|
|
|
|
Bright Future for Youth Team
By Josh Ball (The Royal Gazette)
April 25, 2009--Pontypridd
Bermuda youth rugby coach David Cooke believes the sport has a bright
future on the Island after a successful showing in the Bath Mini Rugby
Festival this past weekend.
Cooke's under-12s narrowly lost 15-5 in the semi-finals to eventual
winners Pontypridd, a side who haven't lost a game in four years, in
Sunday's competition.
And the under-11s missed out on a place in the last four after a sudden
death decider against local side Cleeve in the pool stages | Pontypridd where 'incredible' according to Cooke, and the try Bermuda
scored in the semi-final was only the third the Welsh team have
conceded in 26 matches this season, and the only try they conceded in
the whole tournament.
Pontypridd eventually beat hosts Bath 35-0 in the final of the
under-12s competition, and the Welsh side's coach praised Bermuda's
performance afterwards, telling Cooke that his team 'were bloody
impressive'. | 
|
"As a coach it's frustrating that we didn't end up facing Pontypridd in the final, because I believe that if we had played Bath in the semis we would have won. So it's disappointing from that point of view, but it shows how far we have come.
"If you think about it, this team has been built up really only in the last couple of years, and sometimes in training we don't have enough players to play against each other.
"But we have a good squad, and this team can continue to get better."
To put Bermuda's achievement into context, the entire Pontypridd side play for South Wales, and come from a club that has produced the likes of Neil Jenkins, Ian Gough and Martyn Williams over the years.
| 
| On the Saturday, both team's have comfortable wins over King Edward School, Bath. The under-11s battered their opponents 88-0, while the under-12s ran out 24-0 winners.
Cooke believes that Bermuda's showing in the UK over the weekend just goes to show what can be achieved.
And he believes that with a little more support the sport on the Island has a bright future.
While mini rugby is flourishing, Bermuda has historically lost a lot of players in the gap between youth and senior rugby.
| The lack of competitive games once the players become teenagers is
still a problem, and Cooke, whose son Graham plays in the under-12s is
determined to bring that cycle to an end.
"It was fantastic to watch the boys compete the way that they did in Bath," said Cooke. "And we can't lose that.
"Myself and some of the other parents are coaches, and we're going to
have teenage sons soon, so we'll stay involved. But it can't be just
down to us.
"We need the clubs to get involved now so that the players are not lost to other sports.
"Only Teachers have really got involved with youth rugby," said Cooke.
"The other clubs haven't, but what I'd like to see is a Colts league.
The clubs need to get out and start getting involved, recruiting, so
that these boys can become the future of their clubs."
|
| .
|