Over 40 boys aged 8-13 enjoyed three days of top rugby training with the London Irish Community Department, at Andover Rugby Club. From Tuesday 15th –Thursday 17th April the MasterClass participants got the chance to improve their passing, handling, tackling and running skills giving them the opportunity to learn from experienced London Irish Community coaches. Throughout the camp the guys got to work on their fitness and had lots of fun playing various games and competitions including the O2 Kick Pass Run Challenge.
One of the highlights of the week was when two London Irish and International stars dropped by to join in the fun. Peter Richards (England) and Gonzalo Tiesi (Argentina) had a great time meeting and interacting with the children when they helped run a special kicking clinic. The youngsters were delighted to be coached by the premiership stars and had this to say about the experience: “It was amazing to have Peter and Gonzalo helping us with our kicking! Getting their autographs is one thing but actually having them involved in the session was incredible. They gave us lots of tips and advice on how to improve our kicking technique. ”
Once the afternoon coaching sessions had finished the MasterClassers were then invited to get autographs and take part in a special Q&A session with the players giving them the opportunity to find out a little bit more about them and what it’s like to be a professional rugby player.
As part of the course each participant received a MasterClass Graduation certificate and also got the chance to see the Exiles in action when they played Harlequins on Saturday 19th April.
Commenting on the past three days Community Development Manager Philippos Kyriacou had this to say about the Anover MasterClass. “It’s been a brilliant week down here in Andover. I hope everyone has enjoyed it as much as I have! Everybody has worked very hard and have improved a lot since day one. I’d like to thank my team of coaches, Peter and Gonzalo for helping to make the camp so memorable.”
Also delighted with the week’s event was Chairman of Andover Rugby Club Dickie Staff. “It’s been fantastic to have Pos and his team here at Andover RFC. I’ve seen first hand what an impact it’s made on our players and what a great time they’ve all had. We hosted one of the first ever London Irish MasterClasses back in Dececmber 2005 so it’s been excellent to have them back again!”