Dragons’ rugby masterclass

December 4, 2020

The senior rugby players at Monmouth School for Boys have been put through their paces by top coaches from Welsh PRO14 club, Dragons.

Dragons Academy head coach, Matt O’Brien, and Sam Hobbs, the Academy forwards coach, ran a skills-based masterclass with the Monmouth students.

It was a very rewarding afternoon for the Monmouth boys, who clearly enjoyed the session with the Dragons coaches.

Dragons’ Mark Hewitt, the former Worcester Warriors Academy manager, supported the two visiting coaches on a very successful afternoon.

Some of the boys will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of former Head Boy, Hallam Amos, who cut his rugby teeth at school before joining the Dragons and establishing himself on the international stage with Wales.

Hallam, who hails from Cross Ash, near Abergavenny has won 22 Test caps for Wales at wing/fullback and is now playing at Cardiff Blues as well as studying Medicine at Cardiff University.

Due to the current restrictions, the boys are not able to play competitive matches against other schools and the Monmouth coaches are trying to keep the squad engaged and active.

Master in Charge of Rugby, Mr Jon Despontin, said: “On behalf of the boys, I want to thank the Dragons for putting on such an excellent and rewarding training session and we look forward to welcoming them back.

“As a school, we are adapting our coaching sessions regularly because it’s vital that they remain fun and engaging at all times whilst adhering to the current measures and restrictions in place to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection.”

The visit from the Dragons’ coaches was hot on the heels of sessions delivered by Old Monmothian, Adam Thomas, the founder of the Wild Bunch Touch rugby organisation.