Five reasons why you should get your child to play rugby

Whilst I know I said I wouldn’t list the positives of our game the list below are really the reasons why all young girls and boys should give rugby a chance and what it can give them, not the big and shiny reasons as to why our sport is better than all others. I also know I said I was going to do ten points, but I was repeating myself in earlier drafts so did fiver broader themes instead.

A thick skin

A Steve Diamond Roasting -
Particularly thick skin needed

‘McKenzie, with pace like that there’s no need for a slow action replay’. My coach at school, Mr Maughan, was the king of the one line putdown. How do you respond to that? You laugh it off, laugh at yourself and realise that yes, in fact you are not the fastest player in the world and carry on about your day. He hasn’t done it to belittle you, he’s done it because he’s identified a flaw, but one which is not fundamental to your game. When teammates give you a ribbing, or even when you get sledged by the oppo, you learn to take stuff like this in your stride and laugh at yourself. Even better, it can actually hone your ability for quick thinking and deliver a witty one liner back to them. This particular skill never made itself known to me but I’ve seen a lot of evidence of it.

Confidence

You’re not necessarily going to be delivering state speeches as a result of playing for Red Lion 2^nd XV on a rainy November afternoon, but confidence is a key aspect of what rugby can give you. When you are a two stone winger ringing wet and manage to drag down a bulldozing number eight to the ground, you come to realise something. Those around you, no matter their size and demeanour, are also in fact, human. The physical confrontations that rugby throws up makes you fearless of others, and can help break down barriers put up by the social anxieties felt by some. Some people like Lewis Moody took this to another level and displayed a blatant lack of respect for his own well-being as well as others, but his nickname was ‘mad dog’ so he doesn’t count. If you get the balance right this is a very valuable lesson.

Communication

The most overused coaching point in any training session.  Coach stops the session, asks ‘What could have James done better then?’. Teachers pet says ‘Communicate’. Arrrrggggggghhhhh!

However the skills it gives you in this department if brought out correctly are invaluable. The American Military Academy at West Point, New York State, have compulsory rugby sessions and participation as the trainers there believe rugby accurately replicates the pressures of communicating clearly whilst being under fire. Barking orders and making a Neanderthal second row realise that he may not be needed on the wing during a live phase is harder than it seems, but a skill all players have to get a grasp of to be effective.

Respect

I love football and do get annoyed at the snobbery sometimes shown to it by rugby fans. However, just as football has traits to be envious of such as its commercial success and its ability to draw in the crowds, the obvious superiority of rugby in aspects of respect is plain to see. A case in point is the ‘fair play’ handshake players partake in before a Premier League match. This is an orchestrated act of sportsmanship which has little meaning as the players are told to do it. The backslapping and chit-chat post match between players is much more sincere. However, you don’t have to tell rugby players to do a tunnel post match, to sit down with the opposition, to show respect to the referee. These are traits that are hardwired into the very genetics of the game. Bloodgate and the Bath cocaine scandals hit rugby hard and proved that the players, coaches and supporters were not infallible as sometimes we might like to think. But the way the people were punished and/or supported by the rugby community says a lot about how we can adapt and change through always showing respect for all those involved in such matters.

Rugby teaches you how to fall

This is one of the great unsung bonuses of playing rugby. I remember as a nutcase preadolescent I would tear around the playground at school be it playing bull dog, kiss chase or running around the tarmac and randomly chanting the words ‘Thundercats – ho!’ when I got to every corner. I would often trip over my shoelaces, fall over a gate or get tripped by a cynical peer. Teachers would often expect a howling tantrum of tears and red faced wailing as soon as I hit the deck. But I never did, I’d fall hips first, face my back towards the floor and land on the fleshy part of my bum. This is not a skill local to me, when you learn to play rugby and start to do contact you gain an appreciation of how to fall without doing you a mischief and I have avoided more injuries than I would have had otherwise.

So these are my thoughts, and some may baulk at the perceived brutality of the game, both on and off the field in some cases. However, as with most things, rugby is a game that you get out what you put in. It is not a sport for the faint hearted and perhaps this is the most significant thing that rugby gives youngsters. You can start faint hearted but end up with all the confidence, friends and memories you could ever want. A little Disney I know, but ultimately true.