Report
by William Barnes
The trial for the U16 Lambs National Squad took place on the first Sunday of
half term, at Wisbech Grammar School. A squad of 28 was to be picked from a
group of around 70 boys and this would be determined through a morning of
skills games and an afternoon of trial matches between the three devised teams. The squad was released later evening and I
was fortunate enough to be selected.
The first match followed a week after the trial and was played against Boys
Club Wales, which has a similar set up to the
Lambs. At first play was fragmented, and it
was difficult to string waves of attack together due to the novelty of the team
coupled with the fierce Welsh defence. However, as the match progressed we got into our stride and began
to ‘play fast and free’ – the Lambs motto.
The highlight of the game came with just a few minutes left, as an attack began five metres out from our line and resulted in a try. This
showed the expansive rugby that we were attempting to play, and something that we will look to take forward and
develop in the upcoming matches against Worcester a week on Thursday and
Saracens the Monday after that. These matches will be followed by the final game of the season against the Irish
Exiles, played at Loughborough University,
which will be followed by a celebratory end of season dinner.