U10 New Rules Query

[Browner]

Hasn't changed. You can see the look in their eye as they realise they have made a mistake in one game that would have got them a round of applause in another.

Crazy.... ,the people involved need to find a way for this information to get fedback to the RFU ......

That said it starts to prepare young players for a lifetime of non uniformed approach to our Laws :shrug:

 

[Foggy-Balla]

I empathise thoroughly! My boy plays U9 NRoP at our Club and Prep School Continuum 9-a-side at School. I have to spend all morning before Club matches saying, "don't rip the ball, don't rip the ball," so he doesn't end up in bother.

The "Three In" thing for Scrums was explained to me by an RFU chap at a recent Youth Committee Meeting thing at our Club as part of getting children used to playing all over the pitch and not specialising too early. Today's Prop might be tomorrow's winger! Certainly I started at U7 on the wing, went through all positions less Scrum Half to Tight Head for my School in the Sixth Form, only to be put on the wing for my own safety in my first senior game before ending up a back row (and occasionally second row because at 5' 11" I was one of the tall blokes) in my final Club.

The biggest thing about the NRoP vs Continuum to me is how the RFU let Clubs have a choice over what they would adopt. We are a NRoP Club in a Contiunnum desert and find it hard to get fixtures within a reasonable distance. It's complete cake & @rse IMNSVHO...

 

[crossref]

Sigh, For me while I appreciate the 'don't specialise' argument, it should be over the season that kids play in different positions -- not all in one game.

 

[Lee Lifeson-Peart]

it should be over the season that kids play in different positions -- not all in one game.

Pah! You've obviously never played 5th team rugby in the late 80s! :biggrin:

 

[OB..]

Pah! You've obviously never played 5th team rugby in the late 80s! :biggrin:

In my time I played every position in the book, and a few that don't occur in training manuals.

(5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ...)

 

[crossref]

but being serious rugby IS a game for specialists, it's part of the fabric and beauty of it, part of what makes it attractive to people of different characters and different body shapes.

at the kids level the specialisation can be a wonderful thng, it brings some structure that the kids can work around, they know what their job is, it's a great alternative to football where a kid has no special role and can end up lost not knowing what to do, left out. In rugby you can give that kid a particular job to do, and suddenly he has a purpose and enjoys it.

I think the current fashions underestimate the value of specialist positions, and over-egg the dangers of kids being pigeonholed. My experience of followiing an age group from U7 to u18 is that very very many players have changed positons often several times, dictated by body shape, size realtive to the others (which changes) attitude, relative speed and fitness (which changes) choice and the needs of the team - often the needs must of the team

As just one example I can think of a player who went from second row (he was quite heavy) to hooker (everyone else got bigger than him), to scrum-half (a combination of the existing scrum half leaving and him having suddenly skinnied down and gone from plump to actually quite fast) to winger (the team have two other scrum halves now and he was a late developer - now he is tall, skinny and fast) I don't think that's particualrly unusual.

And I think that's typical. I really DON'T recognise this awful vision of 100s of kids trapped palying in a position they don't like.
What is other people's experience?

 

[AntonyGoodman]

All I can say @Crossref is that we have lads of all shapes and sizes who come along every week and seem to have a good time They all know each others areas of strength and weakness, and all play in positions of the field that make best use of those strengths relative to the team (no coaches have told them where to play). Kids are just clever like that

For me the NRoP are much more about bringing in the rules in a phased and controlled approach. If you came and watched our games after looking at the rules, you might come along thinking you were going to be watching some sort of 'wrapped in cotton wool' version of the game, it is not at all! Tackles, Rucks and mauls are very physical and the tempo of the games is very high. I have not experienced what came before the NRoP so I can't compare those two things, but I can say that my experience of the NRoP has been very positive.

[Apart from the fact they are not written very clearly ]

Thanks,

Antony

 

[Stormkahn]

Just to concur with @AntonyGoodman and @crossref;

We've not played with specific positions and the lads have always just played in their "natural" spots. Really at the lower levels there's no formation on the field or numbers so it's difficult to really put kids in positions as per the 15 a side game.

Prior to this year we've always played with 2 wingers (quick lads) and the rest. Late last season for a festival i designated 2 of the lads as "inside wingers" because we needed somebody to provide better support for the wingers who're getting isolated so I guess outside center-ish. I should point out that we have some lads who you could only describe as stupid fast; one is nicknamed the gingerbread man because of the nursery rhyme and because he's ginger...he's never been chased down, ever.

This year with kicking we do have more of a formation and are edging towards positions; some of the bigger, slower who love to be in the ruck are forwards and will always be front and center when the ref shouts scrum. We haven't put them there as such, they've naturally fallen into a role they're suited to and enjoy.

Equally we have lads who're clearly backs, they're quick, good hands, kick well etc.

Obviously we have guys in between too, the floaters if you will.

What we don't have yet is a scrum half/half back, 3rd man to the ruck moves the ball; it has been discussed just because sometimes we have 2-3 fannying about at the base of the ruck all expecting the other to clear it out.

The only reason a lad is in a position is because that's we're he can best contribute based on his ability and the requirements of the team. It changes, fact.

@crossref has it spot on, I don't see any kids trapped in positions.

cheers,

Dave.

 

[Foggy-Balla]

Luckily I'm still at U9 NRoP for Club so we don't really have a problem about positions, although I do try and urge that the first receiver from a FP is one of our lumps. I then try and get the quick boys outside.

Did this at the Farnborough Development Festival at the weekend and it turned out the lump, a new boy who hasn't had much ball this season*, is also actually blooming fast. Think a white, eight-year-old Steffon Armitage and you get the picture. It seemed the oppo were scared to tackle something so relatively large and fast, and he scored about four or five solo tries! It won't last as eventually someone will take him on, but it's jolly good while it does.

For Anthony, I also see the Pre Schools Continuum format at my boy's School (I work there so have a good excuse to go off and inspect the games fields frequently, it just so happens his year are playing on those days) and it seems to be a slightly, but not much, watered down version of the game I played in the late-70s. Where we are lucky is that certainly in the School A team we have had not problems with boys being put off by being hit. At Club level I can think of several who would not now be playing if they had been tacked at U7 or even U8.

*May start another thread about making sure newcomers aren't excluded. However that's more a coaching than refereeing thing, so probably not right here...

 

[Stormkahn]

We don't have a problem with the schools vs club regs just yet....

The U13 (current yr8) are playing old rules so there's no difference, more so because my lad plays up fairly regulary with the yr9s.

The U11 (current yr6) in theory play tag at school in our area but our school doesn't have a team, having said that when I've mentioned it they've looked at me like I'm mad!

Next year however will be an issue when the current yr6s head off the the comp, if school are basically playing continuum and ours will be NRoP. They won't have played with line-outs, contested scrums ETC. That will be messy.
Dave.