Primary School pupils from the Vale of Glamorgan are at the heart of a special WRU project that is looking at the way we play junior rugby in Wales.
Primary School pupils from the Vale of Glamorgan are at the heart of a special WRU project that is looking at the way we play junior rugby in Wales.
Thirty nine boys and girls from St Andrew's Major Church in Wales Primary School in Dinas Powys were invited to the national team's base at the WRU Centre of Excellence in Hensol to take part in a series of games and exercises in which WRU rugby development coaches trialled a number of new ideas.
The session was filmed by a number of cameras that are built into the walls of the training centre, covering every angle of the play. These hours of video will now be scrutinised by coaches and analysts at the WRU to see which ideas are worth exploring further, and which could form part of a possible new skills curriculum for junior players.
Blues and Vale of Glamorgan Council's rugby development officer Matt Silva said: "The ideas being bounced around include smaller pitches, smaller team sizes and rolling subs. This would mean that on a Sunday morning if you have 30 players and a limited amount of space, you could split the numbers down to have more children playing, and nobody sat around waiting to play. This new project is taking a fresh look at how we are coaching, and what we are coaching, and is geared towards increasing participation, skills and the flow of the game for young players."
Non-contestable scrums were also considered to see whether children would benefit from becoming more familiar with them from a younger age.
Matt added: "It is exciting that the boys and girls from St Andrew's Major Church in Wales Primary School have played their part in a project that could have a hugely positive impact on junior rugby in Wales, and all of the pupils, parents and teachers are a credit to their school and the Vale of Glamorgan."
The school is extremely pro-active when it comes to rugby and sport in general. They have several tag rugby teams and one contact team, and the school's Deputy Head Teacher Duncan Mottram organises tag rugby tournaments in the rural Vale each half term, in which up to 20 schools take part.
Duncan Mottram said: "It was fantastic for the children to visit the WRU Centre of Excellence and run around in the same place where the Wales team train. They are very lucky to have had this opportunity to learn new skills and enjoy such a quality experience."
Parents and family play a huge part in a young rugby player's life by ferrying them around to pitches in all weathers, and Simon Mosley, father of 11-year-old Isabel, said: "I'm sure that playing in such a wonderful facility will inspire a lot of the children and they will go home with an even bigger interest in sport. Trying out some new ideas and rules has been really interesting. They have said that the only thing that would have made the day better is if they had bumped into one of their rugby heroes, with Shane Williams top of their wish-list!"
To find out more about rugby development in the Vale of Glamorgan please call Matt Silva on 01446 704603.