Social

First - no training this Halloween Friday. But match at home again against Tonmawr on Sunday.

The proposed Lucton Tour is postponed. We will aim for something similar, with a bit more warning, in the new year.

But we do have a social coming up.....Family Evening. Saturday 22nd November at the Newton Inn. from 4:00. Children's meal £6. Names and payment to Helen Thomas or Helen Williams. All welcome.

Tour Info

Update - please respond to the Lucton teamer invite asap!

[note: kick off for sunday moved back a little, so meeting time is 10:45]

We have the opportunity of a mini tour, to coincide with an invite to Luctonians for a Sunday festival of u13s rugby. The timescale is short though, so we need firm answers to the teamer quite quickly to make sure we have enough numbers.

Here is the proposal:

Saturday 22nd November meet outside Mumbles RFC about 12:00
Coach to Brecon for outdoor Laser Tag
Coach to Hereford for evening meal (something like a Harvester)
Overnight at Hotel in Hereford
Sunday 23rd Nov, coach takes us short distance to Lucs for the rugby
Coach leaves Lucs about 4, return to Mumbles by 7.

Based on the quotes I have so far, and based on 20 players + 20 adults travelling the cost will be about:
£50 adult (travel, hotel, breakfast)
£70 child (travel, hotel, breakfast, laser tag)

The additional costs will be Saturday evening meal and burgers/drinks etc at Lucs on the Sunday.

If this goes ahead, this will be our tour for this season. We all know what a good bonding experience it has been for the boys in the past.

Please respond to the teamer and send any comments to Mike (07846334962) or give them to Ben/Ian on Friday training. We need to book this asap if it is to happen. 

Bont at home

We are lucky to be back on the senior pitch again this Sunday, with a match against Pontarddulais. We will be meeting at 9:30 for a 10:15 kick off, so players from both sides can get up to the Liberty easily afterwards for the 1:00 Ospreys KO.

Setting up the pitch
Can all parents and players be aware of the help we need on a Sunday morning setting up the flags (there are 14 to put out on the main pitch) and post protectors. This is especially important after a game when people tend to forget and drift away.

Tour Hosting

Well September was every bit as tough as expected, and this reflects how physical the game gets in the teenage years. But for the moment we can put local rivalries aside and look forward to hosting a touring side from Bromsgrove School. As we had a fixture with Dunvant planned and with Bromsgrove bringing 2 sides we have rearranged for the following at Underhill Park, on the senior pitch.

10:30 KO Dunvant vs Bromsgrove 1
11:30 KO Mumbles vs Bromsgrove 2

It is something different for the boys to really look forward to, and we hope as many as possible can join us back in the clubhouse for food afterwards. The Bromsgrove group will be coming back for a couple of hours before they go to the Liberty Stadium to watch Ospreys v Cardiff. We all know the big game will be Wales v England in the morning at the park though.

When September Ends

A quick word on the huge effort put in by the boys for the first 2 games of the season. The defence has been fantastic. It will not get any easier though in the next 2 matches against the powerful Morriston (away this Sunday) and Loughor (home the week after) sides. Rest assured not every game will be like our September start, and it is always an important challenge to test yourself against the best out there. Keep it up boys.


Matrix Redux
Last year we ran the Matrix for match invites, and rotated within each game according to a complicated formula of quarters, which proved difficult to design and implement, especially when players dropped out at last minute with coughs and colds etc. So for this season (at least until we come up with something better) we are taking team selection and all rotations / substitutions on a game by game basis. One of the reasons for this is that there are increasingly specialised positions we need to fill each week, right from the front row to full back, and a huge variation in the strengths of teams we take the field against. We can't promise a perfect system, but luckily we have set up another packed fixture list, and we remain committed to giving all the boys in our large squad lots of time on the pitch over the course of the season.

Cracker 7s Rugby Festival

Rugby is back this weekend, 22nd to 25th August.

Friday 22nd u13s Training 4:30 Underhill Park, followed by Mumbles 1st XV v Swansea
Saturday 23rd Senior and Youth XV take on Resolven in two games. KO 12:30 and 2:30.
Sunday 24th the 25th annual Cracker 7s Senior Tournament starting at 12:00.
Monday 25th Juniors Family Fun Day. Starting at 10:30.

There will be a BBQ and beer tent up and running over all 4 days in Underhill Park, so let's hope for some decent weather to get the season underway.

Just to highlight the Monday event organised by Jon Price. All the facilities from the weekend will roll over for this (BBQ, drinks etc) and Jon will be running a fun round robin 7s tournament. Teams should be 7 a side and a mixture of minis, juniors, youth, adults, mums and dads. If anyone wants to put a team together then registration is 10:00 on the Monday. If anyone wants to play but does not have a team, you can join one in the morning or create a new one on the day.

There will be fundraising stalls, and if anyone wants to run one (with proceeds to u13s) they are welcome (let me or Jon know).

More Touch Rugby

Grant and Phil who coach the Vikings (u11) are running touch rugby at Underhill on Fridays at 5:30. Some of the Wildcats have been down the park and joined in, and Grant has extended the invite to anyone in the u12s who fancies some summer rugby. It is purely for a bit of fun, fitness and handling skills. It is definitely an informal event, but I will still be sending out teamer invites. This is just because if everyone is busy doing something else and there are very few takers, then Grant can cancel so no one wastes time (and we can use the teamer cancellation notification). It is also a great opportunity to learn some real Touch skills, as Phil is a recent international on the seniors circuit, and played for Wales at the last World Cup.