Buzzing about return of competitive games
Maidenhead RFC: Maids players ‘chomping at the bit’ to play contact rugby again
David Mobbs-Smith says Maidenhead RFC are thrilled to be finally returning to competitive action but is well aware of the challenges the club face as they look to accommodate the imposed restrictions.
On Monday (November 30) the Rugby Football Union announced that the government had approved their proposals for a return to 15-a-side rugby and that contact training will be allowed to resume from December 2.
To keep the sport as COVIDsecure as possible, the RFU have enforced adaptations on what can and can not be done
within matches and training.
According to the RFU website; no scrums or mauls will be permitted; free kicks will be taken where the game would usually restart with a scrum; and a minimum of five and maximum of seven players are required to form a lineout.
“It will be a very adaptive game and that will certainly bring its own challenges, but we’ll sit down and look at how to address them tactically,” said Mobbs-Smith.
“It would be the same in any sport. If football suddenly said you can’t head the ball, you would need to change
your tactics. By taking away the scrum and taking away the maul in rugby, we’ll be working at how we can defeat teams without those.
“But overall we’re buzzing and buoyant that the plans have been made. It’s exciting and it has been a long time coming.”
It will have been almost a whole year when grassroots rugby gets up and running again in January. The forthcoming season will certainly not be one Maidenhead are used to, however, as they prepare to compete in a new league made up of local teams and clubs.
“It’ll no doubt still be very competitive and there will be a lot of young players chomping at the bit,” added Mobbs-Smith.
“I think it will be a great time for developing our players for the following season. In a way, it’s like a long pre-season friendly.
“We are currently very fit and we’ve worked very hard to get ready for competitive action. Obviously the month we have had off hasn’t helped because we were in such a great position fitness-wise. But I’m sure in just a few sessions, the boys will get that back.”