Blues minis put on a show at Kingsholm Stadium

The Newbury Blues minis section enjoyed a memorable end to 2022 when 60 of them, aged between four and 12 and accompanied by more than 130 parents, were invited to Gloucester’s Kingsholm Stadium to take to the field during their Premiership game with London Irish on New Year’s Eve.

In the build up to the match, the youngsters soaked up the atmosphere in the fan zone, meeting Gloucester legends Jordy Reid and Mark Atkinson.

Resplendent in their Blues kit, the players then took to the field before kick off to take part in a parade in which best friends Dylan Davies and John Teah, both under-sixes, stole the hearts of the crowd, holding hands and waving their flags furiously at the rear of the group.

Then, set against the backdrop of 16,000 roaring fans, the parade welcomed the teams onto the pitch as the younger group formed a guard of honour while the older members displayed Gloucester’s giant crest in the middle of the pitch.

No sooner had the Newbury contingent found their seats, settled in and dried off following the pouring rain, than it was time to take to the pitch again to provide the half time entertainment.

Blues players took part in six games of tag rugby on the hallowed Kingsholm turf and Simon Best, the under-sevens and eights coach who organised the trip, and the rest of the Blues coaches were delighted with how impressive their charges were.

George Liverton, James Murray, Jamie Reekie, Oliver Dymott, Harry Jonas, Derick Myers, Jake Willan, Charlie Harsent, Rafe Lloyd and Sam Sneath all provided pivotal contributions as the Blues players wowed the Kingsholm crowd.

A particular highlight from a memorable day was provided by Sam Wood, who has only just turned five, as he made diving tackle after diving tackle before scoring the match winning try, much to the delight of the traditionally raucous Shed Stand.