03 August 2011; James Garland
On Sunday July 31, eight Melbourne Rebels Rugby Union stars and two coaches took time out of their weekend to run a coaching clinic for Victoria's up and coming schoolboys and girls from the VSRU schools and various junior rugby clubs. Melbourne University Rugby Football Club (MURFC) coaches and staff were also involved in passing on their years worth of rugby knowledge.
The schoolboys and girls were lucky enough to learn from Rebels players such as Heath Tessman, Laurie Weekes, Hugh Pyle, Luke Jones, Danny Cipriani, Julian Huxley, Lachlan Mitchell and Peter Betham as well as coaches and ex-Wallabies Nathan Grey and Matt Cockbain.
The President of the MURFC, Simon Davis stated, "The kids are now so fortunate to be able to access this talent in Melbourne". While Fullback Julian Huxley added, “The school kids absorbed the guidance and advice quickly, and you could see the improvement throughout the clinic".
The boys and girls ranging from 14 - 18 years of age were split up into three groups determined by their age. The drills were aimed at teaching the young players everything rugby, from warming up and preparing for training and games, to specific structural drills designed to help teach them about positioning during different phases of a game.
One parent of two of the participants stated that, "There were quite a lot of kids from Maroondah Rugby Club who attended and are grateful for this opportunity.
Our grounds have been closed for a month so training has been difficult & our coaches have had to be quite inventive.
The attendance by the Rebels players was a real success; there aren't to many 10 to 15 year olds that can brag they’ve trained with the Rebels".
The clinic was followed by a BBQ supplied by the MURFC and the University of Melbourne and saw the 60 plus school kids and their parents enjoy a well earned sausage or two.
All in all, a great day for the University of Melbourne, MURFC, the Rebels and the communities.