A Fantastic First Outing for Our Hatchlings!
The Harrogate Pythons Hatchlings played their first ever match, travelling to Northallerton for a fantastic morning of rugby.
There were plenty of excited faces, a few nervous ones and probably a few parents who were more nervous than the players! Once the whistle blew, though, the nerves disappeared pretty quickly.
The Hatchlings came away with a very close victory after a brilliant end to end game packed with tagging, running, tries and, most importantly, teamwork.
There was barely time to catch your breath, although we’re fairly sure some of the coaches needed a little longer than the Hatchlings!
What we loved
The enthusiasm and bravery from the whole group was fantastic.
Our Hatchlings threw themselves into the game, showing that they are already learning how to tag, evade defenders and attack with confidence.
When we had the ball, the speed was fantastic, with the Hatchlings cutting through the Northallerton defence like a knife through butter!
There were tries flying in from both sides, tags being made left, right and centre, and some excellent teamwork throughout.
There were so many standout moments that picking individual players would be impossible.
Every single Hatchling played brilliantly and did the club proud.
From nervous to fearless
Before kick off, there were definitely a few excited and nervous faces.
Completely understandable when you’re about to play your first ever rugby match!
Thankfully, the coaches put them through a great warm up and got everyone moving, smiling and ready to go.
Within the first few minutes, the nerves had disappeared and the Hatchlings were into their rugby.
By the final whistle, they were tired, very proud and absolutely buzzing about what they had achieved.
Although, strangely enough, nobody seemed quite as tired when the cheesy chips arrived at the Northallerton clubhouse!
The important things we learned
Our first match taught us some very important lessons:
1. Rugby is hard work.
2. Running around chasing people is even harder work.
3. Getting tagged isn’t the end of the world.
4. Cheesy chips somehow taste even better after rugby.
5. Apparently, the coaches don’t get to eat all the cheesy chips.
We’ll let the Hatchlings decide which lesson was the most important.
What’s next?
There is plenty for us to keep developing.
One of our main focuses will be passing after being tagged.
We want to get the ball away a little quicker and make sure our passes don’t travel too far backwards.
We’ll keep working on attacking the spaces, not the faces, as well as continuing to develop our teamwork.
But most importantly, we’ll keep making sure the Hatchlings are having fun and loving rugby.
That’s the Pythons way.
A huge well done to:
Caleb Bamford
Curtis Bamford
Frankie Donnelly
Ivy Hutchinson
Phoebe Hutchinson
Athena Glasswell
Arthur Boyce
Oliver Lee
William Ridgway
And a huge thank you to our coaches:
Kieran Martin, Charlotte Robertson, Russel Robertson and Sean Glasswell
The first chapter of our Hatchlings rugby journey has been written, and what a start!
First match: Yes
Lots of tries: Yes
Lots of tags: Yes
Teamwork: Yes
Cheesy chips: VERY MUCH YES
Now we go again.