by Nancy Knisley
Baltimore’s Child
April 2000

Reprinted with permission of the author.

It’s April. Time for parents to start looking into summer sports programs like swimming, tennis, golf, sailing, and rugby. Rugby?!

Rugby, the British school boys’ game, happens to be one of the area’s fastest growing summer sports for boys and girls from ages seven through 14. From one local team in 1995, youth rugby has rapidly expanded to a 12-team league, the Potomac Rugby Union Youth League. This year the PRUYL will have teams in Lutherville-Timonium, Ellicott City, New Windsor, Aberdeen, and Linthicum, as well as in the Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia areas.

Linthicum’s Pat Walsh, Youth Chair for the USA Rugby Union, was instrumental in establishing youth rugby in the Baltimore area. He says that summer was picked as the season for local youth rugby so as to complement, not compete with, other already-established sports. There are fewer sports, especially team sports, played in the summer, and fields are available then.

Walsh and other adults involved with youth rugby say that rugby’s popular image as a rowdy, rough and tough men’s game isn’t true, especially when it comes to the youth game. In youth rugby, a two-handed tag is used instead of tackling, and there’s very little bodily contact involved. Teams don’t play "crash ball," driving into the opposition. Instead, youth rugby focuses on teaching players how to attack space by learning to pass or run between or around, or kick past, the defense. Jim Bonner, coach of the Lutherville-Timonium team and the rugby-playing father of two youth players, describes rugby as "an elaborate game of keep-away."

This more gentle version of rugby, played seven players a side, allows kids in a wide range of ages and sizes to play together. Children who are 7-10-years of age play on a team, as do 11-14-year-olds. Girls and boys play together on coed teams in 40 minute matches, divided into four quarters.

A Little Bit of Soccer, A Little Bit of Football

Rugby developed out of the British game of association football, better known as soccer in the US. In turn, the rules of rugby were changed in the US and eventually evolved into the modern game of American football. So, while rugby will be somewhat of a mystery to most American kids and parents, it shares similarities with both soccer and football.

Like soccer, rugby is a fluid game of almost constant motion. And, like soccer, all players have the opportunity of being in the play, either offensively or defensively, at any moment. But unlike soccer players, rugby players don’t dribble the ball. Instead, players throw, pick up, run with, kick, or fall on the ball, which is shaped like an American football.

Like football, rugby allows passing. But unlike football, forward passes are prohibited. The only legal passes are backwards or lateral. There’s also no blocking, and play doesn’t stop when a player is tagged. A tagged player must pass the ball. Like football, rugby has no position similar to soccer’s goalie, but unlike football, each player plays both offense and defense.

In rugby, a try (goal), worth five points, is awarded when the ball is carried or kicked across the tryline (goal line), AND the ball is touched down to the ground by a player. (Unlike football, in which the ball doesn’t have to be touched to the ground for a "touchdown" to be scored. Go figure.) After a try, a team is awarded two points for a successful conversion kick. Teams can also score three points on a penalty or drop goal kick.

Perhaps rugby is most famous as the game with the "scrum," a restart formation in which players bind, or lock, together. But there are lots of other good rugby terms which players and parents will get to know: ruck, maul, lineout, barging, knock-on, and position names like prop, hooker, scrumhalf, and flyhalf.

If You Can Catch, Throw and Run...

Children don’t need any special skills to play rugby. Any child who can throw and catch a ball while running has all the necessary skills needed to begin. And, every child gets to play. All rostered players play two periods each match.

Kids like rugby because, according to Walsh, they think it’s "cool" and looks interesting—and, Walsh adds, because every player gets to touch the ball and tag other players, and every player has the chance to score. Kids also like the game because its free flowing nature requires players—not coaches—to decide what to do next. "It’s tons more creative than football," Walsh says.

Bonner says that another reason kids enjoy rugby is because "every kid regardless of size fits in because of different positional requirements." Forwards are usually the bigger and heavier players, while backs are faster and lighter. The scrumhalf, the link between the forwards and backs, must be quick and agile and is typically one of the smallest players on the field.

The main objective in youth rugby, say both Walsh and Bonner, is for kids to have fun and to learn the game. While everyone wants to win, the league doesn’t keep standings or track scores, and the regular season results don’t have any bearing on the season ending tournament, in which every team plays.

Most teams hold two weekly weekday evening practices, which usually start in June. Matches are played on Saturdays from the beginning of July through the middle of August.

After each match, youth players carry on a time-honored rugby tradition, hosting a "fifth-quarter" party for the visiting team.

And great news for parents: youth rugby is an inexpensive sport. The fee for registration, which usually starts in May, is about the same as soccer, perhaps $30-$50. The only clothing needed is soccer shoes, shorts and socks. Clubs usually provide shirts or jerseys. Add a mouthpiece, and the player is fully equipped.

Parents who are interested in starting a youth rugby program in their area can call Pat Walsh. He will provide information and help find coaches.