Thames Valley u14 rugby
The future stars of New Zealand rugby could be among the Thames Valley under 14s team which plays the second of its twogame programme this weekend.
The team, coached by Don Edgecombe, played Matamata College under 14s at Te Aroha College on Saturday.
Matamata won that encounter, 29-22. Thames will now play King Country in Taupo on August 26.
Thames Valley Rugby Development Officer Bill Cooksley said the under 14s had a reasonably short programme but it aimed to develop the young players for the future.
‘‘We held a skills session and trial in June and early July, and then the players attended a three- day development camp in Taupo, during the second week of the school holidays.’’
The camp involved six Heartland rugby unions from the North Island, including East Coast, Poverty Bay, Horowhenua-Kapiti, Wanganui, King Country and Thames Valley.
‘‘It was a great experience for the boys. They were split up into groups with players from other unions, when they did their skills and development training at the camp.
‘‘That way they were able to meet players from other unions. Part of the camp looked at developing individual skills like runcatch-pass and tackling.’’
There was also technical training, for specialised positions like lock, prop and hookers.
The training camp, for the Thames outfit, culminated in a match against HorowhenuaKapiti, which Thames won 41-17.
‘‘It was a great win for the boys who played well. I think they enjoyed the whole experience.’’
The team returned home and went back to playing for their individual school teams. They came together again for training, ahead of their games against Matamata and King Country.
In other results for Thames, King Country Development 24, Thames Valley Development 26, Owen Delaney Park, Taupo; Thames Valley Under 18s 29, Waikato Secondary Schools, 17, Centennial Park, Paeroa; Thames Valley Under 16s 24, Corinthians Under 16s 24, Wealleans Park, Hinuera.