Royal Wootton Bassett RFC

We believe the continued success of Royal Wootton Bassett RFC lies in the retention and advancement of the talented young players in our Colts section. We caught up with the Colts to find out how their season has been going.

Give us a bit of background on the Bassett Colts

We are regularly able to put out two Bassett Colts teams to play each weekend, which is testament to the effort from Colts Manager Martin Chard, as fixing up the matches has proved to be a very dynamic process. 

The squad is pretty large and at the moment we have 40+ players in the squad. But a big squad requires a big coaching team. They are headed up by Mark Roshier, alongside Dave Floyd, Steve Higginson, Keith Vaughn-Lewis, and Nigel Jenkins.

The lads train every Tuesday and Thursday evening, with our games normally played on Sundays.

But Thursday training is most popular as it includes tea after training - the front row often then have an extra tea once they get home.

How has the season gone so far?

We’ve had many successes this season, but our biggest achievement has been to play two teams, week in week out, whilst other clubs are folding.

Our successful campaign could be determined by our decision to pull out of the league this season and just stay in the cup competition, which has allowed us to go out and play friendlies against a variety of new opposition teams and we have fitted in masses of competitive games.

Whilst we have put out two regular teams, most of our competitors have just a single squad, so in many cases we have played a squad of older lads who have many more subs, which can be a battle. But this has given all our players lots of game time, which has seen them improve as the season has moved on.

What have been your most memorable results from this season?

Our big moment of the season was travelling to an away game at Hungerford under floodlights. It suddenly all seemed to come together for the team, with the forwards punching big holes in the defence and the wingers giving a show of blistering pace for a 0-47 win.

In January the Colts won the Bowl Final against North Dorset Colts. It was a great match against yet another good team, but unfortunately for them they chose to come to RWBRFC the day the Bassett game really came together. It was a great team victory with some awesome support running and virtually every kick going over. It was the sort of performance that should have put a big smile on all the supporters’ faces, but most especially for the coaches.

Where have your players come from?

Most of our players have come up through the Bassett Minis & Juniors sections. But we have also had a number of new additions from other teams who are unable to run a Colt’s squad - plus a few converted footballers. 

It’s nice to see that the lads originally from two age-groups are now a homogeneous squad. When we’ve been short on numbers, the U16s have lent us players who’ve made a great contribution.

Some of the Colts are beginning to make their way into the Senior teams. How has that gone?

A few of the Colts have played in the senior teams, with Rhys, Josh and Ioan playing for the 1st XV, while Herbie, Callum Bradley, Toby and Charlie Hix playing for the 2nd XV.  While it can make a hole in our squad it gives a chance for the remaining players to rise to the occasion in the Colts.

Which Colts fixtures should we watch out for before the end of the season?

With our tour approaching, the Colts are going international, with games against Rugby Liège in Belgium and the Hilvershum Tournament in the Netherlands with two teams entered in the U18s and U17s categories - its going to make a great end to the season!