News Archive

Last night saw the final training session for the U18s prior to the last Super Sunday event this weekend. Following the session and the subsequent Coaches’ meeting, the Squad to face East Mids has been selected:

Josh ALTON-SMITH

Lewis BOOTH

James BROGDEN

Elliott CAUNT

Oliver CHESSUM

Sam COLLINS

Taran ELMS

Harry FINNEY

James HARDING

Will HARDING-TERRY

Stan HOARE

Adam HOPKINS

Dan LANGTON

Joe MORGAN

Tom O’BRIEN

Jacob PEARSON

Will SEAGE

James STIMSON

Caius TWEED

VENUE: Loughborough University (East Entrance)

PARKING: Car Park 9

MEET: 13:30

KICK-OFF: 15:00

The match will be preceded by a minute’s applause in memory of Chris Hart of Warwickshire, who sadly passed away over the Christmas period.

This match represents the final opportunity for players to impress the Midlands Selectors before the provisional Midlands Squad is named for the initial development day on Sunday 27th January.

While it is always a disappointment to the players not selected, the Coaching & Management Team were keen to emphasise strongly how every player has contributed significantly to the success of the Squad over the previous two games. The cohesion and sense of belonging created by the players with each other has provided a great framework for individuals to thrive within. Everyone involved has been greatly impressed by the way all the players have continued to show commitment, not only to the programme but, more importantly, to each other, which is testament to the character and quality within NLD.

Every member of the Squad can return to their Club with something more to offer and, hopefully, they will continue to progress and challenge for inclusion in the U20s Squad in due course.

For those players not included in the Squad who would like feedback on their performance, please contact Lee Slack who will co-ordinate the requests and pass them to the Coaches for actioning.

We wish all those involved on Sunday all the best for their hopes of making the Midlands Squad and everyone in the Coaching & Management Team would like to pass on their sincere thanks to every player involved during this campaign.

Following the deluge around the country on Saturday, it was a great relief to see the sun shining at Welbeck College and a firm pitch for the second Super Sunday matches.

After their successful outing against Staffs. two weeks before, the Squad were excited about matching themselves against the Warwicks. team and they started the game in great style.

Receiving the kick-off, the NLD side showed great composure and patience, moving the ball forward in phase play and finally crashing over the line to score after barely two minutes of play.

The restart by Warwicks. was gathered and returned in much the same manner and the first twenty minutes of the game followed a very similar pattern. With NLD playing a controlled off-loading game, the Warwicks. side found it increasingly difficult to gain any momentum and any forward progress was met with strong and determined defending across the field.

Within the first twenty five minutes, NLD had racked up four tries without a reply from the Warwicks. side and were cruising to an easy win. However, as is often the case, complacency crept into the play and Warwicks. made determined efforts to find inroads into NLD territory with some strong running through the Centres and from Full Back, and the lack of con

centration finally told, when the Warwicks. boys scored a well-deserved converted try right on half time.

With the compulsory changes being made at half time, NLD looked significantly less cohesive during the early part of the second half. Although they remained in control, Warwicks. began to assert some dominance in the break down and ran in a couple of tries with the NLD defence is some disarray. Time to regroup.

After a group huddle and strong words from the players to each other, the team began to re-establish the patterns and shapes from the first half and, again, concentrated on playing sensible rugby with close support and an off-loading game which one of the selectors noted was very hard to defend against.

In the end, NLD ran out winners at 42-22 and a number of players once again impressed and will have to cross their fingers that their efforts are rewarded in the grading.

From a purist’s point of view, the expansive but controlled running game played by NLD in the first quarter was outstanding and demonstrated that, with everyone involved, the whole squad was integral to the success enjoyed on the day.

The Squad have now scored over 80 points in the two Super Sunday games and yet the players wer

e astute enough to point out themselves the areas where they believe there is still room for improvement. Identifying those areas and working hard to correct the small inconsistencies has created a great environment for what Representative rugby is all about – player development.

NLD now have a Christmas break and the final Super Sunday will take place at Loughborough University on the AGP facility with the team playing East Mids. in the final game at 15:00.

Well done to everyone who has contributed so far – the togetherness of the Squad and their willingness to work for each other has been instrumental in providing a platform for individuals to shine upon. That just goes to show what real teamwork can produce!

Best wishes to all players, parents, supporters and Coaches for a great Christmas and a successful New Year!

Lee Slack

Following the last training session of the year on Monday evening, the following players have been selected in the match day squad for NLD U18s to play Warwicks. on Sunday:

Josh ALTON-SMITH

Lewis BOOTH

Sam BOOTH

James BROGDEN

Aidan BUTLER

Elliott CAUNT

Oliver CHESSUM

Noah CLEGG

Sam COLLINS

Joe COUPE

Dan DI MEO

Harry FINNEY

Will HARDING-TERRY

Chris HESLAM

Stan HOARE

Adam HOPKINS

Dan LANGTON

Joe MORGAN

Tom O’BRIEN

Jacob PEARSON

Will SEAGE

James STIMSON

Caius TWEED

A number of players produced strong performances against Staffs. two weeks ago and Sunday represents another opportunity to impress the Selectors prior to decisions being made regarding the make up of the Midlands Squad following the final Super Sunday on 13 January 2019.

Venue: Welbeck Defence College, Forest Road, Woodhouse, Loughborough, LE12 8WD

Kick-off: 14:00

Meet: 12:30

NLD kit will be provided but warm clothing is advisable for when players are not on the pitch.

PLAYERS, PARENTS AND SPECTATORS ARE RESPECTFULLY REMINDED THAT PHOTO ID MAY BE REQUIRED AT THE SECURITY ENTRANCE TO THE SITE. DESIGNATED AREAS FOR SPECTATORS WILL BE SIGNPOSTED AND YOU ARE REQUESTED NOT TO STRAY FROM THESE LOCATIONS.

PLEASE ADHERE TO THE 10 mph SPEED LIMIT AND BE PREPARED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF VEHICLE SEARCHES.

WELBECK COLLEGE IS A SMOKE FREE AREA AND SMOKING AND E-CIGARETTES/VAPES OF ANY KIND ARE PROHIBTED ON SITE.

ALSO, PLEASE BE AWARE THAT DOGS ARE NOT ALLOWED ON THE CAMPUS.

Please note as of Friday 14^th December 2018, your new NLD Office Administrator will be Katherine Wells. Katherine worked as a local newspaper Editor in Scotland before moving with her family to Lincolnshire last year, and is looking forward to working with NLD RFU clubs, volunteers and professionals. She is working alongside Luke until Friday 14^th December and will continue to cover Nicole’s maternity leave until October 2019.

Luke leaves us to start a new Sports Development Officer role with Leicestershire and Rutland Sport, the county sports partnership for Leicestershire. Luke would like to thank all the NLD Officers and club volunteers for their support during his time in the role and wishes you all the very best for the remainder of this season and for all future ones to come.

Please see the below message from Adrian Taylor, NLD U16’s Team Manager

“Last night saw 80 players attend the second trial for the NLD U16s and by the end the coaching team were faced with some difficult decisions, overall the standard was excellent and a credit to the Clubs and Schools coaching teams.  Thank you to all who came and remember if you are not selected now we may still call upon you to join  the squad later in the season.”

Updated NLD U16 Squad List

The match day programme has now been released for the second Super Sunday U18 games on 16^th December 2018 at Welbeck College.

NLD U18s will be playing Warwicks. U18s in the last game of the day with a kick-off at 14:00.

Players will be required to meet at the venue for 12:30 and further details of the match day Squad will be announced in due course.

The venue is:

Welbeck Defence College

Forest Road

Woodhouse

Loughborough

LE12 8WD

Players, parents and supporters are requested to allow at least 5 minutes to get through the initial Security. To speed the process up as much as possible, it would be helpful to have photo ID such as a Driving Licence ready for inspection at the gate. The Squad names will be e-mailed through prior to the event which we hope will speed up the entry process.

There will be signposted areas where parents and supporters can gather before and after the match and everyone needs to be aware that they should remain in the designated areas at all times.

This year’s player nomination process has open for the NLD U20’s Squad. Further information can be found on how to nominate players by clicking here.

Use the player nomination form to confirm your interest in representing NLD U20’s. If you are a coach, please use the coach’s nomination form by clicking here.

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Graeme Gunn, NLD U20’s Team Manager via email: [email protected] or by calling him on 07779596929.

Sunday 03 December saw the first competitive run out for the NLD U18s Squad against a strong and physical Staffs. side at Coalville RFC in the first Super Sunday game of the Midlands campaign.

The Squad have trained hard and worked together to establish themselves as a close knit unit, and this was evident throughout the game.

Having conceded an early try following numerous penalties, the starting 15 showed resilience against a strong Staffs. pack and were rewarded with two tries in quick succession. The first, following relentless pressure on the Staffs. try line and the second following quick ball to the centre field.

The game ebbed and flowed with neither side establishing any real ascendency which was reflected in the score line at half-time at 19-19.

Mandatory changes were made during the interval and, in the opening minutes of the second half, it was clear that the number of changes made had created some initial disruption within the NLD side and Staffs. took advantage of a loss in defensive patterns to take the lead at 26-19.

That was to prove the final score for the Staffs. side as NLD started to re-establish their patterns and introduce some much needed organisation into the defensive line. From that point, NLD began to dominate a tiring Staffs. team and there were a number of tries scored out wide which demonstrated to the watching selectors a wide range of skills across the team.

Relentless work in the breakdown by the Forwards provided the Backs with quick, accurate ball and they were able to continually stretch the Staffs. defence through a combination of quality decision making, accurate distribution and clinical finishing. The final score of 46-26 was a fair reflection of the second half dominance of the NLD players against a hard working and physical Staffs. team.

Head Coach, Stuart Morley, reflected on the day’s performance, with the players contributing to the discussion, and the Coaching and Management Team were impressed with the analysis from within the squad. Everyone involved, while excited by a fine performance and pleasing result, acknowledged that there remained lots to look at in terms of improvement.

The Squad will look to work on those areas requiring better execution at the training session on 10 December, prior to the second Super Sunday event at Welbeck College on December 16.

All in all, a good day’s work from a hard working squad that created an environment for some strong individual performances. As Coach John Jefferson commented; “A  number of players really stepped up today and made a strong case for selection and provided the Coaching Team with a number of very difficult decisions for the next Super Sunday. With the return of a number of players from injury, selecting a starting 15 has become extremely challenging in such a competitive squad.”

Match Report by Lee Slack

The below message has been published on behalf of Lee Slack, NLD RFU Head of Representative Rugby.

Following last night’s training session, the following players have been selected to represent NLD U18s in the first game of the Midlands campaign against Staffordshire.

Josh ALTON-SMITH

Joe BARNES

Lewis BOOTH

Sam BOOTH

James BROGDEN

Jack BURTON

Elliott CAUNT

Oliver CHESSUM

Sam COLLINS

Joe COUPE

Joel DUCKWORTH

Hamish FERGUSON

Harry FINNEY

James HARDING

Stan HOARE

Adam HOPKINS

Dan LANGTON

Kishan MANANI

Tom O’BRIEN

Jacob PEARSON

Will SEAGE

Caius TWEED

Thomas WIDE

DATE: Sunday 02 December 2018

VENUE: Coalville RFC, Hall Lane, Coalville, Leics., LE67 5PF

MEET AT: 09:00

KICK-OFF: 10:30

Players will be provided with NLD kit and everyone named in the Squad will be required to wear a WHITE SHIRT & CLUB/SCHOOL/NLD TIE for the after-match meal. NLD Ties will be presented after the game to those players representing the U18 Age Group for the first time.

As a CB, we are required to restrict the playing squad to 23 which inevitably means that a number of players miss out this time around. The Coaching Team is very keen to emphasise that there are two more Super Sundays offering further opportunities for the players. This means there will be additional chances for those players not included this time to impress the Coaches over the coming sessions and keep pushing for inclusion in the next match day Squad for the game on Sunday 16 December.

The Coaching & Management Team have been very impressed by the level of commitment and the willingness of the players to learn and the close knit nature within the Squad can only lead to better things.

Best of luck to all involved on the day and all other players and families are encouraged to attend the game and support the squad in the first run out in this year’s Midlands campaign.