Rugby rookies lace up for free lessons

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This article was published 01/08/2021 (1429 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rugby may have a rough and rowdy reputation, but as kids discovered in Steinbach last week, there’s a lot more to the modern game than tackles and scrums.

Rugby Manitoba and the Eastman Warriors hosted a ‘Try Rugby Day’ in A.D. Penner Park on Monday. The free, non-contact event was open to boys and girls aged five to 16.

Nine youngsters showed up to the first hour of the event, which was reserved for those under age seven.

Gord Foulkes, who handles youth development for Rugby Manitoba, led the kids through a series of small area games designed to teach proper running, passing, kicking, and catching technique.

Older kids were challenged further with full-field drills intended to develop their skills and prevent them from freezing up in a tight situation.

“It allows them to experience the pressure situation in a safe environment,” Foulkes explained.

He and Isi Masi, president of the Eastman Warriors rugby team, are hoping enough local kids sign up to form junior flag rugby clubs in Steinbach-Hanover and Morden-Winkler. Masi said a minimum of a dozen players are needed to form a team.

Plans are in the works for a 10-week season that will start Aug. 10, running Mondays and Thursdays in Steinbach and Tuesday and Thursdays in Kleefeld, where Foulkes said 35 kids showed up to a Try Rugby Day earlier this month.

Foulkes said a broader curiosity in alternative sport often prompts people to consider rugby.

“A lot of parents know what soccer’s about and are looking for something else that the kids can sort of grow into as well.”

Education is a big part of his job, and that includes correcting how the game is often perceived in popular culture.

“There’s an outdated image of rugby,” Foulkes said. “It’s not just the beer drinking, swearing barbarians that it used to be. The players are extremely fit, they take their nutrition and their training very seriously.”

“The more parents can see mini rugby, or just rugby in general, then they’re going to realize that it’s a safe sport.”

“Rugby sounds dangerous,” Masi said, “I think maybe because there’s no equipment. But I actually find when there’s equipment, you feel like you’re invincible.”

That’s a feeling that, more often than not, leads to preventable injuries, which is why Masi said football teams like the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks are consulting rugby players.

“In rugby, they teach you how to tackle properly,” he explained. “You tackle with your shoulders, not with your head.”

Foulkes said it’s a myth that rugby is a game for bigger bodies. He said it’s a sport for all builds and fitness levels.

“There is a position for every body shape that’s out there,” he said. “There’s a spot for everybody in rugby.”

Rugby is also inexpensive to play, making it accessible to more people.

“The only thing you really need is a pair of shorts and some decent footwear,” Foulkes said.

For those without cleats, runners will do.

Masi said rugby teaches communication, goal setting, and teamwork. Foulkes agreed.

“The whole goal of rugby is to be a little bit more player inclusive, meaning everyone can touch the ball more often.”

Foulkes attributed rugby’s rising star in Manitoba to the organization’s push to bring the sports to kids who haven’t tried it before.

Pockets of the province have developed strong rugby programs, he said, including Dauphin and Brandon, where the sport has been integrated into some schools’ physical education curriculums.

Immigration from countries where rugby is popular has also fueled the sport’s growth in Manitoba, Foulkes said.

For more information on the upcoming flag rugby season, email steinbach@rugbymb.ca, kleefeld@rugbymb.ca, or eastmanwarriors@gmail.com.