J5 Black were keen to master tackling and fending this year! We started the year a bit on the back foot and had to go back to basics with some of the drills but really started to gain momentum after some team bonding at the Ron Williams Tournament, the decision to train twice a week and some kids attending a rugby camp in the holidays.

We progressed on to have some impressive rugby matches, securing the ball more in the breakdown and enjoying closer games and more wins. Giving more specific roles on the field helped improve Finns, Oli and Jaspers game. Rico, Johnny and Bailey (all new to tackle) started to embrace the physical contact, Noah and Luca regularly tried out the fend, Josh and Carlos seemed to love scoring at Stafford, Luke found out he could run from the back of the scrum, Luc tackled any red-sock players, and Nathan and Quinn auditioned for smashed em bro.

What a great group of kids and also enjoyable and supportive families who all pitched in to make it a good season – special thanks to Matt the Ref, Gareth the second coach and Lauri the team photographer. We are very proud of our team this season and how their game is developing. Roll on full-field next year!