Petersfield RFC

The workshop, which this year attracted 120 players to the club, has brought hundreds of players to PRFC over the years and has proven to be hugely enjoyable for players and parents alike. The workshop has been a gateway to a lifelong involvement in rugby, introducing boys and girls aged 5 -11. As last year, however, there was no reason for the under 6s to feel left out as the club ran a special ‘taster session’ on the Sunday session for the age group. Over the years, many players who started their rugby at the workshop have gone on to greater things, such as Charlie Amesbury, Fiona Pocock and Joe Atkinson.

Each of the three workshop sessions were supervised by RFU qualified coaches from the club, with coaching geared towards both complete beginners and those with some experience. Fortunately, given its recent capricious nature, the weather behaved itself, aiding the efforts of the coaching team to provide quality sessions and leading to the downing of copious quantities of soft drinks that were offered free to the participants.

Thanks to the generous support of its sponsors Petersfield Pilates, Petersfield Roundtable, Jacobson Chemicals and Wilson Development Group,the club was once again able to present each player with a full-sized rugby ball to help them practice their skills at home. As a special treat this year, the workshop was proud to welcome a stalwart of Rugby Union, the England and Harlequins number 8, Nick Easter. Towering above the players and most of the parents, Easter patiently signed rugby balls, pictures and rugby shirts for what seemed to be an endless queue of awestruck youngsters before joining PRFC Youth Chairman, Stuart Barden, to acknowledge the hard work of the organisers and the enthusiasm of the players before picking the winner of the draw for £200-worth of Sports Locker vouchers. Finally, Easter was freed to hold a training session with a number of lucky players from the older age-groups, hopefully passing on a few tips that will help them in the coming season.

From its inception in 1927, Petersfield RFC developed a reputation as a highly hospitable venue for sport and events such as the workshop show that this reputation continues to be strong today as it was 85-years ago. For those who missed out on the workshop, don’t despair; the club operates a ‘try and buy’ policy for new players who can attend the club for free for three weeks before they are asked to commit to membership.

For full details http://petersfieldrfc-youth.co.uk/index.html