Introduce the tackle towards end of U8 season?

PG_BoE

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To ease the transition to U9 many clubs until recently began introducing the tackle in training towards the end of their U8 season. This was also done because after nearly 2 seasons of tag players - in the nicest way - can start to get a bit bored with tag.

Then a communication was received from the RFU that it would invalidate player insurance if any contact took place during the U8 season and the above stopped.

Could I ask if the situation still remains the same? PG
 

crossref


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PG have you checked the Regs.. Regulation 15 and it's various appendices. What do they say about introduction of contact? .

http://www.englandrugby.com/governance/regulations/

(but in general I think disregard the insurance bogeyman that people like to throw about. People often talk about things invalidating insurance, generally with no knowledge of what the standard club insurance actually covers and almost no one has actually read the policy)
 

Flish


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I would suggest not, the rules dictate non contact work in the close season (pre approved activities only) for all age groups, so quite specific, and don't see how contact work would be allowed during a non contact season.

As an aside, I would suggest not starting contact as once introduced you can't go back. We ran a U8 festival as final fixture of last season, and one of the teams had (allegedly) been teaching contact for the last four months. Low and behold every time their little ones went for a tag they ended up wrapping arms and hitting with the shoulder. I had parents threatening to not let their kids on the pitch :-( at end of the day at U8 you often have a lot of green players joining in at end of the season, if their first experience is against a team playing 'contact tag' and they've had no preparation then they get bashed off the pitch, hate the experience and don't come back.

We let ours 'play' with tackle bags at the end of training sessions in the last month, and played two hand touch over the close season, but not a single tackle before September.
 

PG_BoE

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Cross Ref - thanks - these are some relevant words in the age grade guidance which seem to offer some flexibility now ..

Under 7s and 8s should not take part in contact rugby activities. During the latter stage of the U8 season, coaches may wish to include some of the activities outlined in the RFU Tag to Tackle resource,
 

crossref


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C
Under 7s and 8s should not take part in contact rugby activities. During the latter stage of the U8 season, coaches may wish to include some of the activities outlined in the RFU Tag to Tackle resource,

..which rather supports my suspicion that this
Then a communication was received from the RFU that it would invalidate player insurance if any contact took place during the U8 season and the above stopped.

is a myth !
 
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didds

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As a 2 x CCC I'd say this.

The insurance "thing" potentially is a myth.

But who wants to be the guinea pig to prove it is?

However, follow the regs etc and you won't ever be in the position to possibly be a guinea pig.


Your call. Its your house to potentially lose.

didds
 

crossref


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but let's be clear - it's the CLUBS that buy insurance. And this insurance specifically protects them against the conseqence of negiligent coaches. So it's simply not the case that a negligent coach 'invalidates' any insurance -- on the contrary it's one of the whole points of having that insurance.

However, agreeing with didds- you don't want to be that negligent coach, as being negligent opens you up to the possibility of the insurance company seeking to recover their payout from you and, potentially, victims pursuing you directly and other bad things...

Every coach should closely read the relevant RFU Regs, especially age-grade coaches.
 
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didds

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but let's be clear - it's the CLUBS that buy insurance. .

well... yes ... and no...

The RFU arranges insurance through Marsh.

Clubs got this cover historically by paying the RFU - but more recently (and even this several years) instead of the RFU handing out X to take back Y, they now AIUI just hand out Z (a lower amount) and clubs no longer pay the RFU. So clubs don't buy insurance themselves, they just receive cover under the RFU's insurances.

didds
 

barker14610


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Why don't the players tackle? At that age, they don't have enough mass or speed to really hit that hard. My son just finished up his 4th year of tackling in football. We have, as a league, had zero concussions and one broken bone. The broken bone was not due to a tackle. We have 60 players in the league.
 

Flish


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Can't speak to why, I've only coached under the new rules of play so all I know, but I can tell you that the group I've brought up have are massively varied in physique, my strongest is probably half the body weight again of my smallest, someone could get hurt. Maybe that's an argument for kids playing based on size grades not age, which I believe they do in NZ?
 

crossref


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Can't speak to why, I've only coached under the new rules of play so all I know, but I can tell you that the group I've brought up have are massively varied in physique, my strongest is probably half the body weight again of my smallest, someone could get hurt. Maybe that's an argument for kids playing based on size grades not age, which I believe they do in NZ?

size grades bring their own problems though - kids want to play with their mates, especially in school teams, and in NZ they have had instances of kids in saunas sweating off weight etc. It's a knotty problem with no easy answer
 

Flish


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True, we already have that now with birthdays the wrong side of September 1st, so a no win scenario. Personally I think touch instead of tag makes for an easier transition, and a bit more physicality at younger ages, but the current setup works, if we all stick to it
 

crossref


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personally I think we expect an awful lot of our kids -- new rules every year, different rules at school and club, and encouraged to constantly try different positions. Look at Sam Burgess to see what big ask that is!
 

TigerCraig


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We have tackiling at Under 8, and generally start introducing it at the end of the Under 7 season

If we left it any later I doubt we'd have any players - they would all be off at league

(but then we also have full rucking and mauling from Under 8, contested scrums from Under 10 and lifting in lineouts from Under 13)
 
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