Panthers U8s Brave the Rain

After a quick kit inspection, by Garvin, it was discovered that Lewis had lost his shorts, much to his mum’s hilarity. But luckily after several try’s he had won enough for a down payment on a new pair.

Ben and Garvin ran some drills, getting some warmth into cold muscles.

The weather held up for about an hour then the heavens opened. The Panthers held up well with not a moment of complaint and battled on with great gusto. The parents bravely hunkered down and carried on supporting, it was good to see Equality & Diversity being supported with Daniel’s dad with his choice of umbrella!

Chesterfield and Ashfield, battled on in ever increasing rain. As the temperature dropped, both sides played enjoyable, energetic rugby in very difficult conditions.

Thoughts from the trenches:
Ben: Thought the kids showed great commitment in turning out to play in such conditions.
Garvin: I thought the standard of play was excellent in very challenging conditions against a competitive Ashfield. What was particularly pleasing was the teamwork demonstrated with some excellent passing and support work.
Andy: Given the weather conditions, both sides battled well creating an entertaining game of rugby. There were some strong individual performances. However, we still need to cut out forward passes and switch on more at the start of games.

And the last quote is from Ben because someone forgot to put it in the Derby match report: "Well what do we need to improve about our performance today?"
The Team: "Nothing we are great at everything"

So, I am expecting to lose a few players when they get picked for England this week against Scotland.

Many thanks to Ashfield, who fielded 2 strong teams and played valiantly in the conditions.

Many thanks for the Coaching team Ben, Gavin Andy and Dave who put in many hours of their own time to make this all possible.

Yours Cookie (Roving Match Reporter, U8’s) + proof-reading By Rachel