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Message
from the Coach:
Our 2004/2005 season is finally over culminating
with three games early on Sunday morning at the Hong Kong
Stadium – thanks to the bleary eyed parents who delivered
their lads at or close to the time we requested for assembly.
We had our first 100% turnout for the season and although
some boys were late I think that is excusable with many Dads
getting to bed after 2.00 am on Sunday morning! I even felt
better after looking at the state of some of the late comers.
All of the Valley Fort teams performed well
although VF1 struggled against HKU and just scraped home with
a 2-1 win. But a good win by VF2 and a massive win by VF3
ensured we won all our games with results as follows:
VF1 Won 2-1
VF2 Won 6-0
VF3 Won 15-0
So once again excellent results with 23 tries
for and one against. There is a photo of Charlie Middleton
scoring for VF3 in Monday’s SCMP supplement.
We have made good progress this season and
our technical skills have improved substantially in three
major areas: tackling; rucking and mauling; and retaining
the ball in contact. Next season we start to focus on position
specific skills and we will work more on our scrums and line
outs – I noticed we lost most of our put-ins to scrums
on Sunday (at least VF1 and VF3 did). But a great work ethic
by all the boys throughout the season and everyone seemed
to enjoy their rugby. Although we do not want to over emphasise
winning and losing at this age group I do believe the technical
progress and enjoyment showed in our overall results for the
season: played 39, won 35, drew 2 and lost 2.
As always we have to say farewell to some
players – Max Smith, Charlie Middleton and Sebastian
Carter (sorry if I have missed anyone else who is leaving).
All the best to Max, Charlie and Bassy and we will miss you
next season.
A special thanks to parents who get out of
bed at an unseemly hour every Sunday morning to bring the
boys to practice and games – although I am always hassling
parents to ensure the boys turn up on time I do appreciate
your efforts. And a huge thank you to my assistant coaches
– Matt Donald, Matt Carr, Paul Carter, Dave Gott, Giles
Boeree and Bruno Le Moing. The support you all provided when
I was around and your willingness to take over when I was
not made my job much easier – I need and look forward
to your support next season.
Philip |
