Sunday 21st September marked a great day in the history of rugby on the island as the club celebrated 10 years of youth rugby. What began as a handful of U6s and U7s has grown into over 180 players playing rugby across every youth age group including a vibrant Colts section.

To celebrate, our Minis and Juniors sections all trained at home, made truly unforgettable by the presence of England Rugby Head Coach Steve Borthwick and his assistant Richard Wigglesworth putting our Colts through their paces.

Steve Daniels; a current Colts coach and cofounder of the of the Mersea Foxes youth section in 2015 had this to say about the day: “Celebrating our 10-year anniversary really shows just how far this club has come. Ten years ago, we had nothing — now we’ve got close to 200 kids here every Sunday, and we even welcomed the England coaches to Mersea. The amount of pride, fun, and focus the lads took from being coached by the best of the best was just incredible. To have Steve Borthwick and Richard Wigglesworth working with them is something they’ll never forget."

Underpinning a fantastic morning of coaching was Char keeping us full, and Mojams pumping some cool tunes until mid-afternoon. Director of Rugby Alex Lacey revelled in the impact of our keen coaches and the support of local schools, saying: “Having kids interested in rugby at 14 different age groups is testament to the vision our key stakeholders have for Mersea Island and the investment our committee has in supporting local rugby.

With a proud group of members, a competitive senior team, and a thriving youth section, Mersea Island RFC can no doubt look forward to another prosperous decade of rugby.