Training Times: Every Sunday 10-11.30am (see fixtures section) at Penns Place. Everyone is welcome - our friendly team managers Louise and Emily will greet you and help you register your child for rugby (look out for the U9 flag). Equipment for rugby is provided by the club, just make sure they have weather appropriate clothing and boots!

At the under 9 age group level, we are squarely focused on your children Enjoying rugby whilst also teaching them the core values of our game that will help them later in life -Teamwork, Respect, Discipline and Sportsmanship.

The TREDS value framework is an essential part of the game of rugby and worth reading more about.

Alongside this, our coaching staff (made up of qualified coaches, current players and ex-players) will be teaching your children the skills they need in order to play in 6-a-side friendly tournaments, festivals and games against other clubs in the area (rules of U8 rugby are here).

Whilst we encourage children to compete and apply themselves, unlike other sports at this age grade, this is not the focus. We recognise that many of the children in our group are still developing and finding themselves in terms of their physicality and also desire to compete, so we don't put pressure on them to do so. Rugby, as we coach it, is more about producing happy, healthy and confident individuals who can transfer what they learn from this sporting environment into their actual lives

If you attend a training session with our group, you will notice that the players are an extremely confident, welcoming and inclusive bunch - both with new players but also visiting teams. Even at the ages of 8 and 9, this group has already produced a strong sense of team identity and they understand the need for the team to succeed over and above their individual goals or needs. Whilst this age group is also blessed with generous levels of individual talent, what really stands out is the way that the more confident and more developed players actively work to include and improve the less confident and less developed players in the group - for the good of the team!

Talent is one measure for our player group, but their attitude toward each other and the game (see TREDS above) is just as important - and I am pleased to say we have both in abundance.