Honiton RFC youth teams take on Chiefs

Youth teams at Honiton RFC were given a special treat this week when they were given the chance to practice their skills with some of Exeter Chief’s finest players in a special, one-off training session. The event was organised by Exeter-based Financial Claims Management Company EMCAS, active sponsors of both clubs, who saw an opportunity to give the Honiton youth teams a unique experience, as part of helping to inspire the next generation of professional players.

Jack Nowell, fresh from his England debut, along with scrum-half Dave Lewis, back-row David Ewers, prop Luke Cowan-Dickie and centre Sam Hill all gave their time to the U12s, U13s and U14s of Honiton in a 90 minute session, which saw the Honiton teams put through their paces and get top-class advice from players who compete at the highest level.

The session kicked off with passing practice and beating your man in different scenarios, some of the fundamentals of rugby. The forwards and backs then separated to concentrate on some of the specific skills they were looking to improve on. With Chiefs players from all positions at the session, they were able to give the children one-on-one coaching and inspiration in their chosen position.

At the end of the session, the children had the chance to ask the players some of their burgeoning questions, get some autographs and photographs to take home. As a local lad from Exeter, Sam Hill talked about how he started playing football at school before soon discovering rugby with his mates and never looking back since. Having played for Crediton FC in his youth, Sam had some experience of playing at Honiton.

Jack Nowell said: "It wasn't all that long ago that I myself was part of a mini/junior section down at the Pirates in Cornwall, so it was great that we were able to go along to Honiton and pass on a few training tips to the youngsters.

"I think as professional players we have a duty to get out into the local community and help spread the message of not only the Chiefs, but rugby union as a whole. With the Rugby World Cup coming to England and Exeter next year, it's a great opportunity to get young people playing and learning about the game."

Simon Lancaster, Chairman of the mini and junior section at Honiton RFC commented: “We were contacted by EMCAS about some Exeter Chiefs players joining one of our training sessions, but we didn't even dream of potentially hosting England world championship U20's winners and the local hero Jack Nowell fresh from his 6 nations tour and try scoring performance in Rome! The players that arrived were out and out professionals and posed great role models for the hordes of Honiton RFC U12 - U14 players waiting to put them through their paces. We were very impressed with the players willingness to get involved and we'd like to express our most sincere gratitude to both Exeter Rugby club and EMCAS for making a lot of players (and mums) very happy!"

David Walter, Commercial Director from EMCAS added, “There is a big rugby following amongst our staff at EMCAS, but also as a successful business built on giving high-quality professional advice, it is important to us to recognise expertise, in addition to nurturing grass roots talent. What better way to do that than to bring the potential rugby stars of the future together with our finest players, to inspire and motivate them to give their best and also learn some top-class tips.”