U13 Age Band: Dispensation for existing U12 players

Dear All

We have listened to feedback on the U13 age band proposal and have come to the conclusion, that the vast majority agree with the strategic need for the proposals, although the suggested timing for introduction will pose some challenges for some of our clubs, therefore:

For Season 2011/12  any female players aged U12 and registered on Rugby First in 2010/11 season can play within the U15 age band.

All players must be 12 years of age on the 1st September 2011 and have played club rugby during the 2010/11 season under the RFU Continuum, only players that were registered on Rugby First before the season closed on the 2nd May 2011 will be approved to play U15 Girls rugby.

How does it work?:

1.       All clubs that have affiliated girls sections at U15s can apply to the RFUW to allow those U12 girls previously registered (in season 2010/2011) on Rugby First to play in their U15 team.

2.       Clubs must follow U13 Player Application Form  link and supply the required information, which in turn can be checked against Rugby First before approval is granted.

3.       Any application needs to be with the RFUW no later than 15^th July 2011.

4.       Any non-registered players or new players to the game will not be permitted to play U15 rugby and would start in the new U13s age-group.

5.       To support this we have expanded the Club Development Toolkit Fund to have a specific line of funding available to support programmes and resources relating to the development of U13s. The funding is available through application via Club Toolkit Fund Application Form and must be received by 10th June 2011. If you require any support or assistance with your application, please contact your WRDM.

6.       Resources to support the coaching of the Tag to Tackle game will be available through your local coaching network over the summer.

If you have any queries at all please contact your WRDM in the first instance.

Regards

Rosie Williams

RFUW introduce new age band for girls rugby

Wednesday April 27, 2011                                      Issued by Julia Hutton

From September 1st 2011 a new Under 13s age band will be introduced for girls’ rugby in England.

After extensive research and consultation throughout the game, the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW) will introduce the new age band to provide more competitive and more constructive rugby for girls under the Under 15s age bracket.

Previously, Under 15s and Under 18s age bands were introduced in 2007/2008 to increase players at youth level and provide sufficient competitive outlets.

Since then the game has developed with more girls playing rugby. Minor amendments have been made to accommodate changes within the schools environment and the need to develop competitions for girls. However, several Under 15s age bands were still struggling for numbers which was reflected by more clustering of clubs and a lack of players in many Constituency Body squads.

Through introducing the new Under 13s age band for the forthcoming season the RFUW are confident this will provide girls with a better development route, it would reduce the perception of size differentials as well as encouraging girls to stay in the game. This is especially important with the popularity of Tag Rugby in primary schools.

David Rose, the RFUW’s Head of Development, said: “The RFUW is committed to developing as many opportunities as possible for girls to play rugby. We have taken notice of the feedback we received from schools and clubs and this has resulted in the new age band. The Under 13s age band will assist in girls making the transition from primary schools where Tag Rugby is a hugely popular game for girls. We are excited about the opportunities the additional age band will provide the RFUW to further develop participation.”

To make the age band change, coaching and teacher training will be delivered by the RFU’s coaching department and distribution will be through the RFU delivery teams, English Schools Union and County Schools Union, together with supportive resource material.

Ends…

Background Information:

The RFUW established an Age Band Review Group in 2010 to conduct a review of the current Player Pathway. This group considered the opinions of players, coaches and administrators.

U13s pilot programmes were run in four areas of the country involving schools and clubs and feedback was collated.

The Competitions Review Group supported the recommendations from the Age Band Review Group to introduce the U13s age band for the 2011/2012 season.

Presdales School win regional girls' title - again!

Presdales School are the regional girls' champions for the second year running. The county competition took place two weeks ago at Woollams Playing fields and Nobel, Hockerill Presdales, Queens, Turnford and St Mary's were entered, though Turnford had to drop out. Presdales and Hockerill went on to represent Herts at the London North competition on Friday last, at Jobbers Wood.

This year at the regional we had 11 schools enter- Thomas Deacon, Presdales, Waldergrave, Grey Court, William Edwards, Hockerill, King Edward, Barking Abbey, Fakenham, Whitton, Cambridge.

The schools were put into two pools, round robin type of competition,  the overall winners from each playing off . These were Presdales and Hockerill, ( both unbeaten in the round robin games) - the runners up from both pools ( Barking Abbey and William Edwards) played off for 3rd and 4th place.

Presdales won 15-5 and the rain, which had held off all day, poured down during the very exciting final! Barking Abbey beat William Edwards.

It was a good fun day and true sportsmanship was shown by all the teams in the pool with King Edward. King Edward had arrived without any subs.-  two minutes into the very first game, one of their players dislocated her knee, and had to go to hospital. This left the team with only 11 players. All the girls from the other teams, when asked, willingly and happily dropped a player so that the teams played 11 a-side, some teams even offering to lend a player to their opponents!

There is no National competition this year, unfortunately, so we don't know if Presdlaes would have been crowned Natinal Chmaps for a 2nd year running.

The referees were Skip, and Dean Cutting ( an Essex CRC) and Dave and Arrun from BSHS, who they did an excellent job.

Herts County Girls Trial Sun 13th September Welwyn RFC

On Sun 13th September Herts County Girls Training and Trials are taking place at Welwyn RFC.

All 9-17 Age Players, regardless of level of experience, are invited to attend, but must bring a signed Parental Consent Form, available from their Club Coach / Manager, with them on the day to give to the County Age Group Team Managers on arrival.

In addition attendees should also bring: Clothing suitable for playing Rugby in either Hot or Cold Weather (depending on conditions on the day); Trainers or Boots (dependent on the Ground conditions); Mouthguard: plenty of Liquid; Energy Bars.

All Players are asked to arrive by 12.45 and they will be split into the 3 Age Groups: Under 12 (School Years 5,6,7), Under 15 (School Years 8,9,10) and Under 18 (School Years 11, 12, 13) by the respective County Coaches. Each Age Group will have a separate Pitch and Training / Trial will start after 1.00.

The number of Players attending will dictate whether Herts Girls will be able to field an 'A' and 'Development' side at each Age Group in the 2009-10 Season.

Herts Girls 7's 2009 Results Old Albanians RFC 17th May

U12's:

Cup: Winners - Hertford; R/U - Stevenage.
U15's:

Cup: Winners - Paviors; R/U - Worcester.
Plate: Winners - Hertford; R/U - Bucks Cluster.
Bowl: Winners - Saracens; R/U - West Oxon
Shield: Winners - Oakmedians; R/U - Old Northamptians.
Egg Cup: Winners - Old Albanians; R/U - Letchworth

U18's:Cup: Winners - Welwyn; R/U - Reading.
Plate: Winners - Burfield; R/U - West Oxon.
Bowl: Winners - Suffolk Sabres; R/U - Bucks Cluster.
Shield: Winners - Plymouth; R/U - Saracens.

Worthing 10's Girls Festival Results

U12's:

Cup: Winners - Kent.

Plate: Winners - Worthing.

U15's:

Cup: Winners - Paviors; R/U - Welwyn.

Plate: Winners - Cardiff HSOB; R/U - Folkstone.

Shield: Winners - Worcester; R/U - South Sussex

U18's:

Cup: Winners - Ellingham and Wimborne; R/U - Reading.

Plate: Winners - Oakmedians; R/U - Letchworth.

Girls National Emerging Schools Competition

Presdales School from Ware in Herts won the National Final for the Girls Emerging Schools (School Year 7) Competition played at Twickenham in front of the Crowd who were attending the Annual Army v. Navy Game.

There were 2 previous Rounds that they had won through:

• Semi-Final stage at Staines RFC on the Morning of the Final.
• London North stage where they had played against Barking Abbey (Essex), Queens (Bushey Herts), Nobel (Stevenage Herts) and Waldergrave (Middlesex).

For a full report see the RFU website

U12 training and U18 tournament tomorrow (14th December) CANCELLED

... due to waterlogged pitches at Hitchin and Mellish

Apologies for late notice. Please pass this information on to anyone you may know who might have been coming along.

U12s: Time to start thinking about Herts Youth Games

Herts Youth Games will be taking place again next year in May, probably in Hatfield, and - asin past years - the Games should include an U11 girls rugby tournament. If your daughter is in Year 6 (or you know anyone with a rugby playing daughter in Year 5) you really should try to get involved. Though it is tag, its still a great day out, a good way of recruiting new players to your club and the game in general - and is entirely free!

How different councils react or plan for Youth Games seems to vary quite a lot. Some start planning (including selecting squads) very early - in January or February sometimes - so if you daughter is in Year 6 it is probably not too early for you to make enquiries about who will be running the team and when selection will be. Also not all councils enter a team in the girls tournament, so early enquiries might just show the more reluctant councils that there is potential to enter a team (or at least force them to come up with a damn good excuse for not doing so!).

How selection is done will also vary significantly from area to area. Most will have a tag tournament at which the best girls will be picked - and these may start to take place next term. However not every school enters such events, and your daughter may not be available that particular day anyway, so that is another reason why it is important to let your council (and whoever is running your girls team) know your interest.

The rules are that you can represent any council area where you either live, attend school, or play for a club - so many of you may be in a position to choose who you want to play for!

U12 training: 14th December

Following on from the improved performance at Dulwich last weekend, we have now managed to organise a training session for all U12s at Hitchin RFC on Sunday 14th December, arriving at 1.30 for a 2pm start. As there will also be women's and colts' games going on that afternoon girls should arrive already changed.

The address of the Hitchin club, for those who have not visited it before, is King George V Playing Fields, Old Hale Way, Hitchin, SG5 1XL. 

Any girls in school years 6 and 7 may attend - whether or not they have been to a previous session!

View Larger Map

U12 team photo - and details for next match

The U12 team from our first game - thanks to the Stevens family for the picture.

Next game 30 November at Dulwich College, Dulwich Common, LondonSE21 7LD

Directions: Dulwich College lies due South of the City of London only six miles from the River Thames and is adjacent to the South Circular Road, the main ring route around South London.

By Car:

Entrance to the College is from Dulwich Common (the South Circular, A205) only. There is ample parking on the campus for visitors.

We are looking at a 2pm kick-off, so an arrival by 1.30 (or before if you want to go skating!). If anyone is looking for lifts then please let me know.

At present the following have said that they are available for the game. If your daughter's name is missing or circumstances have changed please let John Birch know:

• Hayley Everett
  
• Saoirse Lavelle
  
• Beth Lewis
  
• Tamzin Luftig
  
• Kalina Mendy
  
• Rebecca Maynard
  
• Chloe Muir
  
• Phoenix Page 
  
• Niamh Parris
• Allessandra Stevens
  
• Beth Summerfield
  
• Kate Summerfield
  
• Leah Wattley
  
• Ciara Williamson

U12s: First game, and the next

Well done everyone who came to the game against Kent on Sunday. It was a steep learning curve for everyone against a much more experienced team used to playing with each other, but after the shock of the first 10 minute period you all setteled down brilliantly only losing the second and third periods 2-0 and 2-1 respectively. They had some fast wings, but our forwards were awesome - winning almost every scrum!

We have a return game now set for 30th November, kick-off at 2pm at Dulwich College in South London. This is one of the country's leading private schools - and we will be playing on one of their main rugby pitches, so the facilities should be superb. The match will be part of a big Christmas fair being held at the college, with ice skating and all kinds of other activities going on - so it will be a day out for everyone.

Full details, directions, etc. will be circulated... once we receive them. In the meanwhile (if you have not done so already) please let John Birch know if you are available.

This will probably be the last fixture before Christmas as we have been unable to confirm an opponent or venue for 14th December. We may have a training session on that afternoon however - again more details when they are confirmed. After Christmas the aim is to have training session or matches on some of RFUW's regional weekends (see above). However, as these are compressed into a much shorter period this season we will probably not have sessions on every weekend this season.

U12 fixtures

Fixtures for U12s are being arranged for the next three county dates. Please let John Birch, the U12 manager, know whether or not you are available.

November 9th: v Kent (and possibly others) at Welwyn, kick-off 2pm

November 30th: Either county fixture with U15s and U18s or v Kent (Dulwich College or Old Alleynians)

December 14th: Away fixture - possibly v Kent & Middlesex (Ealing)

Herts Girls County Trial Sun 14th Sept Welwyn RFC

Sun 14th Sept is the confirmed date of this seasons Herts Girls County Trial taking place at Welwyn RFC. Registration and access to the changing rooms is from 1.00 and it will start from 2.00 onwards. As well as the U15 and U18 Trial, U12 Girls from around the County are also invited to a Training Session.

The Herts Registration Form has already been e-mailed to all Girls Club Managers and Coaches in the County. Additional copies will be available on 14/9, but in order for a Girl to partake in the Trial they must be signed by their Parent / Guardian. On the day the U15 Forms are to be handed to Peter Mccullough (U15 County Manager) and the U18 Forms to Dave Marques (U18 County Manager).

Depending on the number of Players that come to the Trial from all the Girls Clubs in Herts we plan to run County ‘A’ and Development Teams at both U15 and U18 this Season. In addition we plan to continue 'Team Herts U12' fixtures this season against other County's 'Team U12's.

Worthing Girls Festival Sun 4th May

The Worthing Festival is now an integral part of the Girls Rugby Season. Teams travel to it from as far as Worcester, Sleaford and Leicestershire, and now that it has moved to the first Bank Holiday weekend in May (next season Sun 3 May 2009) some teams are making it part of a 'Tour'. There is a 10's Section at both U15 and U18, and this year a 7's Section at U12 was introduced for the first time.

Welwyn U15's entered, but with only 7 Players available, for various reasons, needed to borrow Players from other Clubs to make up a team. In the true spirit of Rugby, both Basford and Paviors lent Players, but unfortunately Welwyn were knocked out at the Group Stage this year.

Glenn Warren, the Chair of Worthing Ladies and Girls Rugby, said that it their intention to try and expand the U12's Section next Season and they are also contemplating having a Senior 7's Tournament on the Saturday, turning the whole weekend over t0 Womens and Girls Rugby.

The results were:

U12's - Cup Winners: Worthing - Runners up: Beckenham

U15's - Cup Winners: Londin Irsh - Runners up: H3

U15's - Plate Winners: Folkstone Fillies - Runners up: Dorking

U18's - Cup Winners: Basford - Runners up: Paviors/Tamworth (Pavworth)

U18's - Plate Winners: Solent Sirens - Runners up: Old Leamingtonians

Herts U15 Development Fixture Sun 27th April

This was the second time this season that Herts had hosted a U15 County Development fixture at Welwyn RFC. The two dates were chosen to co-incide with Regional dates, to give the next level of players an opportunity to gain more experience at this level.

The first event in March involved Herts, Kent and Middlesex and they were joined this time by Eastern Counties. Each team played each other in a round robin format, but there was no Trophy at stake. Herts had @25 Players, so quite a few of them ended up guesting for Middlesex and Kent, who were both short of numbers, to ensure they gained as much game time as possible. In the final round of games Herts Girls were playing for 3 different sides simultaneously, but we did ensure that all the Herts Girls did play in at least one game for their own County.

For the record the Herts scores were:
Herts 35 Eastern Counties 0
Herts 29 Kent 0
Herts 37 Middlesex 0

Both the County U15 Development and U12 Girls team initiatives have been very well received this season and we plan to continue them next season.

New U12 fixtures

Just to highlight two new U12 dates:

27th April: As mentioned below, in addition to the four-way U15 inter-county fixture at Welwyn there will also be a U12 fixture against Eastern Counties (ie. Norfol/Suffolk/Cambs).

11th May: The London & South East Sevens at Dorking will now include a U12 event.

If you are interested in playing in either of these events please let John Birch know as soon as possible.

Herts U15 Development Fixture 27th April at Welwyn RFC

On 27th April, whilst the 11 Herts Regional Players are away at their last training session before the Regional Festival in May, Welwyn are hosting the final U15 County Development Fixture of this season. Herts, Eastern Counties (Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambs), Kent and Middlesex have all now confirmed it will be a 4 way fixture.

All of the Herts U15 Development Players in this fixture will be staking a claim for a place in the Herts U15 A Team in September, as approximately half of this Seasons successful U15 County Team move up to U18 Rugby at the end of May.

Eastern Counties are also bringing 'Team Ravens' U12's, and Kent and Middlesex are bringing their U12's to play 'Team Herts' U12's.

U11s: Herts Youth Games

• U11 girls are reminded that Herts Youth Games are coming up, on 11th May. HYG is a tag tournament - but don't let that put you off as it is a terrific day out.
  
• Clubs are reminded that there will be up to 100 10-11 year old girls playing rugby at Hatfield that morning and afternoon - so if you are looking to recruit players this is the place to be!

Any girls in school years 5 and 6 can take part, and can play for the district they live in, go to school in OR play for a club in - so that means that no only will some girls have a choice about who they play for, but girls can also take part even if they do not actually live in Hertfordshire (so long as they meet one of the other requirements).

District council sports or recreation departments select teams - so girls need to contact them to tell them that they are interested. Some councils will select squads based on primary school tournaments, but there is no reason why they should not allow other girls to at least try out for the squad if they miss out on these tournaments. And in practice they are going to be delighted to have a few keen, experienced girls in their teams!

And if you district doesn't have a team... why not volunteer to run one for them? You'll never have a better recruitment opportunity.

U12s experience all four seasons in one match against Kent

In a game played in torrential rain, blazing sunshine, and all points in between Herts U12s fought hard against Kent today. This was much more inexperienced team than played against the same opposition at Hitchin in November, and that proved to be the difference against a more experienced opposition used to playing alongside each other as Kent ran out winners by 27-0. Herts were unlucky not to score - at least two of Kent's tries coming from breakaways after long periods of Herts pressure.

However, was that the girls clearly enjoyed the day - which is the main aim of the programme. U12 county rugby is all about giving girls more opportunities to get onto the field. It allows girls who have played little or no contact rugby to get a game, as well as encouraging girls who currently play mini rugby to stay in the game buy allowing them to play in an environment where they are not dominated (or ignored) because they are the only girl in the team.

The Herts U12 programme - which seems to be one of the largest and most active in the country has succeeded in these aims this year. Over 20 girls have played in a Hertfordshire shirt. While some of these girls are regular players, over half of those involved have either begun playing rugby at club level as a result, or revived rugby careers that had faltered. As a result we have gone some way to reduce the loss of girls from the game between the U9 and U12 age bands.