RugbyRebels

My 11yo daughter has got herself picked for a contact rugby tourney. She’s had almost no experience of contact rugby, and hasn’t got a gum shield. I’ve no idea if it’s mixed or girls only. So, 2 questions for those who know about age group stuff... is it full contact with no holds barred at 11, and should gum shields be mandatory/recommended?

Donny osmond wrote:My 11yo daughter has got herself picked for a contact rugby tourney. She’s had almost no experience of contact rugby, and hasn’t got a gum shield. I’ve no idea if it’s mixed or girls only. So, 2 questions for those who know about age group stuff... is it full contact with no holds barred at 11, and should gum shields be mandatory/recommended?

At 11 years old it'll be full contact, yup. Pretty sure they do that from U9s up but it's been a while since I was involved in that.

Gumshields are not mandatory from the RFU/SRU - they recommend it IIRC. Schools and clubs will enforce it though. You should get her one anyway - it's not worth the risk. I've always worn one and I still have a chipped tooth and a now stitched up hole in my cheek from the one time I left it in my pocket after a huddle....

I've seen midis and minis both mixed and segretated. I don't know what the norm is.

Either way 11 y/o aren't going to do much damage - she'll have a grand old time.

The norm is mixed through to P7, then it is segregated from S1 onwards, so at 11 it will likely be mixed. At this age it is full contact with age relevant variations.
http://www.scottishrugby.org/sites/defa ... 2015_2.pdf

Please, get her a gumshield. It will help to prevent concussion as well as reducing the risk of dental damage.

Donny osmond wrote:My 11yo daughter has got herself picked for a contact rugby tourney. She’s had almost no experience of contact rugby, and hasn’t got a gum shield. I’ve no idea if it’s mixed or girls only. So, 2 questions for those who know about age group stuff... is it full contact with no holds barred at 11, and should gum shields be mandatory/recommended?

Always get a gumshield - there’s no point in taking any risks. The personalised ones from the dentist are a bit of a rip off, especially at that age. When I played more frequently, shock doctor made good ones. Also, if you get a decent one out the shop, part of the “fun” is in moulding it.

Also, she will be required to shave her head.

Cheers lads. Was confused by the gum shield thing as the school havent mentioned them at all. School are shite at organising stuff tho. Will try and find her one tmrw evening.

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Are gum shields not mandatory for kids under the RFU? That’s madness. In NZ they are compulsory at all amateur and semi-pro levels. Refs will send you off if you don’t have one and you’ve got 10 minutes to get one or you must be replaced. At the pro level it’s a requirement of the collective Players’ Agreement.

Apparently when they were made compulsory, dental injuries dropped 40%.

If it’s organized via the school it will probably be touch unless they are an established team.

What happens to try and get more kids into rugby is the local development officer will go in and do a 6 week block of teaching basic rugby.

Then they will have a end of block festival of rugby where they play touch. Well that’s what happens in mid Lothian.

We don’t make kids play contact rugby if they are not trained, it’s the quickest way to lose kids to rugby.

Call the school and just confirm although I’d be amazed if this wasn’t the case.

whatisthejava wrote:If it’s organized via the school it will probably be touch unless they are an established team.

What happens to try and get more kids into rugby is the local development officer will go in and do a 6 week block of teaching basic rugby.

Then they will have a end of block festival of rugby where they play touch. Well that’s what happens in mid Lothian.

We don’t make kids play contact rugby if they are not trained, it’s the quickest way to lose kids to rugby.

Call the school and just confirm although I’d be amazed if this wasn’t the case.

Havent had a chance to call the school yet, but the bit of paper we got home def says contact rugby on it. I was amazed it wasnt touch rugby, and it is at the end of a block run by an external coach, looks exactly like you've said except it says contact rugby?!

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Donny osmond wrote:

whatisthejava wrote:If it’s organized via the school it will probably be touch unless they are an established team.

What happens to try and get more kids into rugby is the local development officer will go in and do a 6 week block of teaching basic rugby.

Then they will have a end of block festival of rugby where they play touch. Well that’s what happens in mid Lothian.

We don’t make kids play contact rugby if they are not trained, it’s the quickest way to lose kids to rugby.

Call the school and just confirm although I’d be amazed if this wasn’t the case.

Havent had a chance to call the school yet, but the bit of paper we got home def says contact rugby on it. I was amazed it wasnt touch rugby, and it is at the end of a block run by an external coach, looks exactly like you've said except it says contact rugby?!

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Weird. I can only think that it’s a mistake. Most development officers are on twitter and if not them you can find contact details on the SRU site.

Hopefully it’s not some liability disclaimer. As in it will be touch rugby but kids will inevitably run into each other.

Well, it was full contact and daughters team were the only ones wearing gumshields. Not sure if I should complain to someone or not.

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Donny osmond wrote:Well, it was full contact and daughters team were the only ones wearing gumshields. Not sure if I should complain to someone or not.

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Worth a wee email I'd say.

Big D wrote:

Donny osmond wrote:Well, it was full contact and daughters team were the only ones wearing gumshields. Not sure if I should complain to someone or not.

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Worth a wee email I'd say.

Deffo. Not a complaint, really. You could frame it as an observation and ask for clarity on the rules. Cc Mark Dodson.

I would frame it as along the lines of; had a good day etc and kids enjoyed it but can you clarify the position on gum shields at kids level as you noticed other teams not wearing them.