Children Children's Rugby: Interesting Facts & Ideas facts and ideas

• Rugby Football is a style of football  named after Rugby School  where running with the ball became common in 1830s.
• Rugby is seen most often as Rugby League and Rugby Union. The basic rules of the games are the same, getting the ball over the line to score a try, but each game also has its own specific rules.
• In 1871 the first recognised international rugby match was played between England and Wales.
• Rugby Union featured at the 1900 Olympics but after the 1924 Games it was dropped.
• The longest recorded successful drop goal is 77.7m by Gerald Hamilton `Gerry' Brand for South Africa v. England at Twickenham in 1932.
• The longest marathon playing rugby union was 24 hr. 30 min and 6 sec by members of the Congleton Rugby Union Football Club on 22-23rd July 2011. The members were divided in two teams, with the "Mali Lions" defeating the "Congleton RUFC Bears" 894-715!
• The fastest throw of a rugby ball was 48 mph (77.25 km/h) and was achieved by Joe Simpson, a professional rugby player for London Wasps, in 2011.
• The largest rugby ball is 4.709 m (15 ft. 5.39 in) long and 2.95 m (9 ft. 8.14 in) tall and was made in Hong Kong in 2011.
• The rugby ball is 12.066 m (39 ft. 7.03 in) in circumference from east to west and 9.34 m (30 ft. 7.71 in) from north to south and is about 20 times of the regular sized rugby ball!
• Touch Rugby is similar to other types of rugby (the aim is to score tries to win points) but without tackles, scrums, rucks, lineouts or kicking.
• 7-a-Side Rugby is a full contact sport but is generally faster than normal rugby as there are a smaller number of players involved in each scrum or lineout.
• More than 13,000 women and girls play rugby regularly in England.
• Tag Rugby is often played in primary schools and by clubs catering for a younger age group. Instead of full contact tackles the players each wear velcro ribbons attached to a belt and their opponent’s aim is to grab it. As the games are shorter and there are fewer players on the pitch there is more opportunity to practice rugby skills.

What are the important points to consider when choosing a rugby coach/club/team for your child to join?

• Are you and your child able to go along and watch a rugby coaching session? This would give you both the opportunity to see the dynamics between the coach and the players. It is important that skills are learnt but in a way that is fun.
• What does your child need to wear? Do you need to buy things like boots and gum shields before your child starts playing?
• Can you pay per session or is it necessary to commit to a term or course?

The International Rugby Board (IRB) was founded in 1886. With its headquarters in Dublin, the IRB is the world governing and law making body for the Game of Rugby Union.

The governing body for rugby union in England is The Rugby Football Union.

The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league football in Britain and Ireland. The RFL also administers the amateur and junior game across the country in association with the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA).

The BARLA runs youth leagues such as the Gilette National Youth League as well as the Yorkshire Combination Youth League and Hull Youth and Junior. There are county cups at age group level, known as the Yorkshire Youth Cup, Lancashire Youth Cup and the Cumbria Youth Cup. These cater for various age groups of children.

Qualifications of coaches

The International Rugby Board training programmes are as follows:

The Rugby Ready course is designed to give a greater understanding of some of the integral laws of Rugby Union. It covers important safety aspects of coaching the game as well as practical skills for delivering sessions.

Coaches level 1 - Introducing rugby. The purpose of this introductory course is to enable coaches to acquire basic skills so that players new to the game learn to play in safe, enjoyable competition.

Coaches level 2 - Developing rugby skills. The purpose of this course is to enable coaches to develop skills for coaching age grade and adult players.

Coaches level 3 - Analysis & preparation for coaches. The purpose of this course is to enable coaches to develop more advanced knowledge and skills.

Coaches - Coaching Sevens. The purpose of this course is to enable coaches to develop skills to coach the 7 a-side game.

• Agility
• Strength
• Physical Fitness
• Stamina
• Endurance
• Motivation
• Discipline
   

Rugby is a very physical game so by playing regularly your child should gain stamina and a good level of physical fitness as well the skills more specific to rugby like tackling and passing. Playing matches is also great for encouraging good sportsmanship and team spirit. Rugby clubs are usually very welcoming to the whole family so playing rugby can help build a child’s social confidence too.

Prince Harry is the vice-patron of England's Rugby Football Union (RFU). William was named vice-patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) in 2007. The Queen is patron of the RFU and WRU.

Vegas plays Rugby League. The comedian Johnny Vegas (real name Michael Pennington) was drafted in to play Rugby League for St Helens. The star, who is from St Helens, Merseyside, and is a lifelong Saints fan, made a five-minute appearance at the end of a testimonial game.

Some clips of children during their rugby coaching sessions.Tackling, Evasion and the Circle Tackle.