U11s and U9s — team building, campfire, and muddy boots near Horsham, 7th August

Every season there is a thing that becomes the thing. The story that gets told for years. The trip that kids still mention three seasons later when they have moved up an age group.

We think this might be it.

The U11s and U9s are heading to Horsham on 7th August for an overnight team building camping trip. Tents, campfire, team activities, and a group of children who spend Saturday mornings passing a rugby ball to each other and have somewhere along the way decided they are friends for life.

This is not an intense training camp. We are not doing lineout drills at seven in the morning. The point is the team bit — getting the group together in a setting that is not the pitch, doing things that need the same values as rugby (working together, looking after each other, not complaining when the sleeping bag is not perfectly comfortable), and building the kind of bond that makes Tuesday evening training feel like the most natural thing in the world.

There will be full adult supervision at all times. Full details — kit list, drop-off and pick-up times, cost, and any questions you have — will be published here and through the usual communication channels in the weeks ahead. There will be a sign-up form for parents to complete.

If your child is in the U9s or U11s and you would like to register an interest now, use the contact form on this site or speak to the junior team manager at training.