This Sunday will be the last session of the year. To celebrate Christmas the other Mumbles junior teams are going to join us on the beach. We then plan to go back to the clubhouse for hot dogs. Please try and join us if you can.

If we have to cancel rugby because of the weather I will send a text and put a post on the blog.

I hope to see you on the beach at 10:45 on Sunday 19 December.

Mark.

High tides and freezing temperatures resulted in us playing in the afternoon for the first time.

The weather was bitterly cold but the 7 hardy Dragons who braved the cold at Caswell beach were brilliant. It was so cold that I did not bother with photos this week!

We were joined by Luca who scored 2 tries in the Tag game at the end of the session; well done!

The blue team played some brilliant defensive rugby under the expert coaching of Mal.

I am sorry for the disruption. We are back on Caswell beach at 10:30am on Sunday 5 December.

I hope to see you on Sunday.

Mark.

Another nice day on the beach.

The Dragons appeared to have lost the ability to tag! Our game of bulldogs could have gone on for ever. After we got over that problem everyone played really well.

Thank you Mal for helping us with the tag game.

Player of the week was Alex who scored a great try in our game of Tag at the end of the session. Well done.

I think we also showed South Gower, who were training on the beach as well, just who was the better team!

See you next weak,

Nigel and Mark.

Another good session on the beach last Sunday. The weather was fantastic again.

Everyone enjoyed the warm up game running around pretending to be Hook, Tiatia, Henson and Williams. I just hope Gavin Henson does not spot the Dragons doing the waltz when I call out his name!

We played a longer game of tag rugby than usual and it was great to see the Dragons passing the ball and supporting each other. Well done everyone.

Nigel and Mark.

Rugby, on Sunday 7 November, will be at 10:30. See you on Caswell beach, Mark.

It was Halloween today so we had a spooky training session. I forgot that the clocks had gone back and messed up the tidal forecast so had to switch our session to Underhill Park, Mumbles.....Sorry!

Once at the park everyone had a great time. Some of the players spent more of their time diving on the muddy grass than standing on their feet but they had fun.

Rhydian deserves a special mention this week. His tagging and ball interception were really good; Well done.

My favorite bit of the session was watching the Zombie impressions. Grant was a natural!

Hope you enjoy the photos. See you on the beach next week.

Grant, Nigel and Mark.

The Dragons played some fantastic rugby today. I've just been looking through the photos and you can tell how much effort they are all putting in to their rugby.

Dexter deserves a special mention. He won the bulldog game and beat the rest of the Dragons who were trying to tag him. Well done!

In the tag rugby game at the end Aedan scored a great try; our very own Shane Williams!

Finally I would like to welcome Douglas to our team.

Great playing everyone. See you on the beach next week.

Nigel, Martin and Mark.

Just back from another really good day on the beach. The weather was fantastic again.

Welcome to our new Dragon, Max. He helped me run the bulldog game and scored a great try in the game, well done!

We played some new games with the Dragons today. The boys and girls are starting to play some really good rugby with passes and tries in the tag game.

The Dragons homework is to practice passing and catching the ball. Remember to hold your hands up and make an 'O' for Ospreys if you are catching. When passing hold the ball with both hands and aim for the catches chest.

See you on the beach next week. Grant, Nigel and Mark.

Our next tag rugby session on the beach will take place at 10am on Sunday 17 October. See you on Caswell beach. Mark.

The weather was fantastic today and we all had a great day on the beach.

We were joined by 4 new Dragons Oliver, Dulan, Rhys and Evelyn. Welcome to our team.

Nigel and I were really impressed with the Dragons rugby today. Running, scoring and passing was all really good. We were particularly pleased with the tag game at the end of our session. There were some great tries and some good passing. Well done everyone.

Thank you to Martin for helping us during the game.

I hope you enjoy the photos.

Mark.

The Dragons had a great session on the beach. The sun was out, and fortunately so was the tide; but only just!

I was really impressed with the running, swerving and scoring.....just like Shane Williams!

The tag game at the end was really good with some fantastic tries from the boys.

We followed the rugby with a trip to Mumbles Rugby Club for free hot dogs. I hope this is something the kids enjoyed. We will do this again, but not every week, as I am conscious that you probably have other commitments.

I was really grateful for Nigel's help with the coaching. If any parents would like to do a Tag Rugby Coaching course please let me know.

See you on the beach next week,

Mark.

Dragons first session on the beach

The Dragons had their first session on Caswell beach today. Everyone, players and coaches, had a great time despite the windy weather.

My highlight of the morning was William who ran the entire length of the pitch and sored a fantastic try.....in his own half! When he realised he ran all the way to the other end and scored again.

I have posted a few pictures of the session and will try and put the rest in a slide show at a later date.

I am sorry that I did not get the opportunity to talk with the parents. Next week you are welcome to join the other junior teams at the rugby club for hot dogs. We should have a bit more time for a chat then.

Please watch the blog for details of next weeks training.

Mark.

Rugby starts this Sunday

The new season starts on Caswell Beach on Sunday 19 September at 10:30am.

This seasons beach rugby

The new rugby season is here. I have been persuaded by John to be a coach for this years beach rugby. My old school games teacher, Mr Wyn Thomas, would find this most amusing!

I intend to start the beach rugby again mid way through September. This will give me time to recruit a few more players when school starts again.

Our team will be called the Mumbles Dragons.

Beach rugby is a great way for the under 6's to experience tag rugby in an amazing setting. We will play each Sunday on the beach at Caswell. Our training times will vary with the tides; watch the blog for details. Please give me a call if you are interested in joining us.

See you on the beach, Mark (01792 417185).

Rugby Fun Day

This year for the first time Mumbles Rugby club organised their first fun day to coincide with the Cracker 7's. The event was a great success.

The fun day took place in Underhill Park on 28 September.

Two of our players, David and Rhys, joined the 'Predators' (last years beach team) as they played their first match against Gowerton.

No one was really sure of the score but in the words of Grant Broad "rugby was the winner!"

I would like to thank Phil for refing and John for allowing our boys to join his team.

After the match both team met Ospreys stars Alun Wyn Jones and Jonathan Thomas. Their signed photos will make other envious in 'show and tell' when they return to school.

Saturday 28th August - Family fun day at Underhill Park

This Saturday, the club has organised an event for the junior division on the eve of the Cracker 7's tournament. The fun will begin at 2.00pm until 5.00pm.

Members of the first XV will run a BBQ and offer coaching clinics. There will be a kicking competition, a tug of war and Stocks to "soak your coach". The available beer tent will be selling both alcoholic and soft drinks.

The U6's and U'7 (that's any new Beach Rugby recruits and the Predators) will have the opportunity of a training session and dependent on numbers some may even have a match. So bring your togs and we will have an early start and warm-up session at 1.30pm on Saturday.

The Ospreys' new captain Alan Wyn Jones and Welsh International Jonathan Thomas will be joining us to give a short coaching session and sign autographs. So, bring your autograph books and pens!

Please spread the word and encourage as many parents & kids to come along. See you on Saturday!

Last training day of the season!

Beach Rugby at Caswell Beach tommorrow 11.00am.

Please bring with you any remaining Mumbles rugby tops (to be re-distributed in Sept). If any of the Year One's have spare passport-sized photos, please bring for registration.

Beach Rugby continues at Caswell 11am Sunday !

Beach Rugby will continue this week with the penultimate end of Season training with normal format. Next week Sunday the 9th May will be the last "Hotdog" training session of the season with the Predators saying goodbye to Caswell beach. Over the next two weeks we need to get all players registered for next season. Unfortunately we can only register the first twenty five players next year so we would like to give all the beach players the first opportunity.

Below are some photo's of last weeks fantastic rugby fest. I would like to send a great thank you to all organisers,volunteers & Grant Broad + family for a well organised event.

All Predators did themselves extremely proud and we had some fantastic feedback from older players & coaches about how well the Predators played both on and off the pitch. I'm sure you will all agree that we are now ready for some fixtures of our own!

Tony, Chris & I were extremely proud of all players and how they integrated & played. Well Done All!

Note: Any rugby shirts not handed back, please can you bring and hand in over the next two weeks. Next year Kit will be provided, but the club would like to evaluate how many new shirts need to be ordered for next year.

See you all 11am Sunday, keep an eye on the blog.

Saturday Mini Festival

MINI FESTIVAL SAT 24th APRIL-UNDERHILL PARK
MEET 10.30AM. ( No training Sunday).

This Saturday the under 6's and under 7's will be playing a few matches together with mixed sides at Underhill.

There will be a BBQ/refreshments and a chance to play coaches and parents. Sorry about the late notice but it took a while for me to get on the website. The year 10's will be playing a visiting side at 12.30 so there is a chance to see some of the bigger boys in action afterwards.

URGENT NOTICE

COACHES NEEDED FOR NEXT YEARS BEACH RUGBY. TAG COURSE HAS A SPARE PLACE WED 21ST APRIL MEET UNDERHILL 6pm. RING ME IF INTERESTED TONY 07765644281.
PLAYERS THAT WILL BE GOING UP TO UNDERHILL NEXT SEASON MUST BE SIX ON 1ST SEPT 2010 (YEAR 2). OTHER TAG COURSES WILL BE COMING UP SEE WRU WEBSITE.

It has been a very rewarding experience this year and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone thinking about getting involved.

Hope to see you all Saturday
Tony Faulkner
(on behalf of the Predator Coaches)

Forthcoming events and easter break!

Well done all for the excellent turn out this week. Welcome to Tyson the latest addition to the predators. Thankyou to Owen for your coaching help on your day off from the Wildcats.

This week Tony, Owen and I felt there were some fantastic tries, from reds and yellows, as each side put passes together to score. Also some great tagging from all players with Aiden & Torin do very well in the bulldogs. Other tries scored David, James, Ethan, Rhys & Torrin. Great running and warm ups by all.

We are on the beach this week as normal 11.15am Tony & Chris will run the session. I am at the Hong Kong sevens doing some rugby research for next year!!

We then intend to have an Easter break for two weeks, hope that is ok with all. As mentioned prior we will finish this season some time in May. We have two main events before then, traditional Hot Dogs on the beach to say goodbye to Caswell Beach & Mini Finale tournament with the other juniors at Underhill Park. Dates will be confirmed after the Easter break. Keep an eye on the blog.

Caswell 11.15am

Hope to see you all on the beach this weekend weather permitting. Please keep an eye on the blog.

Mumbles predators show off skills at Bish!

Tony and I were very happy with all of the play this week, the predators showing some great lines, tag tackles, tries & some strong running from all.The theme of the session was to keep warm and fight the cold snap. Well done to Torrin for winning the tag bulldogs this week. Thanks to all the Mums and Dads for turning out in record numbers.



























Some predators & family asked about how long we would keep practicing for this year? The plan is to train until the end of May. During May we will have a mini tournament with the under 7's & under 8's at Underhill park. We will then break until the summer hols. During the summer school break we would like to meet once a week probably a week day early evening to keep the predators learning and fresh for next season. Fixtures and training for the 2010/11 year will begin officially in September.

Kit: We have one rugby shirt left up for grabs, 1 hat (£5), No gloves (£5). We plan to put another order in for September. However, if there is enough demand then we can order through the club before. The rugby shirts are "hand me downs" and I am asking some of the older teams for spares and my goal is to find kit for all. We would like to start collecting subs of 50p per week to cover hot dogs and save for next year, hope everybody is happy with that amount.

Hope all that went back to the cricket club enjoyed the hot dogs. We are back on the beach this week at 11.15 am. Chris and Tony will be running the session this week, Tracy & I are in Dublin doing some rugby research and spying for the predators. Keep an eye on the blog!