We made the short trip up the road to Saracens Amateurs Rugby Club for a full minis fixture morning, with all age groups playing each other right up to Under 11s.

As always, Saracens Amateurs put on a lovely set-up. Clear flags showing where teams needed to go (always appreciated), a welcoming coach team, positive parents, and great food on offer. The weather helped too — warmer than the last couple of weeks, still a bit cloudy, with the sun breaking through towards the end.

It was great to be able to walk around and watch games across the club. The Under 11s stood out for their physicality and teamwork. Support lines were strong, rucks were being cleared well, and scrums are clearly becoming part of their game now. One try we watched came after seven phases, with nearly every player involved before the score in the corner — brilliant patience and composure. Defensively, the effort was huge, with some big carriers needing two or three Finchley players to bring them down, and nobody giving up.

The Under 9s were a joy to watch. A really positive mixed group of girls and boys playing together, showing great teamwork and flair. Lots of good offloads off the floor and strong support play, especially impressive as this is a key transition age into contact rugby. Numbers here are strong, which is exactly what you want to see at this stage.

Under 8s showed clear progress from recent weeks — staying in the game, keeping play in bounds, and real improvements in tagging. All the work on hunting down the ball carrier in training is paying off, with confident, effective tagging throughout.

Under 7s had a brilliant turnout, with at least four new players joining us on the morning. That gave us 15–18 players and meant we had more players than the hosts across the age groups — a really positive sign for the club.

A special mention to the Under 10s as well. Their coach was full of praise afterwards: “They listened to everything I asked them to do and did it — fantastic.” Some great results and a very pleased coaching team.

Across all games, the respect on show was excellent. Handshakes at the end, congratulations shared, and referees thanked for their time and volunteering — exactly what minis rugby should look like.

Overall, another great Saturday morning for Finchley RFC at a fantastic club with a warm, friendly atmosphere. If anyone is thinking of getting involved, new players are always welcome — just drop us a message at Join@finchleyrugby.com and we’ll happily share times and details. Bring friends along and see what Finchley Minis are about.

Matt Hastings
Minis Coach