On Sunday, Zug Rugby Club welcomed teams from Basel, Bellinzona, Luzern, Tägerwilen, Winterthur, Würenlos and Zürich for our annual U6-U12 Home Tournament at Herti.

With an official heat warning in place, hundreds of young players from across the Deutschschweiz and Ticino came together for a fantastic day of rugby.

And what a day it was.

Our U6s kicked things off with a joint training session alongside Zürich before facing off in a match that Zug won 8-3. A great start to what was a memorable day for the club's youngest players.

At U8 level, Zug entered three teams, with one Zug team finishing top of the standings.

At U10 level, Zug again entered multiple teams, with one Zug team finishing tied for first place with Zürich and achieving something remarkable along the way: conceding zero tries all day.

At U12 level, Zug entered two teams, with one Zug team topping the group with four wins from four matches, scoring 25 tries and conceding just two.

What stood out most was not any single result.

It was the depth across the club.

Multiple Zug teams competed in every age group, and across the board our players demonstrated the positive energy, defence and intelligent use of space that coaches have been working on throughout the season.

A Whole Club Effort

While the players take centre stage, tournaments like this only happen because of an incredible effort behind the scenes.

A big thank you goes to Stadt Zug, the Sportamt and the groundskeeping team, who prepared the pitches beautifully, marked the lines and even set up a sprinkler to help keep everyone cool during a very hot day. It made a huge difference and helped us provide a safe, professional and enjoyable tournament environment.

Parents baked cakes, prepared salads, fruit and snacks, produced enough strawberry lemonade to keep everyone hydrated, and helped run food stalls, merchandise, registration and tournament operations throughout the day.

Our barbecue and taco crews stood over hot grills in challenging conditions, keeping players, parents and supporters fuelled from morning until afternoon.

A special thank you must also go to our officials team, drawn from across the entire club, including U14, U16, U19, Touch Rugby, First XV players, junior coaches and senior coaches. They did an outstanding job keeping matches running smoothly, educating players and helping create a positive rugby environment.

Club President Ian Morris joined us during the day and presented trophies to the winning teams.

Celebrating the Season

Following the tournament, our U8, U10 and U12 age groups held their end-of-season awards ceremonies.

Players were recognised for their achievements in categories including Best Forward, Best Back, Best Tackler, Most Improved, Best Newcomer, Coaches' Choice and the coveted Players' Player Award, voted for by their teammates.

It was a fitting way to close a fantastic season and an outstanding day for the club.

Thank you to every player, parent, volunteer, official, coach, sponsor and supporter who helped make the tournament such a success.

The rugby was excellent.

The atmosphere was even better.

Hopp Zug