Banbridge Rugby Club - Northern Ireland

Happy New Year from the U-13s coaches & Banbridge Junior Rugby Club

Fitness Plan

The goal for fitness is to be able to play one's position at the height of one's ability for the entire duration of the match. This means not just the ability to complete the physical actions necessary but also to retain the ability to observe, recognize and exploit opportunities. These mental activities are the first to be abandoned as fatigue sets in. Players stop thinking long before they stop running. Strangely, players can retain their ability to carry out relatively mechanical set-piece actions quite effectively long after they have lost their ability to keep up with play.. so some phases of play look okay but overall performance suffers.

The U-13s need to think about their personal fitness in advance of the Cup campaign. At training we see players struggling to cover ground, falling behind in distance runs, losing form in rucking and mauling exercises, incapable of performing push-ups and even unable to touch their toes. The players need to work individually to address some of these concerns and get ready for the Cup run. A bit less X-Box, a bit more fitness!

Ideally players should do the following -

• Push-ups daily.. start from where you are now and try to build an extra push-up or two each day.. where will you fall on the test scale below by March? Add sit-ups for full body-weight exercise.


• Sprinting/interval running/fartleks.. hint - fartlek isn't a funny or rude word. It's a Swedish word for interval training - the idea is to keep changing speeds i.e. easy running interspersed with sprints of about 50-60 metres repeated until a little tired; followed by easy running with three or four "quick steps" now and then (simulating suddenly speeding up as a play progresses, or a player passes and you drift to the next attacker); followed by full speed, ideally uphill, (if this could be done twice a week it would make a big difference).


• Stretching daily. easy, slow, no bouncing - increasing mobility through slow stretching of back, hamstrings, calves and quads finally through to going from standing vertically with hands stretched above your head to touching your toes without bending you knees.. we've done it in training - the players know the drill.

Continuous press-ups test : how many can you do in one go? 

<15 Poor

15-24  Fair

25-34 Average

35-44 Good

>44 Excellent

Subs Reminder - Many of you have already paid subs - thank you! Subs pay for playing shirts, buses, insurance, flood lighting on training nights etc. Our sponsors' contributions help, but don't cover all the costs - please pay your subs to keep the Club functioning for all. £55/£50 for siblings.

Birth Cert reminder - if you have not already done so please ensure that you bring a copy of your birth cert down to the Club. This is necessary to ensure your Ulster Branch registration for the Ulster Cup campaign.

Eamonn Whelan is a Leinster man, (we can't all be perfect!). "I started playing Schools Rugby at the age of seven at St. Mary's College, the alma mater of 31 Irish Internationals including Denis Hickie, Shane Jennings, Johnny Sexton and Tony Ward, though there was precious little chance of my being the school's 32 ^nd International! After leaving school I played Junior level rugby for University College Dublin, continuing to play in the pack, generally as a Flanker."

Whilst living in the States I played Senior rugby for Windhover RFC in the New England league and Can-Am tournaments and also enjoyed an opportunity to turn out for New York Irish. When my wife and I moved to London I switched to the wing and played Junior rugby for a number of seasons with Blackheath FC, the oldest open Rugby Club in the world. Blackheath FC was a founding member of the Football Association, but withdrew when it became clear that the FA were going to adopt the 'Cambridge' no-handling rules, rather than the 'Rugby School' rules - so they had a pivotal role at the point where 'soccer' broke away from rugby, with the Club's 1862 rules becoming the model for the Rugby Laws we play today.

After suffering a number of knee injuries I retired from playing, joined the Junior Committee and ran a number of international end-of-season tours. I also played a few summer touch rugby seasons for the Club and works teams. I've attended the Hong Kong & Dubai Sevens, Super-14 matches in Australia, the Lions in South Africa and Leinster beating fellow coach Mick's beloved Saints for their 2^nd Heineken Cup in Cardiff.

My main take away from rugby is the fantastic enduring camaraderie that comes from playing a sport that truly requires teamwork; my closest friends are people I played alongside and my leadership style in business is based on my Rugby experience. My daughter plays with Raymond's U-7s and my motivation around coaching is to 'give back' to the sport that gave me so much over my playing days, and to see young players develop skills whilst enjoying their sport. I have attended Ulster Branch age-level coaching and reff'ing courses and I am an Associate Referee, though Alain Rolland need not be worried about my challenging him for the Six Nations' whistle!

Mick Pegley coaches the forwards and started playing rugby when he was 14 years old at school. "My sports teacher played for Northampton Saints and he was keen for us to learn the game, however, it was a football school so we didn't play rugby that much."

My early years were taken up playing cricket, I played for Northamptonshire u16s, I was the youngest, at 13 years of age, to play in the top league of the Northamptonshire County Cricket League and played cricket at various levels until I was 45.

When I was a child I used to do a paper round and the shop owner found out that I was a sportsman and told me to go along to a training evening at Northampton Mens Own RUFC. At this stage I was 16 yrs old and thought "Why not?" so went along. I really enjoyed it and started playing for the colts team. Within a year I had been selected to play for East Midlands Colts in the second row as I was taller than the other kids.

I then went to work and rugby came second until I got married and moved house when I was 22. I then played at Northampton Saints for the Wanderers team (the seconds) mainly because I had a good friend at work who took me along. I played in the back row either 6 or 7. This was in the very amateur era so there was no serious training and Saturdays were more social than serious! I also played on Wednesday for the work team and this was a very good standard. I played against the likes of Wade Dooley, Dean Richards and Martin Bayfield (all England players at the time).

My daughter was born when I was 27 and I decided that I needed to play rugby nearer to home so joined a local club, Rushden and Higham RUFC. I started to play no. 8 and that's where I stayed until I stopped playing when I was 37. During my time at Rushden I was club captain on 2 occasions and led them to their most successful year in their 50 year history, winning every league game and being knocked out of the Pilkington Shield in the 1/4 finals, losing to the eventual winners. That season we lost just 4 games in total (3 friendly fixtures when we rested some of the first team).

Having hung my boots in the cupboard I started to coach at the club and was fortunate to work alongside Martin Hynes (former Northampton Saints and now coach at Bedford) and Alan Clarke (also of Northampton and Ireland and now at Ulster) at various stages.

I've had an enjoyable rugby career; now I'm older and wiser I wish I'd pushed myself harder. I've always wanted to win and that is something I believe is fundamental to sport. If everyone tries their hardest but it's not enough then I can live with that, but rugby is a team game with individual talents. I've always been coached to look after each other and support each other however difficult it can be at times. Having moved to Northern Ireland I have been fortunate to be introduced to Banbridge RUFC. In just a short period of time I've seen some real talent in the u13s, some of whom have not been at training/playing recently for one reason or another. All I'd say to those lads is, don't miss the opportunity while you're young to learn and play the game because you are a long time retired from sport when you get older. Also remember that all sports carry risk of injury and rugby is no exception, but played properly and with commitment you're no more likely to have a serious injury in rugby as you are playing football.

Dermot Jones coaches the backs and played rugby for Banbridge for many years. As home-grown talent he is very passionate about the Club and its performance and provides plenty of historical anecdote and colour to the training sessions. A former back, Dermot coaches back play with an emphasis on moving and recycling the ball; he doesn't allow the U-13 backs the luxury of awaiting the arrival of the forwards to sort out the breakdown - Dermot wants to see them clearing out and driving through for themselves.

He brings the same degree of engagement and involvement to the practice games at training sessions.. to the extent that he picked up a knee injury during a moment of exuberance re-living a line break from his former playing days - it's really something when the coach hobbles off to the changing room injured!!

BANBRIDGE U-13s Playing Ethos

1. TEAM SPIRIT is the most potent quality a team can possess. Helping to build the team's TEAM SPIRIT is everybody's business, every day.

2. Your first task on the pitch is always SUPPORT.

3. Move FORWARD.

4. Challenge your team-mates to TAKE THE BALL AT PACE.

5. POSSESSION is paramount. Guard it wholeheartedly and use it wisely. Don't drop the ball - or throw or kick it away, either!

6. Boost your AWARENESS in matches AND at practice. You can't make good decisions unless you look and analyse! Think "What do I need to do NEXT?"

7. It's NEVER over till it's OVER! Take the field committed to play full out for 70 minutes.

Ulster Cup Campaign

March 3    - Banbridge v Virginia (Home)

March 17 - Lurgan B v Banbridge (Away)

March 24 - Banbridge v Portadown (Home)

These three matches are to rank us to decide which competition we go into. Depending on where we finish in our qualifying group of four we will enter the following knock-out phase -