Christo: Go up together as a team. It doesn’t matter who scores a try. When one person scores, the whole team scores a try.
Finn: To tackle better and be more confident.
Ediz: When passing, hold the ball away from your chest, tackle low and get your shoulder in. Get into the game early rather than sitting back and ending up going down 3 or 4 tries.
Jonah: How to use teamwork and aggression.
Barnabas: I’ve learnt how to tackle. You’ve got to get your shoulder in.
Kit: To be accurate when passing, you need to shoot the target.
Taran: You have to be brave.
Rob: I’ve learnt not to hesitate, don’t doubt yourself. You just need to get in there.
Arthur: It’s a team job. Everyone has to do the work.
As I spoke to the boys, it was good to hear plenty of the coaching phrases repeated back to me, but even better to hear what else was mentioned. While learning to pass the ball quickly and accurately, and making dominant tackles are great skills for winning games, learning to be confident, brave, and work in a team are brilliant lessons for whatever life brings.