Rugby Coaching Blog | Professional Rugby Advice & Coaching

I helped select the final 30 boys for this year’s Osprey U16 squad for the winter 2009 campaign yesterday.

The process is not quite over because we had a trial match which was videod, so that footage needs to be reviewed.

We all know the most difficult part of the process: telling the boys who didn’t make the selection. No amount of the good words and advice can quite remove the disappointment felt.

Deciding on the marginal players is the most taxing part of the selection meeting. The good ones take little time to decide on. It is the “third” hooker or scrum half who vexes minds the most.

We are lucky this year. We have been coaching these boys since January. They have already been through one trial match, plus an intensive six week training programme. Another trial match yesterday confirmed a number of things, plus just tipped the balance for some others.

However, we must not forget that it is game. The pleasure of human movement, of the contest, and the camaraderie is delicately intertwinned in all this. If these players stop smiling then I am not sure it is all worth it.