IT WAS rugby galore down at the Grange on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week.

The half-term break gave 20 players, from the under 13 and 14 age groups, the opportunity to attend the two-day Dragon Camp and fine tune their rugby skills.

The first day saw the players work through various core skills of their game, firstly working on handling and passing skills, then progressing on to rucking and mauling.

The afternoon saw a classroom session on nutrition and lifestyle, finishing off with an afternoon of games.

Day two was another full day of activity. Early rain led to a slight change of plans.

The players were asked to view the Basingstoke First team's game from the weekend and comment on things that could have been done to improve the performance.

There were some very constructive comments and I will be passing their feedback on to the team at training this week.

The afternoon saw more outdoor sessions covering important aspects of the game including defence, kicking skills and finished off with a game of seven-a-side rugby.

It was great to have a positive turnout for the camp and I thank all those who attended for their commitment.

The past week of the World Cup has seen some interesting performances.

The predicted nations have come through relatively unscathed, however England were given a real scare last Sunday.

Samoa proved to everyone left in the tournament that, despite their financial problems, they could be a real threat to any nation. They played a style of rugby perfectly suited to disrupt the outstanding English defence.

I'm sure New Zealand and a few other countries would have taken considerable interest in the game.

Once again, the Aussie battlers put their hand up for another World Cup victory with a ruthless display against Namibia.

Despite the opposition, they are starting to play a quality brand of rugby.

Unfortunately, you can never write off an Aussie!

Enjoy the next week of World Cup rugby.