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Julian Edwards provides an opinion from the touchline on the progress of a relatively new youth team...
BRECON RFC
PROGRESS SO FAR THIS SEASON...
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Brecon RFC Youth XV move into the later stages of the season having already provided
a set of performances that have impressed their followers and matched the high expectations of their committed and talented coaches, Huw Phillips and Martin Keylock. This season commenced with the squad facing a different landscape and challenge that they had become used to, as their highly competitive, and successful, performances of the last few seasons saw them rewarded by moving up through the realigned Blues league structure.
Whilst this may have lessened chances of coming up against local Breconshire teams, the new leagues offered the squad an opportunity to test themselves in a more competitive environment, and to face teams from clubs who have been traditionally strong in the Mid District environment.
The early pre-season period saw the squad come together, with a number of players moving up from the juniors to supplement the squad and, it was hoped, to provide competition for the older established players. This period was particularly important as the squad built up a high level of fitness, and developed a strong unity under the leadership of new skipper, Richie Davies. The coaches could have been forgiven for having a certain amount of trepidation as they moved into this competitive league with what was going to be a young squad, although there was a clear focus on the strength of their charges, and the identification of a high tempo, fluid approach, built on a competitive platform, as being the preferred play style.
Following some impressive and enjoyable victories in the pre-season, the early league fixtures saw some setbacks in terms of results, albeit with the committed squad learning valuable lessons and an understanding of what they would need to do to succeed in the league.
As a result, the league season has evolved with Brecon proving to be one of the more competitive teams in the league and one that, at one stage, held the promise of a certain amount of success. The nature of the league is such that there are teams who all have the ca- pacity to beat each other in the upper reaches of the league, and Brecon will be influential
in this run-in, and hold their own aspirations for a high placing.
The success, and improvement, being enjoyed by the team is a testimony to their massive work-effort, with training sessions being consistently characterised by large numbers of players attending. This commitment has seen them maintain impressive fitness levels, even during a period of decimation of the fixture list, and also ever improving skill sets to supplement their desire to play an attractive style of rugby. Whilst this spirit is laudable, it also comes with a certain pragmatic reality as they look to counter the playing styles of some bigger opponents. In outlining that, and in admiring some of their all-action play using the full width of the playing areas, the pack of forwards has provided an admirably solid platform to facilitate this.
One of the more pleasing aspects of the season, given the challenges of the league, has been the contribution of those players who have moved up from last years Under 16s. There have been 16 of them who have contributed to varying degrees, with the faith of the coaches being shown in the increasing influence that members of the squad continue to have. Such influx of new players has been typical of the last few seasons, and is testament to the success of the Mini and Junior section in pushing these players through. That progress in will certainly see these players add value to the senior group of players as they move up through the ages.
A note of caution is that there should be no complacency in this, and it is hoped that the
club maintains its commitment to this player development and profession through a properly structured and supported vision.
As the season now deals with the annual impacts of the Six Nations, and moves into the Spring, the focus of the Youth squad will also take in the various commitments of the Brecon- shire and Heart of Wales cup competitions. The former sees Brecon play Ystradgynlais at home in the semi final, and they will look to build, and improve, on the successes of previous years.
BRFC News
SPRING 2016