The rugby stars of the future at Perrott Hill Prep School were put through their paces recently by former national league player Ed Lewsey, who is now head of rugby at King’s College in Taunton, and head coach at Chard Rugby Club, Ben Thomas, writes Richard Walsh.

A strong relationship has existed between the two schools, and a couple of years ago Simon Sheldon, director of sport at Perrott Hill, took several of the boys to a pre-season rugby camp at King’s.

The recent coaching session at Perrott Hill, delivered in warm sunshine, built on the high levels of skill development that the students already have, and included some emphasis on attacking space and timing of the pass, with a small amount of one-to-one contact practice, all of which was delivered within the RFU coronavirus guidelines.

Afterwards, Lewsey said: “It is always a pleasure to visit Perrott Hill - it’s such a beautiful school, and we always receive a warm welcome from staff and children alike.

“We were really impressed by the skills on show from the young boys.

“Although we cannot play conventional rugby at the moment, it is great to see that schools and clubs have adapted in order to provide players of all ages and abilities the opportunity to train together.

“This has so many benefits for players’ health and wellbeing, building friendships and a sense of unity.

“I only hope that we can take it to the next level before too long.”

He added: “The RFU have been really proactive in giving clear guidance to the community game, so credit to them too.”

Sheldon added: “Ed and Ben once again enthused the boys with their exciting and energetic coaching style.

“Due to contact skills being minimised, the session focused on handling skills and evasive running.

“The boys at Perrott were grateful for the time taken by the King’s coaches, who encouraged many to re-evaluate their skillset and take more time to build up the finer aspects of the game.

“There is a good link being forged through sport at the schools and one which we are very excited to see blossom further.”