End of Season 25-26

A fantastic Colours and prize giving evening was a lovely way to bring the curtain down on our 2025/26 Minis’ season. It was so nice to see the club buzzing with players and parents and to celebrate the progress our Minis have made through the season.  

We’ve had an excellent year on the pitch with our teams attending a number of festivals, playing West London League matches and competing in the Waterfall Cup (u12) - alongside our regular Sunday morning training sessions at ODP.

As ever, the weather proved a challenge with the SW London “monsoon season” hitting us in January and February, which led to some “character building” training sessions in pouring rain!

We can be extremely proud of the festivals we put on at Old Deer Park with the Midis, St David's and Dragon festivals being major highlights in our Minis calendar.  This year we welcomed about 2,270 children from 210 teams across the three festivals.

We get great feedback from visiting teams who often call out the warm London Welsh welcome they receive, and our ability to keep our tournaments running to time! These festivals always bring to life the vibrant community we have here in our Minis section with so many parents and siblings helping out to make these days a success.

A major highlight, rounding off the season for our London Welsh Minis was the fantastic series of tours at the end of April and the start of May with the Under 9s, Under 10s, Under 11s, and Under 12s proudly representing the club!

Our U10s and U12s travelled to Frankfurt to compete in a large international tournament, gaining invaluable experience against disciplined teams from across Europe, with the two mixed U12s teams finishing a credible 8^th and 14^th (out of 20 teams), while the two mixed u10 teams ended the weekend in an impressive 10^th and 14^th place (out of 22 teams).  

Meanwhile, our U9s and U11s enjoyed a packed weekend in south Wales with visits to Cardiff, the Cardiff and Scarlets home URC games and culminated with Saturday afternoon’s visit to Mumbles to battle the strong Welsh teams at the Mumbles RFC Festival. With Sunday morning spent surfing and barbequing on the beaches of Gower, the incredible sun and warm weather was a welcome addition to top off a great weekend’s action.

These tours collectively provided incredible rugby challenges, created lasting memories, and further strengthened the spirit of the London Welsh Minis, all made possible by the significant efforts and commitment of the parents and coaches.

Off the field, the Christmas party saw the annual rendition of our re-worked Christmas songs and the Minis once again hosted the ever popular quiz night. 

This season saw the u9’s Mia Botha take up the role of our Girls’ Focal point and the establishment of the London Welsh daffodils, saw the girls across the whole Minis’ section meet up for a girls-only social event and a virtual community for parents of Minis’ girls.

I’d also like to thank Tom Holohan (Finance) and Rachael Davies for their help in running the Minis Leadership team this season; it is greatly appreciated.

As our U12s move up to youth rugby, we must say a few ‘thank yous and goodbyes” to our outgoing u12’s cohort.   With Cenny Roberts steering a tight ship from a management perspective and Paul Carey helping on and off the field, the u12s have had a strong season.

There have been a number of coaches, physios, first aiders and parents who have helped over the years but special thanks goes to Sanj Virdi and Ali MacDonald for coaching the two u12s teams this season. We wish you all the best in Youth rugby.

Lastly, after 3 years of running the London Welsh Minis it is time for me, Paul (Fixture Secretary) and Cenny (Head of Festivals) to step down from our roles and hand the reigns to another group of volunteers.

I’d like to personally thank Paul and Cenny for the countless hours of time they have committed over the last 3 years; be it chasing teams to fill all the slots for our festivals, badgering companies to sponsor our Dragon Festival programme or completing the multitude of small tasks that pop up throughout the season, which allows the Minis to function and prosper.

I’ll miss the February and March conference calls and Paul’s eclectic mix of costumes that he has worn on Christmas party day!

I’m pleased to announce that a new group of parents has volunteered to step up and fill our boots. Thanks to David Botha (Chair), Richard White (Fixture Secretary) and Federico (Head of Festivals) - who are all currently in the u9s, for stepping up to lead the Minis into our next chapter.

London Welsh Minis is a special place for children to play rugby, primarily thanks to the group of committed and skilled coaches and team managers, who make every Sunday morning a fun experience; where children learn to play rugby in a friendly and supportive environment.  A big thank you to all our coaches, team managers  and volunteers for supporting our Minis throughout the season and helping to make this section of the club such a success.

The kit has been packed away for 25/26, but planning has already started for next season.  We are always looking to recruit new players for our Minis section, so if you know any boys and girls who want to try rugby at Old Deer Park, please email me at minischairman@londonwelshrfc.co.uk).  We would love to have them!  Have a great summer.