Junior Camp - the round-up

Miika Valo give us an account of the rest of the action from the international junior camp, hosted here in Finland between our juniors and guests from Estonia.

DAY 3

Two practice matches, held on Day 2, gave valuable information on the laws, personal skill levels and match awareness to the coaching staff and the programme was adjusted based on the video analysis of the matches. 

Contesting possession, going forward and support play were the basic principles of rugby in focus on Day 3.  The attendees contested fiercely for possession around the tackle area, and once the tacklers and tackles mastered the calls of "tackler release!!” and “roll away!!....IMMEDIATELY!!” support began pouring in, unfortunately from all sides - until the referee-instructors sorted the mess out :)

Most of the day was spent tackling, with a side order of tackling and then some more tackling until all the players got up nicely, glowing and possessing bright red knees from the astroturf.

A much awaited Sauna evening was a pleasant break for everyone. Nothing like a hot sauna to work on sore muscles!

DAY 4

With tackling laws safely under the belt, the head coach felt it was time to 'get down to business', with rucks and mauls - Support, Support and Support!  Rucking skills were at a relatively high level to begin with, which was a positive surprise and enabled the coaches to centre on more tactical issues, such as how much support, why and when (in particular, when not to get involved).

Mauling proved to be difficult to master, with the ball popping out from all directions but the correct one. Even playing with 6 against Zaza (Estonian coach/ prop-forward) was not always enough to keep possession, let alone go forward! However, the concept was understood with plenty of homework to do back with their clubs.

The assistant coaches got a last minute assignment and each spent the afternoon with their groups on open play items of choice, namely communication and defensive pressure.

Day 4 ended with another mixed team match and 19 tired participants.  

Sauna evening 2 crowned the day, and this time it was the long-awaited lakeside sauna that saw plenty of youthful silliness (Chris was selected the all around man of the match and the master blaster!)

DAY 5 - final day

It was time to tie things together and conclude the week with open play on XV rugby. In order to have all the elements for a match, the forwards first hit the scrum machine, whilst backs worked on kicks and counter attacking from deep kicks.  This was followed by a short line-out session and finally it was time to play 15's on the full pitch. It took a good few dropped balls, wrong calls (forwards closing space, instead of creating it for the backs) until the full side managed to get through the 5 padman defenders, but once they did it, the penny dropped and more tries followed. 

There was electricity in the air as the day was to bring about the key event of the week (no, not another sauna): Finland v Estonia, the 2 test series.  Due to injuries it was decided to play sevens and each coach was given time to prepare the team.  Based on the individual performances during the week, the Finns were clearly the underdogs, with lesser handing skills and match fitness (most of the Estonians play in the senior league at home) and many expected the superior Estonian backs running rampant through the Finns. Accordingly, the game plan was focused on denying space and old-England style forwards play...and it worked!  The boys played the game plan to the letter and won the match 3-0. 

The afternoon session was a continuation of XVs open play and then again time for the coaches to prepare the lads. The week’s strain was beginning to show on the boys: fitness was an issue. Straight after lunch the Estonian were seen on the pitch, practising running lines and kicks...it was to be a contest!  

The match started with the Estonians striking hard, and scoring a beautiful individual try from a grubber, Shane Williams-style and clouds were starting to gather on the Finnish end. The next try was for the hosts, however, and it was all-even at half time.  The captain used his prerogative to change the defensive system from staggered back to league style rush defence but the superior fitness of the visitors was beginning to show - few dropped balls, gaps inside saw the visitors taking a 2-1 lead.  Our lads spent most of the remaining time in the opposition 22, trying time after time to penetrate the Estonian wall, but to no avail.  A great show of courage and grit, from both sides, 3 times the ball was held up according to the ref ...if only they dived in a touch lower and with support!  The last try went for the visitors just before full time, and they collected a deserved win. We should take much pride from the aggregate 4-3 win of the series - well done!!

I think the week can be called a success, most definitely based on the comments from the participants and the coaching staff.  A lot of rugby was played, a tangible step up in knowledge for all.  Our sincere thanks goes to George Bargaunas (FIRA refereeing educator) and Thierry Demoulin (camp director) for sharing with us from their vast knowledge and experience of our great game, likewise, I would like to offer profound thanks to Stevan Thorne, Zaza Dzidzadze and Jaakko Kanniainen for their valuable coaching input. Thank you to all the players for your contribution and enthusiastic participation - it was a pleasure to host you at Eerikkälä. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation on behalf of all the participants, to SRL and FIRA for enabling this event to be conducted.  It is through events and activities such as this one, I believe, that we motivate our youth greatly and hence advance age group rugby in our region. Many more to follow!