Trial=ed out ...

So yesterday ... our first experience of DSRU rugby trials ...

Quite an experience I have to say ... Kelsey was very nervous when we set off yesterday morning and I have to say I was too !!! Neither of us had a clue of what to expect ... but I made sure we arrived there on time ... the U14 trials started at 12noon but we had to be there an hour before for warm up and registration ... also meant I got a good parking spot too LOL ...

The weather was not being nice for us spectators but was pretty good for the boys ... cold and overcast ... exactly like the last time we were at Old Boys Rugby Club .. seems winter has popped back for a quick visit ... yadda yadda yadda ... enough about the weather ... stay focused Janet !!!

All the boys were called to the registration area ... and my first surprise was how FEW boys were actually there (there were 40 boys from the u14 age group) ... the organisers then gave us and the boys the run down ... and I must say I was very impressed with their 'speech'... the 'headman' told the boys that they had all already 'been selected' for their talents and their abilities ... the fact that they were standing on that field meant that the selectors had already singled them out as players with the abilities needed to be part of the DSRU Squad ... and he said each boy should be very proud of himself and pat himself on the back for having been spotted on the field.... (So for me that was a huge achievement for Kelsey ... and I hope he sees that on it's own)

He then went on to explain what the DSRU were looking for ... there would be 2 squads chosen from today's trials... one squad would be the touring squad which would go on the inter-provincial tour (IPT) at the end of September to Bloemfontein, the 2nd squad would be classed as the reserves and unlike other years ... these boys would be the automatic choice if the boy in their position had to 'fall out' for any reason on the tour... this way there would be no worries for the organisers to be searching for a replacement at the last minute. The reserve squad would also be playing in games on the 15th October when a touring side from Pretoria came to our province to play ... so in a nutshell both squads would get game time !!!!

NOW me as a parent I was pretty impressed at the whole organisation of this ... I am very, very proud of Kelsey as this means he is classed as one of the top 40 in club rugby for the region ... so if he doesn't get into any of the squads I still think he has done extremely well ...

The boys were then given numbers, which was how they would be recognised for the rest of the day ... just as numbers. The boys were not allowed to wear their club colours as they were there to represent themselves NOT their clubs and they did not want the selectors to be seen to be favouring one club over another ... good practise I thought...

Then it was 'games begin' ... the boys were given a shirt with their position number on and there were 2 teams ... they then played 15min 'chukkas' and during this time the ref was told to change boys into different positions, swap sides etc. etc. so the selectors could watch how the boys a) played in the positions they were given, b) see how versatile the boys were to play against and with each other and c0 give those boys who were able to play in more than 1 position the opportunity for the selectors to see which position he was best suited to ...

Kelsey ended up playing the whole day in the same position ... NUMBER 3 which is Tight head Prop ... a position that he has NEVER played before ??? Now that was VERY confusing for both of us ... when I spoke to one of his coaches and asked why he was in that position... they said obviously at one of the games he had been seen by the selectors playing in the position and they had liked what they saw ??? OK fair doe's... also we noticed that there seemed to be more back line players and not so many front line players ... apparently it had been the opposite in previous years !!! So he played in all 6 'chukkas' ... by the time the day was over he was 'FINISHED' and very sore !!!

The head honcho ... did mention half way through the day that some of the parents had commented that their boys had not played as much as others ... his explanation was simply that there were some positions with MORE players than others ... so I'm thinking obviously there were not too many Tight head props cos Kelsey played every game ... is this a good sign or a bad sign ???

NOW we wait ... we started the day at 11am and finished trials at 5pm !!! and we've been told the selectors will be getting the figures, comments etc all together and we should be notified by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest who has been selected and for what !!!! and who has NOT been selected !!!

I asked Kelsey how he feels about the whole thing and he said yesterday "mum I really don't care I'm too sore to worry about it right now" ...bless his little cotton sox...

Today I've asked him and I'm proud of his response ... he said "mum I played my best and if it was good enough for them I'll get a position... if it wasn't I'll try again next year!!!" Excellent reply Kelsey ...

I think he's also in 2 minds because the week they go on tour, Paul is here in SA and we have planned a long weekend in the Berg with the family (the 1st time the whole family will be together in about 5 years !!!) And Kelsey has sooooooo been looking forward to that ... plus if he goes on tour he will only get to see his dad for 1 week, the last week of school, the tour is the week they are on school holidays ... I've told him to just wait & see what happens ... what is meant to be will be ....

PS: I think I should be changing this blog from The Craft Oracle to Rugby MUM.com (PMSL)