matthew wrote:And in those days, the wisdom was that no one played rugby before age 11 because it was too complex...so no-one did.
IMHO Mini and Mod are the way forward. Build the kids skills, give them a chance to get their hands on the ball and run, pass or tackle and encourage coaches to avoid "give it the big/strong/fast kid" rugby in favour of a full contribution from all players.
Six year olds can't be expected to play a complex game...but 11 year olds are capable of a lot more. The rules should and do recognise this.
I've watched a lot of junior rugby over the last 15 years and most of the kids I've seen play are not lost to the game. They are still youth players, academy players, a few super league players, open age players and practically all are fans of the sport. (paradoxically the "academy rejects"
tend to be those who leave the game completely)
But are those not the ones who are told they will make the grade early on [ relatively speaking ] only to see that dream dissapear
And the disapointment is then hard to accept , maybe one of the reasons the RFL try to restrict the number of youngsters each club can have on it's scholarship
