It took some organising as all the Minis were at home training and the Under 13s, 14s, 15s and girls were welcoming rugby opposition: Regents Park, Finchley, Ealing and Woodford, but all the players and their parents, family members and friends were able to join together today at 11.00 to support the national Remembrance Sunday.

The assembled crowd of over 200 people heard read an appropriate poem for young people on such an occasion: "Why Wear A Poppy" by Don Crawford. As tradition, the Last Post was played; followed by two minutes' silence; and finally the The Reveille. During this refection, three flags (the Remembrance flag and two Club flags) were also lowered and the raised in recognition of our fallen heroes.

This year the Club are especially sad to report the passing of three past players: Mick Byrne, Nick Dunster and John Quinn. These players will not be known to the majority of members, but those of a certain era (like me!) have fond memories of playing with them, especially when the Club was based at its first headquarters, off Charlie Brown's roundabout in South Woodford. Nick (9) and Mick (10) were a formidable half back partnership, "fondly" called Nickers and Triggers. Mick was also a pretty handy Off-Spinner at cricket but is probably best remembered for his post match entertainment. He had an amazing voice and regularly would lead the post match singing into the early hours of the morning. RIP

Recognising this special day is an important feature of our Club's life and underpins the core value of the rugby code.

School of Ruck

As reported above, there was also some rugby taking part. While the Under 13s looked smart enough for school, post match, (wearing number ones) they did endure a masterclass in rucking against a well drilled and competitive Regent’s Park team. Right from kick off Enfield were on the back foot with the opposition earning the right to go wide by quickly protecting and recycling their own ball. Equally our own strong and silky runners struggled to find space as Ignatians had to work hard to retain procession. Despite quickly falling behind Enfield did stay in the game with a characteristic direct scoring run from Adam (enjoying a great debut season). Ciaran also scored a terrific try before the break when the team did work the ball into the wide channel. Still with plenty to do, he arched his run then beat the last man to dot down.

The second half saw momentum remain with Regents Park. However the boys stayed committed with valiant defence until the end. There were some notable defensive and resilient performances out on Pitch 1.

The Under 13s may have been quicker to the post match spaghetti than some of the rucks but valuable lessons were learnt. A long winning run had come to an end for boys used to success but they know you learn more in defeat.

Next lesson (AKA training) 6:30-7:30pm Thursday