Thriving junior section earns RFU recognition for Old Bristolians

OLD Bristolians received the prestigious RFU Accreditation award at a special ceremony at their Failand-based clubhouse.

Bristol Combination chairman Adrian Siddorn, who presented the plaque, said: "I am delighted to hand over this award to members of Old Bristolians.

"The club enjoyed a fantastic season last year, winning the Gloucester Premier title as well as the Charles Saunders Combination Vase, and their junior section is rapidly gaining a reputation as being among the best in the West. This award puts the icing on the cake.

"There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes in order for clubs to achieve this accolade, and I would like to take this opportunity to add my congratulations to all the players and coaches and club officials who have made this possible."

Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk

myprint-247

View details

Print voucher

Our heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.

Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk

Contact: 01858 468192

Valid until: Sunday, May 26 2013

Rich Berry, who is not only the club's president but also head coach at the Western Counties North club, said: "Our mini and junior section has been up and running for seven seasons.

"A handful of those lads who started are now part of our under-17s squad. In total, we now have ten age groups with over 250 players and 30 coaches.

"Gaining the RFU accreditation is a huge accolade for all the club members who have made it such a success, and we are delighted to gain the recognition."

Bristol Combination Under-20s staged their first training session of the season at Broad Plain RFC on Monday night, in preparation for their up-and-coming fixtures with University of Bristol (Wednesday, October 10) and Somerset Under-20s, two weeks later at the same venue.

And the representative side were given a boost by having former Bristol and Viadana fly-half Mark Woodrow, pictured, named as their new attack coach.

Combination team manager Cherry Hall said after the first training session: "Woody (Woodrow) was excellent tonight. The lads really bought into his ideas and everyone who turned up – players and existing coaches – would have learned something. We've already got a good coaching set-up, but Woody brings something different to the party, and we're delighted to have him on board."

More than 20 players showed up for the session, but Hall was disappointed with the number of clubs that were represented, adding: "We could field a quality side with the players that showed up tonight, but we want a team that is assembled from as many Combination clubs as possible."

For further information, contact Cherry Hall on 07889 981818.

Mike Hall believes Bristol Rugby's crop of academy players have an exciting future at the club.

And the academy manager – who gave a talk to supporters at the BRIS Trust event – insists his aim is to develop 'Bristol Fashion' players, on and off the field.

"We're very excited about our full-time academy members," said Hall. "The club set high standards for these players to follow, underpinned by our 'Bristol Fashion' culture. Honesty, humility, work ethic and discipline are the key elements that we look at. I expect the boys to have a driven progression and a willingness to succeed. Our goal is to maximise the potential of players in the city, regardless of what level they are playing. We support local coaches and make them understand what we want our players to be like – as people and as players."