CU Next Year

A great training session today, with the players fending off the cold with a good dose of honest hard work. That was the last session for 2007 and all that remains is for me, on behalf of all the coaching staff, is to wish everyone involved with Mini Rugby at Montrose a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Would all the players please remember when making their New Year resolution to include a little promise to yourselves for rugby in 2008 that includes the words: harder, better, faster, stronger, fun-er.

Happy holidays,
Peter

If anyone has mistakenly taken home a Montrose Kukri top and trousers, please notify one of the coaches (by email or whatever) so they can be reunited with their owner. Thank you.

Matches at Brechin

Well done to everyone who played at Brechin. Despite the weather and a number of players off due to a bug, we had 25 children between P4/5 and P6/7!

In both groups, every player was involved and the commitment was first class. The tackling was great and the forward running was very impressive. We still need to work on picking the ball up from rucks and spreading the ball out to the wings but you should all be very proud of the how you played and behaved throughout the day.

Training for all age groups next week.

Training Kit Has Arrived!

The good news is that we have received the training kit from Kukri and it looks great. For those who have ordered and paid, we were planning to hand these out at the Christmas party on Saturday.

There are a few tops left if anyone is interested. They cost £5 each and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

It looks very likely that we will be ordering more tops and trousers so please let us know if you might be interested. Please note that there will be minimum order quatities and lead times to consider.

Thanks again to our sponsors, Ramsay Arms Hotel Fettercairn and Thistle Agronomy for supporting this and the additional match strips. We will have an official presentation in the New Year when we have everyone together.

S3/4 Success

Following the Montrose S1/S2 success in the Angus Schools tournament, the S3/4 team managed to do the same again on Monday night at Strathmore.

This was all achieved with a mix of experienced players and boys either new to rugby or had not played for a number of years. Good wins against Arbroath, Carnoustie, Brechin and scoreless draw with Forfar were enough to see the team win the shield with no points scored against, thus keeping a clean sheet in both tournaments.

Well done to the S3/4 team and a particular mention goes to their coach, Gordon Cairns, who is currently running these teams almost single-handedly. If anyone is able to help with midi coaching or knows someone who could, please get in touch with Gordon or Duncan.

Stop Press

What a good looking bunch of rugby players on page 4 of today's Courier! Pity about the ugly coaches...

Christmas Party

The Christmas party for all minis is now confirmed for Saturday 8th December in Montrose Sports Centre at 4pm. We will have the full hall at the sports centre for one hour and we will have some fun playing games. From 5pm, we will move to another room for something to eat. Can all children wear shoes and clothes that they can run around in?

Please email us to advise whether you can attend to ensure we get the catering numbers right. Also, let us know if anyone has any particular dietary requirements. Parents are welcome to stay and we will need some help on the day.

1st XV against Panmure

Montrose Senior 1st XV will be playing Panmure this weekend. Panmure are just 2 points ahead of us in the league so the result will be important.

The fixture is on Saturday 24th at 2pm at Union Park and your support would be really appreciated.

Strathmore Match Reports

Despite the stormy weather in Montrose, it was only a light drizzle in Strathmore and the pitches weren't too muddy. The Micros played against two Strathmore sides and there were some excellent tries scored. Also, the tackling / tag-grabbing was excellent - obviously the British Bulldog is paying off!

The P4/5 side beat both Strathmore A and Strathmore B. They then faced a well-drilled Brechin side. Despite going down to two early tries, they played some attacking rugby to win a well- earned draw.

The P6/7 was short a few players but the team played well. Particular mention goes to those who have just started rugby, who showed first class commitment. The first game was against Strathmore and the tackling and rucking was first class. Montrose lost out in a closely-contested match. Montrose then played two very physical teams from Brechin and Morgan. Although they lost both matches, there was excellent spirit across the team and their heads never went down - well done!

Thanks to all of the coaches and also the parents who brought the players and provided great support for all of the team.

Rugby on TV

If you are looking for more rugby every Sunday, there is now a thirty minute programme on STV at 6pm. As well as showing highlights from the Scottish Premiership 1, Scotsport Rugby Sunday will show Edinburgh and Glasgow in the Magners League.

Caption Competition Winners

After much deliberation, we can announce that we have three winners of the caption competition. Well done to Kyle C., Andrew R. and Matthew. Their successful submissions were:

• It's ma ba’ and if ya dinnae let me play stand off, I'm away hame!


• My precious!


• You can take my money, you can take my wife but you can’t have my ball.

Each of the winners will get a large Scotland flag.

Coach Derek also put in a number of answers and his funniest and possibly the only one we could publish was:

• Lads, you can have yer ba' back when you tell me what you've done with ma teef.
  
  

Christmas Party - 8th December

There will be a Christmas party for everyone involved with Montrose Minis on Saturday 8th December. The party will be held at Montrose Sports Centre from 4pm. More details will follow but if anyone would like to help, please get in touch with Anna Robertson (01674 830417) or Caroline Campbell (01674 830763).

This event will be funded from the proceeds from the bacon rolls and coffees at training. Thanks to Anna, Pam and Donna for all of their efforts.

S1/2 Success

The Montrose Academy S1/2 team have just won the inaugural Angus Schools S1/2 Rugby Tournament. They played against teams from Arbroath, Brechin, Carnoustie and Forfar. Not only did they win every game but they didn't concede any points!

Members of the team who used to play for the minis include Sean, Findlay, Daniel, Jack, Fraser and Robbie. It's great to see them doing so well in midi rugby.

Well done to the whole team and their coach, Gordon Cairns.

Keeping Warm

As winter takes hold, it is essential that all children keep warm during training. We would encourage all players to wear plenty of layers and bring gloves, hat, track suit and even a light jacket.

To help keep warm, the training kit should be with us in early December and we have ordered more beanie hats for those who don't have them.

If anyone is ever cold during training, they should let one of the coaches know and they will either change what is being done or head into the clubhouse to warm up. When it is too cold for training, we will cancel the session. However, we are not keen to do this if we can do something with the players all wrapped up!

New Sponsor - Montrose Osteopathy

As the club continues to grow, it was recognised that we needed to get more first aid kits. We are delighted to announce that Dr and Mrs Watson of Montrose Osteopathy Clinic have offered to buy three comprehensive sports first aid kits for the club. These have everything from dressings and bandages right through to cold packs and emergency foil blankets, all held in a water resistant rucksack.

The kits should be with us in the next couple of weeks. Thanks to the Watsons and if you want to find out more about Montrose Osteopathy, please click here.

Remembrance Sunday

As the next training session is on Sunday 11th November, we will have a 1 minute silence at 11.00am.

Rugby Fest in Montrose

Well done to everyone who contributed to such a successful day of rugby this Sunday. We had 120 children playing rugby at Union Park and over 50 players from Montrose.

The Micros had a last-minute fixture against Carnoustie. All Montrose players had a game and 13 tries were scored in total.

The P4/5's first game was against Brechin and Montrose lost 3-4 in a very closely contested tie. In their second game, the P4/5 team played some great rugby to beat a strong Carnoustie side 7-6.

Not having seen the P6/7's play for a few weeks, it was great to such a strong passing between the team and aggressive rucking rugby. The first game was against Brechin, who had already played one game and scored two early tries in the first half. The second half was drawn 3 all and a great result of 3-5 against such a well-drilled and physical side. The second match was against Carnoustie and again Montrose played strong and well-structured rugby. In the end Montrose came out winners 5-3.

The S1/2's played against Carnoustie and ran out convincing winners. It was nice to see a number of old team-mates progressing onto the next stage of rugby.

Thanks to all of today's players, coaches and helpers.

Our P6/7's

(Thanks Drew's Dad)

Montrose Monsters?

There have been reports of monsters knocking on the doors of unsuspecting residents in the Montrose area. It has been suggested that they may have links with Montrose Minis.

Experts suggest that the monsters will pose no physical threat. However, police advice is that you should not approach these monsters due to the poor quality of their jokes!

Foundation Coaching and Refereeing Course

Following the success of the previous Foundation Course, there will be another coaching and refereeing course held in December. This is open to anyone wanting to support mini rugby and the club will fund the course fees. The course assumes no previous knowledge of rugby and provides training ideas for all of the different skills as well as how to ensure training and matches are always fun but safe.

The course will be held over two evenings at Strathmore Rugby Club in Forfar. The dates are Wednesday 5th and 12th December 2007, 6.30-9.30pm. Kenny Christie, the Angus Rugby Development Officer will lead both evenings.

If anyone wants more details, please send an email to montroseminis@tiscali.co.uk or christiek@angus.gov.uk.

Matches at Morgan

Well done to all the players who took part in the games against Panmure and Morgan on Sunday 21st October. Despite grey skies, the weather stayed dry and there was excellent running rugby in all matches.

The P4/5 team had matches against Morgan Wasps and two Panmure sides. Our P4/5's managed to win all three matches! The passing between players was excellent and with a number of the squad missing, the effort was exceptional. Well done and let's build on this success by developing strong rucking to win the ball.

The P6/7 team first took on Panmure. In a well contested match, Montrose started positively with Stewart scoring the first try on the match. After some great play from both teams, Panmure scored a late try to win the match 2-1. Montrose then came up against a very big and physical Morgan Wasps side. While Montrose didn't win the match, they showed great spirit and enthusiasm from the whole squad.

The discipline of the P6/7's was excellent today and there was some great running from many players. By focussing on supporting teammates with the ball, the P6/7's will be winning games soon.

Special recognition goes to all of the players who were playing their first match for Montrose - A great efort from all of you! Thanks to all of the parents and coaches for helping contribute to such a successful session. Training at Montrose next week - see you there.

ACE Awards

In acknowlegement of our Award and also to pander to all closet 'new romantics', enjoy the clip!

Angus ACE Awards

Montrose Junior Rugby has been developing new policies and procedures, particularly in the areas of child protection, health and safety and general conduct. These have been part of our submission to Angus Council for accreditation and consideration for their ACE (Angus Club Excellence) Awards.

We are delighted to announce that Montrose Junior Rugby has been awarded the Gold Award. It has been suggested that we are the first rugby club in Angus to reach the top level. We will be getting a certificate to confirm this and there will be a presentation in a few weeks. We ask that all players and coaches start brushing their teeth now to ensure they are bright and shiny for the photograph!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to our submission.

Beyond Minis Meeting

The meeting to discus rugby in Montrose for children of senior school age has been cancelled. Sorry for the short notice.

Caption Competition

Captions are invited for the picture below of Frank Hadden, the Scottish coach. Please encourage children to submit an caption at training or to montroseminis@tiscali.co.uk. The winner will be announced at training in a couple of weeks.

Adult submissions are also welcome but there is no guarantee that they will be published!

Rugby in Montrose...Beyond Minis

Paul Valentine has recently taken on the role of Director of Junior Rugby. He is very supportive of our efforts at minis but his focus to date has been on S1 and above. To help develop a clear plan for the development of rugby from S1 to senior rugby, he is holding an open meeting at the club, which will be chaired by the Angus Rugby Development Officer, Kenny Christie.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday 17th October at 8.00pm in the clubhouse at Union Park.

The focus will be on how to provide an environment for children of secondary school age in the Montrose area to experience rugby and develop their skills. Building on this, marketing of rugby to this age group and ensuring an effective transition from minis to midi rugby will be covered. There will also be discussions to ensure effective relationships between the school, the club, Angus Colts and any other groups involved in youth rugby.

While perhaps not immediately relevant, any parents involved with the minis are more than welcome to attend and air their views. If anyone can’t make it but would still like to contribute, please let me know or contact Paul directly on 01674 677235 or pvsbxxxii@aol.com.

Top of the table clash

Montrose 1st XV are currently top of the Scottish Hydro Electric Caledonia League Division 2 (Midlands Division). This Saturday (13th) they will be playing at home against their nearest rivals, Blairgowrie.

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come along and support the senior team. The 1st XV fixtures and results can be found here.

P4/5 and P6/7 Matches at Morgan Wasps

On Sunday 21st October, the P4/5's and the P6/7's will be playing in Dundee against Morgan Wasps and Panmure Panthers. The kick off is at 12.00 noon so we will be leaving Union Park at 10.45. Those going direct, please aim to be at the Morgan playing fields by 11.30.

DIRECTIONS

You can find a map showing their ground here (the arrow is lightly misleading and make sure you head round to Alloway Place). Morgan Wasps’ Ground is on Alloway Place. If you head along the Kingsway and take Pitkerro Drive (off the 6 road roundabout) then take the first left and drive to the end of the road.

If anyone can't make it or is going direct, please call Duncan or send an email to montroseminis@tiscali.co.uk.

Sunday Sustenance

This Sunday, 7th October, Anna Robertson will be trialling freshly made bacon rolls and cups of tea/coffee for spectators during the first half of the training session. We will also endeavour to remove the shutters to make better use of the clubhouse. Assistance to set up and clear up will be gratefully received.

Sponsors for the Minis

We are delighted to announce that Thistle Agronomy, Arbroath and The Ramsay Arms Hotel and Restaurant, Fettercairn have agreed to sponsor the minis this season. As well as subsidising the training tops, this money will be put towards other equipment for the minis. A huge thank you goes to both companies.

Panmure Panthers Tournament

Despite a splash of rain and dark skies during the journey South to Panmure last Sunday, the day turned out to be a bright one; and that was not only due to the improving weather.

The tournament was dedicated to the memory of the Panmure coach Jeff Martinson, commencing with one minute of noise in his memory. The games were short and flowing and both Montrose teams played spirited, entertaining rugby throughout against tough opposition. Everyone worked hard on the pitch and it was particularly encouraging to see many of the newer faces emerging from tackles with big grins.

The match referees voted to award Montrose the P6/7 Fair Play trophy in recognition of our players behaving in a fair and sporting manner. Well done and keep it up!

The results were:

• Overall winners- Dundee Eagles
• P4/5 Winner- Dundee Eagles
• P6/7 Winner- BrechinP4/5
• Fair Play- Carnoustie
• P6/7 Fair Play- Montrose

L'entraîneur

Training Kit

We have designed a drill training outfit based on club colours; bottle green, emerald green and royal blue. As well as the training top, there are matching tousers and everything is available in both child and adult sizes. If anyone is interested in getting training kit, please return an order form to Duncan by Sunday 23rd September.

Soggy Sunday

Well done to everyone who took part in the matches today. The weather was certainly against us but the rugby was really encouraging.

The Micros had a session with Strathmore at Montrose and we had two pitches running. There was strong rugby from both sides and this provides a great foundation to build on. Particular mention goes to those who hadn't played rugby before. A pretty tough introduction but they seemed to leave with smiles on their faces!

At Carnoustie, the P4/5s won both matches - 9-4 against Carnoustie and 4-3 against Brechin. The P6/7 team lost both of their matches but the second game against Brechin was much closer, showing a lot of potential for the Panmure Tournament next week.

Thank you to the players, coaches, supporters and helpers to ensure a successful, if a bit damp Sunday. Despite being inside, the helpers in the clubhouse had to avoid the rain. Hopefully the roof will be fixed soon...

Training at Union Park at 10.00 am next week for Micros. It is the Panmure Tournament for P4/5 and P6/7 children and we will be leaving from Union Park at 9.00am.

Training Starts on Sunday

The weather forecast looks much more hopeful so we will be starting training tomorrow. See you all at 10.00am at Union Park.

Four of the coaches are going to be in Forfar on a training course so if any Mums/Dads can help with training (hold tackle bags etc.) that would be appreciated.

Gregor Townsend Rugby Academy

Ten of the Montrose mini rugby squad recently attended the Gregor Townsend Rugby Academy in Dundee. The training was held over three days and the players had a chance to learn new skills and meet rugby players from other clubs in the East of Scotland. Gregor Townsend, Scotland’s most capped rugby player, led the training sessions and he was supported by a number of experienced coaches including Cammy Murray who played 26 times for Scotland. We are looking forward to the players sharing the new techniques they have developed at the training camp.

All of the participants received a T-shirt, boot bag, water bottle and mini-rugby ball, which were signed by the internationalists. Some photos of the award ceremony can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/MontroseMinis/GregorTownsendAcademy . If anyone wants larger files for printing, get in touch with Duncan.

Our new Blog

Well here we go. After years of paper, Montrose Minis is going electronic! We will use this site to keep you updated with news and upcoming events. It is also our intention to have reports and photos from matches. We don't plan include childrens' names but if you would rather not have your children's photos online, please let any of our coaches know.

The blog will evolve over time so if you have any suggestions, comments or greater technical ability, please get in touch.