DESPITE a tough season so far for the two senior teams, Wellington Rugby Club’s juniors are growing in numbers and the results are getting better and better, writes Mark Allder.

The Colts were always going to find this a hard season due to having no second year Colts at the start of the season. We knew that with a full team of U17s playing against mainly U18s we would either get bullied or we'd stand up and match fire with fire.

We started the season with barely a team going to the first two league games with only 13. But from the start of the first league game against Clevedon we stood toe to toe with every team we have played. We have played some great rugby and every player has developed this season.

Numbers have picked up and we had 21 players for our last game against Minehead. We sit in 12th place in the 20-team divison with 3 wins from 6 above some very good teams like Wiveliscombe. We now have two U18s but all the rest will be Colts next season and that promises to be some season.

The U16s are improving each season and have only lost one league game so far. They now have a good settled squad which are playing some fantastic rugby. The 45-all draw at Oldfield who were top of the table stands out as a superb result. They've suffered with games being cancelled but they still sit in 10th place with up to three games in hand on the teams above them. With all bar two teams having lost games Wellington could still figure at the top of the table come the end of the season.

When you consider that at the start of last season we didn't have an U14s the coaches led by Trevor Debenham have done an amazing job to even get a team out. But these boys have done way better than that. They recently had an excellent win at North Petherton and when that gets added into the league table they will be in 9th place having won 4 out of 6 games. They will also still have games in hand over several of the teams above them.

All three teams will be aiming to finish in the top half of the table. Looking at the league tables Taunton, Hornets and perhaps Wiveliscombe are the only other clubs with any hope of managing that.

The U14s and U13s don't play in leagues but they are also improving rapidly. The 14s started with a thumping 50 - 0 win over Crewkerne under the lights. But they then lost their way a bit partly due to a lengthy injury list. But in December they beat three good teams in North Petherton, Winscombe and Taunton.

The U13s struggled at the start of season with low numbers, and getting use to a larger pitch but as the season went on player numbers increased. They've recently had a few good matches which has boosted confidence and they are looking forward to 2026.

All age groups from U16s to U18s are always looking for new players of all abilities. If you're interested in giving it a go follow the Wellington RFC Minis & Juniors facebook page where you'll find information about training and matches.