Under 8′s

Cheshire Rugby Festival 21/4/13

It was a very special day enjoyed by 32 teams from all over Cheshire. The sun was out, and the games fast and furious.

The children arrived early and warmed up, and Thread Radio, began pumping up the volume, and getting the spirits up and building up the air of excitement. All team s began warming up, and at 11am the tournament commenced with all teams playing three games in the morning, in one of eight leagues.

The cake and book shop opened and the BBQ fired up to provide entertainment between the games, and ensure there was welcome distraction taking the pressure off, and ensuring fun was had by all.

Their position in the leagues at lunch time determining the cup that each team competed for in the afternoon

The afternoon play continued in the same vein as the morning, fun but fair. The games were fiercely fort, and the play was incredibly fast. The losing team in all games, being knocked out of the tournament. The team numbers quickly thinned, from 1.30onwards, the final being held close to 3pm.

Bowden 1 came away with the Shield, Winnington Park the Vase, Congleton Bears finished with the Plate, and Chester was awarded the Cup.

It was an exhausting but fun day, very competitive, and a joy to host.

27 MARCH 2013: HOME vs WHITCHURCH

Player of the week this week is Finlay. Well done young man!

Finlay

26 MARCH 2013: 1ST TEAM MASCOTS

Team Mascots

19 MARCH 2013: AWAY vs BOWDON

Battle commenced in somewhat frozen territory, but the boys did us proud.

Here’s Liam and Alfie proud as punch with their Players of the Week trophies:

Liam and Alfie

4 FEBRUARY 2013: AWAY vs LYMM

Macclesfield U8′s travelled to Lymm on a cold and drizzly day to play our first games for four weeks.

After a quick warm up, interrupted by a rather irate Lymm groundsman, the boys were divided into four groups, blues, reds, pinks and greens. The lads practiced some set moves and defensive line keeping, the set plays were named Betty and Delilah, courtesy of Coach Mark Cole. The teams played then played four games each in a round robin tournament :

Greens (Steve):

The greens started a little cold, in more ways than one, but finished with a flourish. There was some excellent running and well worked tries scored, Only a couple of cheap tries conceded. Even more impressive was the greater display of team work – a good defensive line developing and some very solid support play in attack. Some developing captaincy skills from the 4 captains of the day & a developing spatial awareness from all the boys. All this ended up with more wins than losses.

Reds (Aaron):

The reds were a little disjointed at first , but settled down to play very well. They put the set plays to good use, and consistently supported each other, the soft ground meant diving for the line became the norm, all the boys ended very grubby.

There were fantastic tries scored by all, the highlights being Ben Hallewells runs of the whole pitch, Samye’s slam and dunks across the try line, Oliver( speedy legs ) Ransom handing the ball off, timing it to perfection, Joseph’s head down funnel runs splitting the opposition and Jamie zipping up the left wing. They all complimented each other to end up with 3 wins and 1 draw.

Pinks (Jonathan):

The pinks were a man short for 6 a side so borrowed a player from Lymm, despite this they have avert good account of themselves with 1 win 1 loss and 2 draws. Jenson Gideon gave a strong performance in defence and attack.

Blues (Mike):

What an excellent morning! We had the boys sticking to channels, passing, individual tries, team tries, great tagging, enthusiasm and fun! With an overall try count in the 4 games of 22 to Macclesfield and 16 to Lymm all the games were competitive and closely fought.

Highlights include Oliver Van Der Ploeg weaving down the pitch for 5 individual tries; Josh scoring a mixture of individual tries and tries culminating from good team play and excellent support! Tireless support from Haydyn and James B and the most spectacular dives witnessed at U8’s by Robbie – why just put the ball over the line when you can dive from 5 meters?! Lucas had a strong all round performance defending aggressively and demonstrating a good understanding of the game.

The weather improved as the morning went on and the boys were tired, cold but still full of enthusiasm at the end.

Best attacker was Jensen Gidion:

Jensen Gidion - Best Attacker - 03/02/13

Best defender was Oliver Ransom:

Oliver Ransom - Best Defender - 03/02/13

Player of the Week was Oliver van der Ploeg:

Oliver van der Ploeg - Player of the Week - 03/02/13

Well done lads!

(to all those proud parents out there: if you would like the original full sized image of your lad and his trophy, please let me know. Steve)

See you next week at MRUFC for a training session.

6 JANUARY 2013: HOME vs CREWE

The weather was kind and the pitches had dried out after the New Year downpours for the visit of Crewe & Nantwich. Crewe brought two teams and there was a very good turnout of the U8′s with 22 boys attending allowing us to field 4 teams.

After a brisk warm out led by Jonathan and Aaron the lads practiced tag removal and passing in the form of a new game Captain Ball. Some practice matches followed concentrating on line keeping in defence and support play in attack. There were 3 pitches available allowing each Macclesfield team to play each Crewe team with the added bonus of playing against their fellow Macclesfield teams.

It was a slow start initially by Macc with their opponents racing into an early lead in the first couple of matches with Macclesfield coming good in the second halves, the first matches ending in a draw at 8 all on pitch 1, after 4 tries by Jamie Pearce, and Crewe just winning 6-5 on pitch 2.

The next round was a resounding victory for Macc on pitch 1, 8-4 with some excellent tries by Will Barton and support by Samye Smith. On pitch 2 Crewe once again edged it by 1 try.

The third round was limited to just 1 half due time constraints, with a high scoring game on pitch 1 Macc winning 10-8 with some excellent work by Joseph Moorcroft. On pitch 2 the previous roles were reversed with Macc winning by 2 tries.

There were some stirling performances , Jenson Gideon, James Budd and Josh Harbour scoring well worked tries.

It was a good all round effort with good line breaks much better defensive line keeping and some set moves which worked well.

At the end of the day the lads got some healthy snacks courtesy of Matt Harbour and Kellogs !

Player of the week went to Joseph Moorcroft. Well done Joseph.

Joseph Moorcroft- Player of the Week 06/01/2013

9 DECEMBER 2012: HOME vs CALDY RUFC

Some excellent competitive rugby this week against a well organised pair of teams from Caldy RUFC. At the start, 2 weeks off due to waterlogging and then frozen ground showed as we struggled to gain momentum, but in the end some excellent rugby by all the boys & some close matches.

Player of the week for a stirling effort was Charlie Hogg. Here’s Charlie with his trophy:

Charlie Hogg - Player of the Week - 09/12/12

14 OCTOBER 2012: TRAINING

Two boys picked up trophies this week for some excellent hard work on a fine Autumnal morning. Congratulations lads!

7 OCTOBER 2012: TRAINING

We focused on 4 objectives in training today. Basic principles are fast is difficult to stop so in attack get going fast and make space, in defence don’t let the attackers get up to speed by slowing them down.

2 Attacking Objectives:

1) Running start from the whistle and two pass starts to create some wider starts.

Making sure we run onto the ball at the start and trying passing to get some width from the start – Gary’s team really did well at this today and as the boys got the hang of it they picked up speed and got some key tries.

2) Straight and wide

Run straight but look to pass to widen play not always straight back so we don’t run into the same defenders. The best approach to gaining space is running fast at the defenders and taking the over run steps. We develop the game by drawing in defenders and turning and passing fast and sideways not always straight back so we don’t run into the same grouped (drawn) defenders. Once again some good work today from Steve’s team who scored several tries due to the set up and not the glory run.

2 Defensive Objectives:

1) Up and at the attacking team as soon as the whistle goes.

As a team and in your line not across pitch. Self explanatory but drill it home – as soon as the whistle goes run fast and forward and don’t let the other team get up to speed

2) Tagging and blocking.

Getting in the way rather than chasing and making sure we get the tag. Stepping in towards the player (not in front for a body check like my Ben did with Edward). Slow them down and the tag is easier to get but mind not it doesn’t get too physical.

Last piece of homework is pistol passing face to face or sideways - getting the boys passing and catching better will really open the game up and they will enjoy it more, get them to watch a game and see how little spin passing is used.

Thanks for today i thought that the boys played well and came on within the games – what pleased me most was not the run away tries but the solid build on the above principles that let them get some good team tries,

7 OCTOBER 2012: MANCHESTER FESTIVAL

Macclesfield U8’s took part in the Manchester Festival under glorious autumnal sunshine today. All the boys played thoroughly enjoyed themselves and wanted to carry on playing after their final game finished.

The festival was a hard lesson for Macclesfield with the boys learning that rugby is not just about scoring tries. They competed well in all the games and would have progressed beyond the group stage had they not missed several key tackles that resulted in tries and not made simple mistakes that turned the ball over to the opposition. On the positive side, they left the day with plenty to work on during training.

The overall record for the festival was played 4, won 1, drawn 1 and lost 2.

Player of the tournament for was Matthew Wyllie excellent all round display and which included an outstanding 4 tries in the final group game.

Macclesfield player of the festival – Matthew Wyllie

MATCH REPORTS

Match 1: Macclesfield 3-5 Wilmslow

Tries: Gidion x2; Harbour

The strength and discipline of the Wilmlslow U8’s was known to Macclesfield following last week’s matches against. Macclesfield did well in the early exchanges but the first half will be remembered for a poor tackle on Liam Woodrow as he streaked down wing almost certain to score. Liam ended up with stud marks on his shins and had to sit out of the rest of the game and the next match injured. At half time, Macclesfield trailed 2-0.

Two jinxing runs from Jenson Gidion and a trademark break and try from Josh Harbour put Macclesfield back in contention in 2^nd half. It wasn’t to be and Macclesfield were made to pay for missing key tackles that let Wilmslow break clear to score more tries to close the game off.

Josh Harbour attacks v. Wilmslow

Match 2: Macclesfield 4-4 Sefton

Tries: Budd, Gidion, Barton, Harbour

This was a game that Macclesfield should have won. After a string of memorable tries, Macclesfield let themselves down with mistakes at key times that Sefton were quick to turn into tries.

James Budd opened the scoring with a determined run that Sefton were unable to stop. On the stroke of half time, it looked as if John Harbour had put Macclesfield in the lead with a fantastic run, dive and try. The referee however had spotted a hand-off from Josh as the opposition came in at close quarters and the try was disallowed.

Jenson kept Macclesfield ahead with another try just before what was to be the Macclesfield score of the day from William Barton. Josh started the move and when Sefton were eventually able stop him, he released James who was once again supporting well. James then delivered a fantastic 5 yard pass to William Barton who was running at pace and was able to finish the move clinically. Sadly it was all in vein and Sefton were able to score a late try to make the scores level at full time.

Match 3: Macclesfield 3-4 New Brighton

Tries: Wooton x2; Harbour

This was alas another game that Macclesfield should have won. Macclesfield saw plenty of possession but turned the ball over at key moments in attack by repeatedly running off the pitch or knocking on in the pass. Key tackles were also missed that missed that let New Brighton through to score their tries. There we some sparkling moments including another try from Josh Harbour and an outstanding intelligent attacking performance by Will Wotton for his brace of tries.

Match 4: Macclesfield 6-1 Trafford

Tries: Bradshaw; Whyllie x4; Budd

Matthew Wyllie meets the Trafford midfield powerhouse

Matthew Wyllie cemented his place in the U8’s history books with 4 diving tries to give Macclesfield their only victory in the tournament. Albert Bradshaw scored directly from kick-off with James Budd also scoring a few minutes later with a run that took him the length of the pitch. But after this it was the Wyllie show. His tries were all similar with Matthew braving diving though a mass of legs to put the ball over. Macclesfield defended well in midfield with Albert repeatedly first to meet and tackle the attackers. But the game was rounded off with Wyllie once again who made a fantastic tackle on the biggest player on the Trafford side in full flight.

6 OCTOBER 2012: NIGHT GAME AT SALE SHARKS

It was a pretty amazing experience at Sale Sharks on Friday night, our guys ran out on to the pitch with confidence and enthusiasm and really showed their prowess taking on Trafford to win 5 to 2.

It was a very fast game, our kids were disciplined on the field. They maintained their line never allowing Trafford a straight run to the opposition at any time.

The covering / supporting play won us the game. The boys worked as a team, always there to receive the ball, when the runner was tagged, and our play was a fluid progression to the oppositions try line, whenever we had the ball. Our line was frustrating for Trafford whenever we were in defence.

Man of the match awards go to the try scorers, who were Samye, Edward, and Lucas. - It was a great night.

30 SEPTEMBER 2012: MACC vs WILMSLOW

Here’s the lead coach’s match report for today’s visit to Wilmslow Wolves.

Brian's team talk - 30/09/12

We were fortunate with the weather again and there was a good early turnout of coaches and children.

After a brisk warmup we concentrated on some basic passing, tackling and ball keeping drills.

We were able to play 3 teams against Wilmslow on 3 separate pitches which allowed everyone to enjoy a lot of game time.

Wilmslow had been running coaching sessions mid week and were formidable opponents, after a slow start our lads improved noticeably, the team captains growing into their roles, Albert Bradshaw was particularly effective.

There were some excellent individual performances from Jenson Gideon, who supported well in attack, Matthew Aggersbury and Ben Hellewell ran well in attack and James Budd concentrated well in attack and defence.

The player of the week trophy went to Will Barton who maintained his fine run of form scoring some excellentvtries and working hard in defence.

Overall a good day.

Brian

And here’s a photo of Will himself with the trophy:

Player of the Week - 30/09/12

23 SEPTEMBER 2012: MACC vs LYMM TOURNAMENT

Here’s a report from Head Coach for the day:

It was a great day weather-wise, when Lymm provided three teams for the mini tournament on Sunday. The play was fluid and fast paced and there were some excellent tries, the boys really making use of the change in rules to allow diving that final yard to the line.

There were some amazing solo efforts, Sam Sleath, grounded the ball at the feet of the parents in a stunning try appearing through a swarm of opposition. On a number of occasions Joseph Moorcroft fended of the players well, taking them left to throw it right allowing others to score.

Charles should some real flare, whilst Josh had some amazing runs, as he ran virtually touch line to touch line, and scoring.

Whilst Samye was seconded to play for Lymm to make up their numbers, he didn’t let it stop him from showing his metal. He scored a number of tries, supported well, used his speed and willingness to chase down the Macclesfield players and receive allot of praise from the opposition parents.

It was a great day.

Aaron

Here are some photos at the end of the session: