It was a wet one at Ballards Ash this weekend. Great news for the pitches, not quite so much for the players and parents! ☔️
Still, our Youth teams weren’t going to let a bit of rain get in the way, with plenty of muddy boots and soggy smiles to show for another busy Sunday.
Here are the highlights:
Under 6s | Liam
Great demonstration of speed and finding space in the defence today from Liam, listening to tactics and showing how simple changes of direction can help throw a defender off course, opening up the space to move into.
Under 7s | Oakley
This week's player of the week is Oakley. He was superb in the game, getting numerous tags and supporting his teammates.
He was brilliant in the passing exercise and played all session with a smile. Well done Oakley.
Under 8s | Johnny
The Under‑8s had a high‑energy session this week, starting with some gate‑runs to build support play and decision‑making.
We followed with some Passing Chaos, two balls moving in opposite directions around a circle, which was lots of fun.
The match play this week was high standard with some great performances. Johnny earned Player of the Week for his strong effort across every activity.
Under 9s | Noah, Coby & Barney
The first-ever contact session for these Under 9s went spectacularly well. While there were some nerves at first, all the kids threw themselves into tackles enthusiastically by the end. Learning the correct technique, where to place the head, wrapping arms and protecting the ball.
The teammate of the week went to Noah, who was very apprehensive during the initial training drills but showed up for his team by being aggressive in defence and attack in the games that concluded the session.
The tackler of the week was Coby, who led the way in defence; even though he is the smallest player, he put huge hits on the biggest opponents.
The player of the week was Barney, who was great in the training drills, tackled hard when defending and scored tries by seeking space when attacking.
Under 12s | Thomas, Oliver & Hunter
It’s getting harder and harder to pick these each week. The boys are all putting in the effort, improving and giving us plenty to choose from.
Tackler of the Week – Thomas never shies away when we’re in attack and is always looking to get involved, but his tackling efforts on Sunday were amazing. He showed great commitment and put in some really strong tackles throughout the session.
Teammate of the Week – Oliver’s determination and commitment have been outstanding all week. What really stood out to the coaches wasn’t just the effort he was putting into his own game, but the time he took to bring the team along with him. He’s been encouraging others, helping them out and leading by example. That attitude is exactly what we want to see from the boys.
Player of the Week – Hunter was excellent on Sunday. He was really smart in the centre of the field, constantly talking, guiding and directing play. His voice is getting louder every week and his confidence is plain to see. He’s starting to take more responsibility on the pitch and it’s great to see him growing into that role. A really strong session from Hunter.
Keep it up boys!
Under 11s | Aaron
Player of the week this week went to Aaron; it was his first time playing rugby and new to the Wootton Bassett team.
He got stuck in from the off, listening to instructions really well, with some brilliant rucking technique.
Then into open play, he carried the ball strongly into contact and held his own in the defensive line. A massive well done Aaron.
Under 13s | William
It was great to see our newest player win the player of the week award today.
Well done to William for fitting into the squad so well, working hard in training and showing some excellent potential, topped off today by a couple of excellent tries after some solid support play.
