The Game of rugby is not just about winning games its about a life journey that never ends. Rugby players will make life long friends, some of whom will go and play for a school or university but who will all ways belong to our great club. The primary goal of the coaches is to make men of what are now boys who in time will turn out to be great players.
Rugby is not more important than the boy that is why we coach the person not just the game. The strong discipline that the boys learn from training, to the way that they should inter act with the referees and other teams, prepares them for what challenges may lie ahead in the future.
Rugby has a place for every boy who wants to play; from the fast, tall, jumper, kicker, tackler, passer, thrower, decision maker to the physical player. The game is played from 1 to 22. A great team means that each player must play his part when it is required. The best team utilises teamwork in support of a common goal. Teamwork is huge part of rugby and is also a key life skill. This is what these boys strive to achieve each week when they attend their club.
Parents should note that the boys have moved up to another level this year. They are now doing a 5 man scrum and a 5 man line out. They are allowed to compete in the scrum and in the line out. They can also kick from inside the 22 metre line. All of this means that they have a lot more structure to their game. Structure is another life skill though not one that always comes instinctively to an eleven year old boy as us parents can testify to !
It's important that the boys can train as much as possible so that they can get the skills mastered as soon as they can. During the year when selecting players for games, players will have to be picked in a position suitable to their skill level and physical size (this is regularly reviewed ensuring that no boy is pigeonholed into one position.) We urge you to have a look at the guidelines set by the I R F U in this regard.
It is a pleasure to coach these boys. They are a great bunch of boys and thoroughly enjoy their game of rugby. They are fun to work with, most of the time !
We ensure that the boys are very aware of the great players who went before them from this very old club, another key skill in life ! This is not what drives them forward, it’s the game itself.. This, they clearly love and the more they train the more they want to improve and play to achieve whatever level they will achieve.