Bryntirion Primary School hosting a special visit from Ospreys players Rhys Webb and Tom Isaacs recently to round off a series of weekly coaching sessions from Tom Cole, the Ospreys Player Development Officer for the Bridgend.
Cole was a regular visitor throughout last term delivering rugby sessions to the youngsters and he was joined for the final visit by Webb and Isaacs, who joined in the fun and games, taking part in rugby activities with the children before answering all the children's questions. To round off the visit they spent time with the pupils, posing for photographs and signing autographs.
Webb, who himself comes from Bridgend, said:
"It was a great visit. As someone from Bridgend, I really enjoyed going into one of the local schools and meeting the children. They all had a lot of fun and the questions we had were great. The children had really thought of what to ask and some of the questions were really tricky. Tougher than any interview I've done, that's for sure!"
Tom Cole added:
"Bridgend is an integral part of the Ospreys region, with a proud history of player development and a local rugby community that continues to thrive. Our schools programme is allowing us to underpin that with initiatives that will help to grow interest in rugby, and in the Ospreys, helping to ensure the long term sustainability of rugby in the Bridgend district."
The pupils themselves followed up the visit with some feedback of their own, writing to the Ospreys to let them know what fun they had. A selection of their comments can be found below:
"I enjoyed listening to the rugby players Rhys Webb, Tom Isaac and Coach Tom, they taught us skills. We played a game, we had to go around cones, it was fun and my team won. After we sat down we were allowed to ask questions about rugby, how to keep fit and food you should eat. We saw Rhys Webb and Tom Isaac tackle each other."
Natasha Leeson age 7
"This morning Rhys Webb, Tom Isaacs and Tom Cole came to my school. They played games with us and it was fun. I liked going in and out of the cones, they taught us fun skills got some balls for us to play with. I got an autograph."
Cieran Walters age 7
"This morning some rugby players came to school and we done some sports. Rhys was 6 when he started rugby, we loved the lesson and we loved the fun things that we did."
Madison Williams age 7