Following a trial by 60 clubs of mini-rugby during the summer months (CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY), the WRU has published a short, online survey on the initiative which is open to anyone involved in club rugby in Wales – both those who were part of the trial and those who didn’t take part – as part of a wider consultation on the experiment.
Children, parents and coaches who took part in the trial have provided useful feedback on the matches and festivals they participated in. The positive evidence received includes clubs recruiting new players due to the attractiveness of playing rugby in better playing and weather conditions, more family engagement, more flexibility in scheduling training and matches due to the long daylight hours and more foot-fall to club facilities while there were concerns regarding harder pitches in the hot weather, the impact on volunteers, and potential conflict with traditional ‘summer’ sports.
WRU Head of rugby Participation Ryan Jones said, “We strongly believe we need to look at all options as we strive to ensure rugby is an attractive sport for all ages, genders and abilities. We wanted to trial mini-rugby during the summer months to test whether this would help engage more families in rugby activity and help clubs to be more sustainable. We went into the experiment with an open mind and we would welcome the views of everyone in the club game, whether or not they took part in the trial.”
Following this consultation process, a decision will be made as to whether to run another trial or implement mini rugby during a March 1 – October 31 season.
CLICK HERE to complete the survey. CLOSING DATE FRIDAY 12 OCTOBER
