Esher Rugby

The Bank Holiday weekend of May 4th and 5th saw the Esher Rugby Minis section travel as a group of 78 players plus 100 supporting family members to Somerset for the 24th edition of the two-day Burnham-on-Sea Rugby festival hosted by Living with the Lions Sports Travel. With 85 squads competing on 14 pitches across 7 age groups, the mighty Es did Esher proud bringing home awards across all 6 of the age groups we entered. The awards - presented by Wales rugby test player Aaron Wainwright - were as follows:

* Esher U7s Most Disciplined

* Esher U8s Most Respectful

* Esher U9s Best Teamwork

* Esher U10s Best Sportsmanship

* Esher U11s Most Respectful

* Esher U12s Cup Winner

With a season starting back in September, this end of season tour represented the culmination of 90 plus hours of rugby training and games for the kids in the 2023-2024 season. Incoming Esher Rugby Minis Chairman Kevin Bould led the tour, supported by an amazingly strong support network of coaches and parents across all age groups. Outgoing Esher Rugby Minis Chairman Nigel Sanderson commented, "It was an amazing experience for all the kids and parents/volunteers - giving up their time to allow their kids to take part and benefit from the togetherness, teamworking, leadership skills and discipline that rugby develops in our young people." Rugby was played, fireworks were fired, BBQs were lit, pizza ovens worked overtime, songs were sung and stars were danced under (U7 and U9 parent Andy King even brought a full al fresco disco rig!)…

What's next on the calendar for the Esher Minis? A Circus fundraiser on Saturday, July 20th so that we will be able to do it all again in 2025!