Email Received:
Guys, just stating the obvious here — but primary school 1st team (open) rugby has to be one of the most unbalanced stages in school rugby.
You’ve got u/12s and u/13s playing together, and those early developers (hello, testosterone) are absolutely dominating. The size difference between some of the boys is unreal.
I’m not even talking about Craven Week, where most of the players are already big units. I mean your average Tuesday afternoon 1st team game. You’ve got some seriously talented kids out there who just don’t have the physical size yet — and they’re taking some heavy knocks.
Honestly, I don’t think it would be a bad idea to relook the structure and let the u/12s play in their own age group. Just my two cents.
@Farmer (Comment #23)
Hulle was nogals wild op hulle tyd ,Pragtige skool gebou ook
@Smallies (Comment #22)
In FA se tyd kon Gill enige skool in die land speel en wen saam Dale en Queens gespeel in daai liga dis nou toe Dale nog Dale was ook.
@Farmer (Comment #21)
N Gill man ,ek werk saam met een van Gill se groot sterre van daai F A Meiring groep
@Smallies (Comment #20)
Somerset-Oos
@Farmer (Comment #19)
Toemaar ek het jou ook so bietjie misverstaan 👍👍waar in die Karoo is jy
@Smallies (Comment #18)
Sorry ek jou vekeerd verstaan ek verkies nie n 0/12 groep nie.
@Farmer (Comment #17)
Schools using both gr 6 and 7 in my area,Aliwal-north, Burgersdorp, Cradock,Graaf Reinet Volkskool,Middelburg,In Queenstown both Hanklip and Queens Primary,Gill….
@Smallies (Comment #15)
Please name ne those schools in the Karoo? I am from the Karoo also
@Smallies (Comment #15)
Yep…wont make sense in smaller schools…horses for courses
@Farmer (Comment #14)
It actually works very well in small Karoo schools as there are usually not enough gr7 boys to fill a team
NOT A FAN
Agreed!In my view,the development level of a 12 yr old vs a 13 yr old differs greatly from the later stages, i.e. 17-19 yrs where the difference is minimal in most cases.Mixingnup 12 &13 yr olds shouldnt happen in a physical sport like rugby…much safer to do it in skill focused sports like hockey and cricket where physicality is not a factor
@Rainier (Comment #11)
Dis daai Kareedow wors
@Smallies (Comment #5)
Yip. It was a man against boys.
What I will say about u13 rugby is that it’s unbelievably difficult actually to scout players because it’s difficult to make the distinction between a guy being big and a guy being good 😂 probably why so many fall out between u13 and u19.
@BoishaaiPa (Comment #8)
Geen wonder julle skole rugby sukkel so nie…
@Smallies (Comment #7)
Hier in Weskaap se Noordelike voorstede by sekere skole het hulle al in 2005 dit gesplit. Ek weet my seun het bv vir Eversdal o/12 gespeel in sy Gr6 jaar en hele paar skole in omgewing het o/12 spanne gehad. Indien hulle teen ander skole speel wat nie 0/12 gehad het nie het hulle teen die o/13B span gespeel. Weet egter nie of dit nou nog steeds die geval is nie.
@Lem (Comment #6)
Gr6 en 7 seuns speel al jare lank saam ,julle is besig om die dam onder die die eend uit te ruk ,die stelsel werk hou op torring…
Splitting U/12 & U/13 will be safer , but you cannot have a Big U/12 play in the same age group so Player to be assessed by coaches if player is big and strong enough to play with U/13 age group, there has to be the exception to the rule ,
@Rainier (Comment #4)
I’m betting his surmane is Adams
@Snelvuur (Comment #3)
I agree. The system as it is does have some compromises, but in general works quite well.
I have some video clips of a certain 13 that played against us as a /12 throwing my /13 props and hooker around like rag dolls.
Would this not make it more uneven? If there are u12s playing above u13s, their coaches obviously believe them to be better. If they are no longer allowed to do so, you’ll have worse players having to mix it with the big boys.
SWING IT AROUND
Different thought. What if every year was 2 grades together?
Done in a way where, as an example, where kids born in 2002 the one year play with 2003 and the following year 2001. This keeps alternating.
The concept isnt new and used in many European countries. It allows smaller schools to compete as they will have numbers as this is done every year. For S.A it is only a odd concept because its is done only the last year of both primary and high school
100% agree