Following a month of training under the new rules and a new more expansive game for u11s, the Coolmine 2005 squad kicked off their season by welcoming Clontarf to River Road.
It was a perfect day for rugby with the air sweet with Autumn warmth and we were treated to a fine display of what the boys have learned so far this season.
Three teams were fielded from each side and in all three matches, we witnessed good positional play with the boys holding their line and using the breadth of the playing pitch to find the openings to score their tries.
For most of the boys, this is their fifth year as a squad. We witnessed how the boys are now beginning to migrate to more of the positons of the team and knowing the job they have to do within that positon. We saw solid understanding of the line out, with the boys moving the ball quickly from straight throwing from the hooker through to quick delivery from lock to scrumhalf and across the line to open the play up.
There was some well caught high balls and good position kicking to drive the offence. It was also fortuitous to see the quad in three scrums all at the same time across the three pitches and the boys scoring from all three.
The tackles were tough throughout the matches and the boys are still learning to get over the ball more quickly, once they make the tackle. Clearly they have a great season ahead with lots more to learn but perhaps the best example of what they learned so far this season is their ability to involve all of the team across the offensive play, with the boys now not being sucked into the ruck or trying to score solo tries and becoming isolated from their team. We saw this in abundance during their matches, showing that they are beginning to gel as a unit.
It was a very successful morning for the boys with three comprehensive wins, but of course no match is possible without opponents to play and the 2005 squad thank the Clontarf boys for being valiant opposition. Hopefully we get to meet again this season.
Report by Therese Leonard
