Parents’ anger over rugby call

RUGBY juniors and their parents have been sidelined after the Townsville District Rugby Union pulled the pin on its under-15 division.

TDRU president Gary Lewis said the association’s hands were tied and there simply weren’t enough clubs to run the league.

Players in the under-15 age group will be rolled into the under-16s to strengthen that competition.

But for some it will mean the end of their rugby union journey.

Paul Jones pulled his son out of the competition, and said, “only a handful of boys will be able to play up with the difference in size and skill”.

“The rest of the kids will just get damaged,” he said.

“(My son) was disappointed. He’s a fit kid who enjoys skating and some other things. But rugby is a good sport for discipline and he loved playing with his mates.”

SEVERAL rugby parents have been left alienated on the sidelines after the Townsville District Rugby Union pulled the pin on its under-15 division.

Players in the defunct under-15 age group will be rolled into the under-16s to strengthen that competition.

But for some it meant the end of their rugby union journey.

Paul Jones, who pulled his son out of the competition after the decision, said he felt disappointed for the kids who won’t be taking the field. “I was disappointed on behalf of the children,” Jones said. “It was rolled out poorly, there was whispers about it last year.

“They were trying to get people to sign up without anyone understanding there would be no under-15s comp and they would be playing 16s.

“Only a handful of boys will be able to play up with the difference in size and skill. The rest of the kids will just get damaged.

“(My son) was disappointed. He’s a fit kid who enjoys skating and some other things. But rugby is a good sport for discipline and he loved playing with his mates.

“Now they’re all going to play different sports for a year and it’s going to be near impossible to get them back together in the future.”

He was not the only disgruntled parent the Townsville Bulletin spoke with.

The fuming father levelled criticism at the local association for the way it handled the situation. He claimed the association has not worked within the boundaries of the Queensland Rugby Union.

But TDRU president Gary Lewis, who claimed he had not been contacted by any disgruntled parents, said the association’s hands were tied.

“We go to the clubs and ask for nominations for teams to participate in age groups at the start of the year,” Lewis said.

“Last year’s under-14 competition struggled, the intended nominations for under-15s from memory there was only two clubs confident they could field an under-15s team.

“There were not significant other teams in the age group. We can’t run a competition with three teams let alone only two. Our hands were tied.

“The clubs weren’t going to nominate enough teams. We discuss these situations at presidents’ meetings and the issue was discussed all throughout last year.

“To ensure the kids still got to play, we decided to roll the competition into the under-16s. There is a two year age window where kids can play up. That is a safety measure we have in place. In many sports you play up an age group, all throughout school football you play up an age. It is not new.”

There have been suggestions the format for the under-15s could have been altered this season to be played in a 10-a-side or seven-a-side but Lewis said he had his reservations about the idea.

“To go from a strong under-13s competition, strong under-14s to take it back to 7s or 10s in under-15s and then go back to a strong under-16s competition, I am not sure that is a sound model.”

The association has thrown a late lifeline to the age group, suggesting that if clubs were prepared to nominate teams in under-15s they would create a competition at the 11th hour.

But it’s uncertain if parents would be willing to return.