‘Rugby drive improves conduct and learning’
Playing rugby regularly improves young people’s behaviour and their ability to learn. Evidence suggests there has been a noticeable improvement both on and off the pitch since the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) introduced a pioneering rugby hub scheme three years ago.
More than 87 full-time rugby officers are now employed by schools, colleges and universities around Wales in partnership with the WRU, twice as many as when the scheme launched in 2013.
Thousands of pupils from primary to secondary schools and sixth-form colleges have taken part in the scheme.
Around 2,000 have trained to be rugby leaders and 200 as referees, helping to run sessions in schools and clubs.
The WRU said school club hub officers are positive role models in schools and colleges, and in some cases have specific roles helping mentor pupils to improve behaviour and attitude to learning, using rugby as a motivation.
Milford Haven School hub officer Stephen Martin said: “When I took up this role two boys were identified for their disruptive behaviour and receiving consequence forms throughout the week, often on a daily basis.
“However, they are both very good rugby players, and this helped me to engage with them in a positive way.
“Every morning they come to my office for a chat about how the previous day went and plan for the next day.
“The consequence forms are becoming less frequent, to such an extent that neither of the boys received one last half-term, which is a huge improvement.”
The school’s head teacher, Rod Francis, said the benefits of playing rugby at all levels was clear.
“As a school, we have seen multiple benefits of engaging with the hub officer initiative.
“Since his appointment in September 2015, Stephen has dramatically increased the habitual participation of boys and girls in all aspects of rugby in the school, from fun touch rugby at break time to year group training sessions and increased number and quality of matches.
“The work he has done with the older pupils in helping them complete the Rugby Leaders’ course and utilising them to deliver rugby to primary schools not only benefits their personal development but promotes the positive aspects of rugby and sport generally to the primary school pupils and helps strengthen our links with our feeder schools.”
Rugby hub officers are all full-time roles, paid for by schools and clubs via the WRU to run rugby sessions at lunch-times and after school, as well as in local clubs, but not as part of the school PE departments.
WRU head of rugby participation Ryan Jones said: “We constantly receive positive news regarding the wide-ranging impact of school club hub officers on pupils around Wales.
“We know that hub officers facilitate our purpose of engaging more people, more often, with more enjoyment and more success in our national game, both within schools and local clubs.
“However, it is even more encouraging to hear that rugby, through the work of the hub officer, is helping to enrich lives by helping pupils to engage more with their education, their community and improve their own outlook on life and future prospects by improving confidence and developing skills such as leadership.”
Minister for Social Services and Public Health Rebecca Evans went to see for herself how the scheme works when she visited Haverfordwest RFC to watch a tag rugby festival for primary school boys and girls run by Milford Haven Comprehensive and Pembrokeshire College pupils and hub officers.
“It’s been great to see, first hand, the excellent work being done through the WRU’s Club Hub Programme, she said.
“The physical benefits are clear to see, but the impact of the game on social skills, leadership and behaviour overall is something to be celebrated.”
Since September, the Milford Haven and Pembrokeshire hub officers, helped by older pupils who have qualified as rugby leaders, have run 164 rugby sessions in local primary schools, getting 600 boys and 350 girls involved in regular sport.