Dark days ahead for English Rugby

StalkerUK

Active Member
Competitive or non-competitive was the topic this morning on BBC Breakfast. It came down to the fact that they wanted to change the way that rugby was played in schools so that everyone can take part in the sport. For example, there won't be a winning or a loosing team, they will mixup the 'good' players with the 'bad' players, so that everyone get some play time. So there is no urge to win, because no matter what, the result will still be the same.

One of the coaches actually said: 'this is the problem with England, we are getting to soft...'

I thought that is why there is an A-team, B-team and C-team, depending on your skill you will play in one of these categories.

Anyway, it might just be because I'm from South Africa and a bit rugby mad that this is getting to me, but I can't see that this is a good thing for the future.
 
It's not just in rugby mate that sums this country's attitude up with most things I'm afraid!! We can't be seen to have winners because it may up set someone or we can't do this because it may infringe this right or that right!! See you've got me going now lol well In my day if you where crap at sport you were incurged to try by not at the expense of the exceptional players and if you lost you tried harder next time . But there again I got banned from playing because I played to rough with the teachers and lost my chance of try outs.
 
Even crap like that might lead to it being played more in state schools. If it does then something good could come from it.
 
This must be a joke I thought we were moving away from this PC nonsense. They might do this at the schools but the clubs will never do anything non competitive.
 
Our Welsh rugby is in a dark place ATM. More worrying its not the schools but the different managements determined to knacker it :cuckoo:
 
One of the crimes of my generation is I went to through the whole of my school career and never touched a rugby ball! We were just told to grab a football and have a kick around, which I hated.

I also remember looking longingly at the cricket pads in the storeroom at school and never seeing them out on the field, I never got to play cricket and even now have to look up the rules on google!

Hence why I am very careful where I send my kids to school
 
Some bright spark once said that " Its not just the winning, but it`s the taking part that counts" ...... what a load of B@ll@cks ....... winning is everything when it comes to rugby, that`s why you have two sides from different towns cities and countries knocking seven bells out of each other, to WIN!

We need to get rid of the make do attitude that`s appeared into our society and get our country back to winning ways and not just in sport!

Bob
 
I agree that you have to have that winning mentality. I'm a great fan of rugby in all it's forms, having been schooled in the south and playing RU and then moving up north and getting to know RL. At the highest levels, club and country, the game should be about winning. Down the lower divisions, it should also be about winning. But one of the big things about rugby has always been that it's a game that any person (tall, short, big, small) can aspire to play (in Union more so). Look at the likes of Neil Back - too small to play as a flanker they said. Became a member of one of the best back rows the world has seen. (I could give examples from any country of people who have overcome physical drawbacks and been successful).

The way to get kids involved is to make it interesting and fun. At an early age, full contact rugby isn't on. Plus, it is at those early ages that you do need to get everyone involved because quite often the geeky, weedy kid turns into the fastest winger and the overweight young slob turns out to be the most destructive prop. So the desire to win should be nurtured gradually alongside a love of the game, with participation by all, touch rugby, followed by competitive school teams that you can get into if you're the best and progressing.

Obviously one or two threads on here inspired by the imminent 6 Nations. Anyway, I'll be making my annual pilgrimage daan saaf to watch the Ireland game at Twickenham. For sure, I want England to win! (other nations are available).
 
This makes me so sad, that we've come to the stage of even discussing this no wonder any of our youngsters are apathetic about voting with this sort of crap going on, I just find it hard to believe anybody realy listens to this crap or worse that some idiot thought it up. It's like the American girl that complained about the deer crossing signs on the freeway saying that they should move the signs somewhere safer for the deer to cross?? Can our administrators realy be this dimm, rugby is a competitive sport or did someone not tel them that?
 
I coach and teach rugby at school. I ensure my lessons are accessible to all, the better players model for the weaker players, then they will be split up so that they can all progress in the lesson. I wont put my club players in with the weaker ones as they will smash them to bits. When it comes to representing the school, the best team goes out on the pitch. If lads want to come and train (put the effort in) I'll help develop them and they will get some game time. However I will always put out the strongest side out, against some of the sides we play if we didn't it would be a blood bath and no one would benefit from the competition.
 
On a personal level my son has been in Uni for a couple of years now but I made sure he went to a Rugby school. They had an excellent system and were playing contact rugby from the moment that they started. He had been playing club rugby for years and so had most of the others around him. It was extremely competitive, they went on tours and in my experience from about the age of 14 when they had started to put some weight on, the contact was unforgiving. Lots of injuries, always an ambulance on the grounds and plenty of hospital admissions. From what I saw English rugby (at school level at least) seemed in good health.
 
this is because there is too many spineless lick spittles running the country who were bullied at school ! makes me mad !

on another note , who's looking forward to watching our English gods of rugby dry hump the garlic munching surrender monkeys at stade de france on Saturday?
 
this is because there is too many spineless lick spittles running the country who were bullied at school ! makes me mad !

on another note , who's looking forward to watching our English gods of rugby dry hump the garlic munching surrender monkeys at stade de france on Saturday?

Me for one although I might not feel quite so positive about the outcome as you seem to be. lol
 
I coach (or have coached) under 10's

contact is one thing

IMO there is a fundamental flaw to the training the kids receive and the structure they have to play in

I use this recent video of Chicago Doyle a NZ kid that is going viral

Chicago Doyle 2013 7s Rugby Highlights - YouTube

the first 5 secs of his run would have seen the ref blow up twice in the UK
once for running with one hand on the ball
once for the hand off

now you tell me how much easier it is to run with a ball under one arm compared to out front where someone can take it?
What is your first instinct when about to run into something or somone? (you put you hand out!)

if we continue to box our kids in and remove all ability for them to show their natural flair and JUST PLAY then we will never come close to replicating what the the Kiwi's have achieved

we have at least three kids on out P5 team who are just as good, one who I would say on the strength of a 2min video is much better.
he has an eye for lines and is quicker than most 18 year olds
He won't make it as he is already getting sick of being penalised for doing what comes naturally, alternating the ball from one arm to the other as he comes into contact with opposition players putting himself between ball and man.

no-one taught him that
 
this is because there is too many spineless lick spittles running the country who were bullied at school ! makes me mad !

on another note , who's looking forward to watching our English gods of rugby dry hump the garlic munching surrender monkeys at stade de france on Saturday?

So are you saying that you'd prefer it if the country was run by bullies? Because bullies are such altruistic and effective people? Geeezussss....

As for Saturday's game, I hope we garlic-munchers give you a lesson in humility, although hope is all you have to go on when you're a French rugby supporter because there's just no way of telling. It's infuriating! But really, let the best side win. My back-up team is Wales anyway, for no particularly good reason. They just remind me of Astérix.

Regadring rugby in schools, we all had to play at mine but I think that it would be pushing it to say that we were trained. What happened is that we'd usually play in teams made up from our class, and in each class there were usually a couple of boys who had retaken a year or two and were therefore twice the size of everyone else. So they'd take the ball and bash their way through the rest of us. And that was about the level of skill. No-one ever explained sportsmanship either, so after each game, the smallest boys would be singled out as being responsible for defeat and used as scapegoats. Only at university did I discover a more constructive approach to the game that wasn't essentially based on bullying. I'm not sure how typical that is. Also, I don't know if I should read anything into the fact that almost all our sports teachers were Welsh.
 
I coach (or have coached) under 10's

contact is one thing

IMO there is a fundamental flaw to the training the kids receive and the structure they have to play in

I use this recent video of Chicago Doyle a NZ kid that is going viral

Chicago Doyle 2013 7s Rugby Highlights - YouTube

the first 5 secs of his run would have seen the ref blow up twice in the UK
once for running with one hand on the ball
once for the hand off

now you tell me how much easier it is to run with a ball under one arm compared to out front where someone can take it?
What is your first instinct when about to run into something or somone? (you put you hand out!)

if we continue to box our kids in and remove all ability for them to show their natural flair and JUST PLAY then we will never come close to replicating what the the Kiwi's have achieved

we have at least three kids on out P5 team who are just as good, one who I would say on the strength of a 2min video is much better.
he has an eye for lines and is quicker than most 18 year olds
He won't make it as he is already getting sick of being penalised for doing what comes naturally, alternating the ball from one arm to the other as he comes into contact with opposition players putting himself between ball and man.

no-one taught him that


Bloody hell, get him signed up quickly.
 
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