U9s v Thornensians

The rain gods looked down kindly on the Panthers today. The U9s played out some very enjoyable rugby this morning versus Thornensians RUFC. The weather was balmy and many regretted the choice of extra layers! However this meant the kids were able to focus on the rugby and enjoy themselves. Thornensians had 9 players and we had 11, so decided to loan them 1 to make it equal - Thanks to Phe for volunteering (I didnt prompt it, honestly!). We had two 5 aside games going at the same time, and we played each Thorne side twice and then a bonus game.
The blend of contact training and then tag matches is slightly confusing for the kids and on occasion we did have players trying to wrestle the players and tags rather than just the tag, but its the kind of enthusiasm that we dont want to stop as long as its safe.

Next week we have our last match and session of the year. Sheffield Tigers are coming to Dunston to play and this will be our final "tag" match too as when we restart in January we will be into U9 rules.

Thanks to the Thornensians coaches, players and parents for an enjoyable morning - a very nice bunch and we look forward to playing them again in the future!

#treds