Impact and Influence Alan Hubbleday RFU Coach and Player Development Officer for the South West
Background Continuum written in 1990 In 2007 identified need to visit first principles and Working Group formed. Exeter University commissioned to carry out a two year research programme. Three reports received and all evaluated by Working Group in November 2009. Following the reports 3 CBs wanted to take part in a pilot starting September 2010
U9 Tackle Scrum Lineout Ruck Maul 9v9 Continuum New Rules of Play
At the moment the game jumps up in two big a step and we never get the foundations in place tackle, pass, catch, run, before we are onto the next thing. And I think if we can do it in a more incremental way then we'll end up with a better balanced player coming out of it. Stuart Lancaster
Game Development - Rationale Child Development a focus Emphasis on competitive performance not competitive outcome Incremental Less structure (encourage skills & discourage fear of failure) Easier to referee Increased involvement More individual & collective decision making Less emphasis on contact & more on continuity in early years Rewarding intention to tackle in early years as much as ability to tackle More emphasis on individual skills within team context (running/passing/off-loading/support/kicking/defending) Greater awareness of late specialisation
Game Development - Rationale Provide a progressive player pathway which will develop our players by a step by step approach (incremental) Provide clear coaching guide lines for coaches to follow. Provide a game which is in line with the principles of Child Development based on extensive research & expertise
Underlying Principles Child centred approach Maintain integrity of rugby a game for all shapes and sizes Game development established on child development Increase involvement De-emphasise contact in early phase (U7 U13) Reduce structure of game Reduce influence of competition on development
RFU Player Development Model Impact and Influence Introduction and Development of the Game for Children/Youth AGE CURRENT NEW RULES OF PLAY U7 U8 U9 U10 U11 7-a-side, coaches on pitch, knock-on penalised 7-a-side, coaches on pitch, no going to ground 9-a-side, introduce tackle, ruck, maul, line-out, scrum (Technical) 10-a-side, introduce contested scrum (Specialisation) 12-a-side, introduce 5 player scrum (Technical and Early Specialisation), Kicking (Technical and Tactical 4-a-side, no coaches on pitch, play on from knock on 6-a-side, referee as facilitator, ground to score (if needs be) 7-a-side introduce tackle 8-a-side introduce scrum, nearest 3 (tactical and late specialisation mini ruck & maul 9-a-side, introduce tactical kicking, midi ruck/maul (2 v 2)
Small numbers..what you're looking at is for high involvement. So why have 15 a side or 11 a side, why not be running five, six, seven a side little games in small areas with the ball the right size that they can make sure they can control? And if you've got that high involvement then you get the natural sort of skill development which you can then build on later..you're back to saying, if they were doing it as a group of kids in the street what would they be doing? Well they wouldn't be looking for hundred metres by 70 m rugby pitch to play on don't over involve yourself as an adult don't look for the game that the adults play..i think we still do that Sir Ian McGeechan
Impact and Influence Averages per player (26 Pilot and 15 Current analysed) U7 RFU Player Development Model AGE PILOT v CURRENT Tries Runs Passes Tags 185% more per player 107% more per player 69% more per player 22% more per player
The longer you keep them (children) away from the physicality the better. Hold the players back, focus on running with the ball, not necessarily playing rugby. Graham Henry
Impact and Influence Average per Game - 33 Pilot and 21 Current filmed U9 RFU Player Development Model AGE NEW RULES v CURRENT Tries Runs Passes Tackles Ball in Play 85% more per game 37% more per game 126% more per game 16% more per game 22% more per game
There is a great initiative going through the Union at the moment, where we re looking at the continuum and trying to change the way that rugby s coached particularly in the development stage from tag to contact and it s a really good initiative I think if we can build on that where the gap isn t too big a jump we should be able to develop an even better group of younger players going through in the country Stuart Lancaster
QUESTIONS alanhubbleday@rfu.com
Pitch Size U7 CURRENT 1 x 60 x 30 metre pitch = 1,800 square metres 14 players NEW RULES 4 x 12 x 20 metres pitches = 960 square metres 32 players
Pitch Size 60 Metres x 30 Metres = 1800 square metres 14 players 8 players 16 players 24 players 32 players 12 x 20 3 12 x 20 3 12 x 20 3 12 x 20 3
Pitch Size U8 CURRENT 1 x 60 x 30 metre pitch = 1,800 square metres NEW RULES 1 x 45 x 22 metre pitch = 990 square metres