents. Some of the new players were not fazed by the match environment far from it they seemed to enjoy the experience. Some have learnt the basic skills very quickly which is either down to the abilities of the coaches or it’s just that this group are a bit more intelligent. They also notched up a win which is also very commendable.

I’ve placed all the “action” shots in one big lump and hopefully set it out that you can go to the one you want without wading through the not so important ones. There is a black and white picture of our very own three stooges who are similar, to the ones that existed in the thirties, forties and fifties, in that they are also not funny http://www.threestooges.com/bios/ .

Watch the tackle and evasvion video's from the link below

http://www.videojug.com/tag/rugby

Match against Cleeve (Sunday 11/11/07)

On Sunday, Cleve will be coming to us as there has been some confusion over the fixture we were to have with them on 09/12/07. Be there for 10.00 please.

St Mary’s versus Kingswood

Well what can I say but excellent. We had it all in abundance, tackling, passing, aggressive rucking, offloading in the tackle, and excellent support play. I don’t normally point out individual players but the move which involved Elias receiving the ball at pace was a joy to watch and was rugby at its’ finest.

I gather this was similar to the way we played at Yatton the previous week. I mentioned in the Keynsham festival that if we learnt to tackle properly and acquire the skill of when to pass the ball, we will be a hard team to beat. You have just proven that today.

St Mary's vs Yatton (Sunday 28/10/07)

Yatton 14 v St Mary’s 36

6 Tries; 3 Conversions!!!

As our regular reporter-cum-photographer (or is it the other way round?) wasn’t at the match this weekend, I have taken the responsibility of writing the match report myself.

We arrived at Yatton to find dreadful weather conditions – not conducive at all to running rugby but it was a testament to our handling skills that we coped well and played attractively in such conditions.

Because of a shortage of players, we agreed that Yatton could field several of their u12 players. Some of them certainly looked to be that much bigger than our u11 boys but we didn’t let that affect our game and it inspired our forwards who dominated throughout. Gary was again pleased with how our set pieces functioned, especially the scrum where we shoved a larger Yatton pack off their own ball several times.

With the forwards winning lots of ball, the half backs were able to bring the backline into play regularly. The handling and running was very good under the tricky conditions and we managed to break Yatton’s defence on a few occasions.

At half-time we had the novel sight of Elias attempting to convert the four tries we had scored. After two sliced kicks he was successful with the remaining two.

H/T: 14 - 24

The second half continued in pretty much the same manner as the first with St Mary’s managing to add two further scores. It was great to get some of the ‘new’ players onto the pitch to gain experience. They contributed well and their introductions didn’t weaken our grip on the game whatsoever. Well played Amir, Dan and Stefan. Josh successfully converted one of the second half tries.

Well played everyone, our attitude was spot-on! We are now playing for each other, playing as a team and combining well. Keep it up and success will surely follow.

Thank you players and parents for making the effort on such a miserable morning.

Plus points: scrum; rucking; support play; passing/handling; decision-making.

Points to work on: restarts; tackling lower on bigger players

Keynsham Festival – Sunday 21/10/07

I have no intention of writing individual match reports for the four games that were played at the festival because the standard of play was consistent throughout. Considering most of the players were up late, the previous night, supporting England’s endeavours in the Rugby World Cup, the first match got off to a lively start. The ball was passed around like a hot potato even when sometimes it should have been held until the opposition had been drawn.

All the matches were keenly contested affairs with not much to differentiate between the sides in terms of playing skills. The winners in all matches only won by one try which highlights the closeness of the contest. The scrum played particularly well in that they managed, at one point, to win at least two against the head. The rucking was also of high standard as well as the support play.Despite the fact that we had the majority of the possession and territory in some of the games, the opposition scored because we did not tackle around legs. It was as simple as that. If this area is tightened up along with the skill of knowing when to pass the ball, then we will be a hard team to beat.

Photos Cleeve Clifton Keynsham Wells

I've had a few constructive criticisms about the snaps that I take. “...there are only so many line-outs and scrums you can look at what about some action shots?” “Why don’t you look at the way the photos are laid out for the under 12’s, there much better than the way you have to load them?” I replied gracefully that I’m too old to run around taking action shots what with me old Arthur but you can cut and paste your sons face and stick it on the one’s of the under 12’s site. I load my own photos and the free software used by the under 12’s is far too complicated for the likes of me. Anyway I think you’re confusing me with someone who gives a toss.

There will be a Party in the Club From 7 O clock Onwards which will include a Disco, Free child raffle, Spooky Tuck, Prize for Best Kids Fancy Dress Costume.(Fine Or Forfeit For Adults Not Dressed Up!!).There will be small items for sale such as Sweets , Tattoo’s and Glow Sticks, So bring your pocket money !!. There will be a box in the Clubhouse for Raffle Prize Donations

TICKETS--- Adults £3 Kids £1.50 On Sale Now from Laura Or Becky

Lets organise some mini buses from Kingswood, Filton and Bradley Stoke.

********************DON’T MISS A GREAT NIGHT*******************************************************

St Mary's versus Thornbury - Sunday 14 October 2007

To view the photos please click on the appropriate link Match1 and Match2.

Like England the night before, the boys played brilliantly and they can all be proud of their skilful, disciplined performance. I think even Gary smiled (or was it wind).

After a slow start in the coaching session before hand and initially in the first game, the boys in both games played well. The rucking was excellent, although both teams liked to put their hands in too much, something for both sets of coaches to work on. Thornbury surprisingly kicked a lot of ball away looking for field position, OK for the World Cup but a funny tactic for -11s! This back fired and played into St Mary’s hands and these kicks were ran back into the Thornbury half with interest and on one occasion the kick was charged down.

It was good to see new boys Amir and Daniel charging down the pitch ball in hand, they seemed to be enjoying themselves! The back play is improving game by game, I’m sure I saw a scissors at one point! We still need to pass more and not go into contact and lose the ball. But international sides suffer with this so we are not alone with needing to practice this.

The overall score for the 2 games was 5-3 to St Mary’s.

Kelly's (Victor Mildrew's) Blogg, stardate 15 October 2007

This is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the club;

I’ll re-iterate what I wrote last year about the decision I made not to criticise the referees even when they constantly made mistakes. I suddendly realised that the game is for the child’s enjoyment and not a vehicle for their parents to live out their lives.

Most referees (those who have themselves played at a reasonable level) will want to ensure that both teams have the same chance of winning by playing to the laws, fairly. Some allow a little flexibility to assist in the smooth flow of the game but also point out when errors have been made to allow the players of both sides, to learn.

Our coaches try to educate our players about the spirit of the game and its benefit in the personal development of each player. Learning how to lose as well as win. Mistakes will be made, of course, but when bias creeps in then there is little point in playing rugby if the sole object is to win at any costs. That is not the ethos of the under 11’s structure where everybody is considered equal and both sides are treated fairly by the laws of the game and not’s someone’s interpretation.

Constantly criticising the referee mars the pleasure of the parents who have come out to see their child play a game. I hope rugby can rise above the bickering and shamming that is prevalent in to-days football. There were elements from both crowd and players on Sunday which suggest that rugby is going down the football route. Let’s hope not. When visiting teams are entertained at St Mary’s I hope that they know they are able to play a game of rugby, fairly, without bias and yes it would be nice to win but primarily the game is for the pleasure of the kids.

Sponsored Cycle Ride from John O'Groats to Lands End

Rob Millward sucessfully completed his cycle ride and would like to thanks those who have sponsored him. If you haven't got round to it yet I think you are still able to contact www.justgiving.com/900miles.