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.