Rugger!!

Try time!

Today (and I hope I do post this today as I have old posts waiting to be written let alone posted)  Albug took part in his first rugby tournament.

Albs started at the local rugby club in September, with Mr B quickly getting pulled into being a coach there too, so our Sundays are now spent with the two of them running around in the mud.
 
As I suspect you can guess, getting 6 year olds to grasp the basic rules is a somewhat challenging, utterly chaotic experience. To them the posts marking the pitch are nothing but a trip hazard to be dodged as they run over them, passing the ball at all is an action they'd all like to avoid, with passing backwards only achieved by them turning completely around and then lobbing it away as hard as they could.  Not so much passing backwards as passing forward but facing the wrong way.  Class.

Mr B was a referee at the festival and I am truly amazed by the patience he showed and the attention, direction and support he gave the children even after two hours of rugby ridiculousness. And it was hot!  True to form so far this autumn, having headed out this morning all layered up in the freezing cold, within a few hours were all baking alive, peeling off layers as quickly as possible. 

Medal pride!

Despite the heat, everyone had a wonderful day.  Even Percy enjoyed being admired/mocked by the crowd.  Smalley did great - he spent three hours on the sideline without a toy and didn't complain once about being bored but had fun watching and chasing the bigger boys around between games (which last a whopping 10 minutes each).

Obviously I'm completely biased but Albs was brilliant, scoring a good number of tries, making lots of tags and even tackling down one child (followed quickly by a blow on the whistle by dad who highlighted this was a non contact game.  Albs quickly defended himself "I was just trying to get his tag."  Poor chap, it's not his fault getting the tag meant getting low and blocking with force!)  The apple doesn't fall far from the team it seems.

Back home for Despicable Me 3, lego all round the house and food followed by food followed by food.  Rugby all morning makes for bottomless stomachs.