Dozens of children, ranging from six to 14 years, enjoyed a very active two-day rugby camp at The Greytree Ground.

On Wednesday, August 3rd and Thursday, August 4th, the action packed camp, run jointly by Ross Rugby Club Juniors and Era-Fit Training, provided fun, learning and a good level of challenge for all participants, who had opportunities to play together in a wide range of contexts and situations.

Davy McGregor, owner of Era-Fit Training, is a professional rugby player and coach and a former Irish international. Working in partnership with club coaches, he co-ordinated the largely game-based and enjoyment focused rugby activities. These were strategically planned for all and supported by drill type activities aimed at different ages and skill levels.

There were smiles all round as children developed their skills and understanding within the game of rugby. Davy was very impressed with the talent that was on show and the commitment by Ross Rugby Club, and in particular, Adrian Osborne and the rest of the youth committee, to develop junior rugby within the club.

He said:?“I have been extremely impressed by the skill levels and the understanding of the game from all kids involved. This is obviously the result of a fantastic coaching plan and support base from the youth committee and coaching staff for the junior section of the club. I would like to thank the club for giving me the opportunity to work with them on this camp and in particular Adrian Osborne for his recommendation to have Era-Fit Training involved in delivering the two day camp.

“I would also like to thank the team of staff for taking the register, cooking up fantastic nutritious food, looking after safeguarding and helping to organise the event. To the other coaches who helped deliver the activities, it was a pleasure to work with you on this event, and the work you put into developing rugby within in the club is admirable.”

On Thursday, Patrick Hill, from the RFU, introduced some different perspectives. Across the two days, the children looked at a wide range of age appropriate aspects of the game which included: decision making, ball handling, space finding, tackling, rucking, mauling, kicking and clear communication.

At the action packed rugby camp, a clear feature of Ross Rugby Club was promoted; this was the core value of respect for one-another, and the children displayed this through active listening, great discussion and correct game play behaviour.

The rugby coaches told the Ross Gazette that it was lovely to see very thoughtful and empathetic attitudes towards younger camp members when the whole group were working together in a shared game for example.

One young player commented: “It was really fun and a cool way to spend time with my friends. I learnt new things about rugby and it was great having different coaches.”

The young players’ needs were also met off the training ground through the facilities available at this picturesque ground, and some fabulous behind the scenes support in terms of providing freshly prepared and healthy food. On the menu across the two days were choices such as six-vegetable pasta, vegetarian chilli, fresh fruit, carrot and seed flap jacks, beetroot chocolate brownies and carrot cake.

Ross Rugby Club may well organise other camps coming up in the future, look out for these via the website, www.rossrugby.co.uk.

The new season for junior and mini players begins on Sunday, September 4th from 10am, with training for four-year-olds to under 15s. This will be followed by a fun filled afternoon at the section’s registration day.