The Six Nations will kick into action this month and to celebrate the prestigious rugby tournament Sport.Cardiff in conjunction with Cardiff Blues has launched a brand new children’s tag rugby league.
With Wales gearing up to take on Ireland, Scotland, England, Italy and France over the next seven weeks, young rugby enthusiasts will also be getting their boots on.
The five schools currently enrolled in the competitive league will receive coaching from the Cardiff Blues schools programme, Future Blues before they embark on fortnightly games with other teams.
The scheme is being piloted following the success of the annual two day tag-rugby festival organised by Future Blues and Sport.Cardiff.
The decision to pilot the scheme as part of the primary school sports programme was a result of feedback given from local schools.
Sport.Cardiff has been supporting annual tag rugby festivals for five years and this new initiative will give children the opportunity to enjoy a competitive provision, playing against other schools on a more regular basis.
It will aim to showcase grass roots schools rugby and benefits undertaken by a Future Blues Community Coach within primary schools across the Blues Region.
The Future Blues Community Coaches are recruited from higher education establishments and are trained by Cardiff Blues and Sport.Cardiff. Each coach selected receives vocational coaching experience and accreditation in order to maintain the successful delivery of the schools rugby development programme.
The scheme also aims to create school club exit routes and encourages children to get involved in their local rugby clubs.
Tag rugby is a non-contact team version of the sport in which each player wears a belt that has two velcro tags attached to it. Attacking players attempt to dodge, evade and pass a rugby ball while defenders attempt to prevent them from scoring by ‘tagging’ them, pulling the Velcro tag attached to them rather than a full contact tackle.
Executive Member for Sport, leisure and Culture, Cllr Nigel Howells said: “The new tag rugby league is a great example of how we aim to provide diverse and exciting sports based on the feedback we directly receive from schools and the children who participate.
“This will give them the opportunity to regularly partake in a sport that they enjoy at a competitive level so that they can develop the skills further.
“Sport.Cardiff is committed to working with key partners such as the Cardiff Blues to ensure that children and young people have access to excellent grass roots sports provision across the city.”
