The scene on school sports fields this autumn will be a familiar one of scrums, muddy faces and diving tackles. But with rugby a regular fixture on the physical education (PE) curriculum, what are the best ways to teach it?
The Rugby World Cup kicks off on Friday 18 September 2015, with 20 nations battling it out over six weeks at venues across England and Wales. To get your young charges stuck into the sport, we’ve found a selection of engaging ways to introduce it to students of all ages and abilities.
Primary schools
Despite the rough and tumble of rugby, primary teachers need not shy away from tackling it. Start off by focusing on agility and passing. This can be explored in a few ways: a game of snakes in which students weave around the gym hall; rugby tag in which players must move around without getting tagged by their opponent; line rugby, which concentrates on passing the ball between players; and rugby rounders where students kick a rugby ball into a fielding area instead of batting it. You’ll find information about these games and more in this Active Schools skills and drills pack.
For a fun variation of rugby tag, get players to tuck coloured bands into their shorts, one at each side. A player is tackled if these bands are removed, leaving them with three seconds to pass the ball. The non-contact nature means boys and girls of any fitness level can play together on a variety of surfaces, without the fear of getting hurt. You can watch an introduction to it below.
Once you’ve covered the basics, build towards a game of low-impact touch rugby in which there are no scrums, but a tackle occurs when a player touches the ball carrier with both hands. As students grow in confidence, go over the specific skills needed to play rugby with the online resource Six Stages to Rugby. It includes drills which build towards a 7v7 game. It’s worth noting that to play with a group of 25 young players you’ll need five rugby balls (consider using size four balls for children under 16 to aid handling), a playing area that’s a quarter of the size of a rugby pitch and bibs or bands to differentiate between teams.
Use the fact that the Rugby World Cup is airing this month with a cross-curricular approach. In geography, for example, ask your class to locate the 20 participating countries on a world map and find an interesting fact about each one. In English, students could write match reports or record short pieces of commentary. In design and technology, they could create a school rugby strip while in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE), designing a poster is a fun way of explaining why rugby is good for you. Other ideas for rugby-themed literacy and maths lessons can be found in this teaching pack by the Rugby Football Union.
Follow the latest from the Rugby World Cup with updates from acclaimed children’s author Tom Palmer who will be writing a chapter about each day’s activities that will be uploaded to the Rugby Football Union’s teaching resources website. Each chapter will be around 500 words long and take 10 minutes to read – perfect for a morning literacy session. The first chapter will be uploaded on Thursday 17 September 2015.
For those interested in the game’s past and present, check out this beginner’s guide. It contains information about rugby’s history and ethos, definitions of key terminology, pitch diagrams and explanations of the different positions – all of which could be used as inspiration for rugby-themed word walls and displays. Printed out, the guide would make a great non-fiction text for use in literacy lessons. There’s also an online quiz where students can test their knowledge of rugby.
Secondary schools
As you move to secondary school you’ll be playing with more students on bigger pitches. This is when technique becomes all-important, so get your students up to scratch with this resource. It features videos and explanations that cover all aspects of the game, including holding the ball. The following video focuses on improving players’ passing skills.
Perfect scrummaging, rucking and mauling skills with World Rugby’s coaching key factors guide, which can be used to prepare a variety of training drills or to help students evaluate each other’s performance. Students interested in learning about the laws of rugby can watch video examples of how they are applied here. There’s also an online exam to test understanding.
When teaching rugby to students of any age, it’s extremely important to stress the need for safety. With this in mind, World Rugby has created the Rugby Ready safety programme to help reduce the risk of injury. The guide includes coaching tips, advice on appropriate equipment and photographs of correct technique. It is supported by an interactive learning module about concussion and a first aid in rugby educational resource. Based on their learning, students could make a concussion awareness poster like this or record a video like this.
Playing rugby doesn’t need to be confined to timetabled hours. Engage eager players with a lunchtime club – the perfect way to let off steam. Put students in charge by getting them to design and distribute posters to advertise the club. This guide by Scottish Rugby contains some great advice on coaching tag and mini rugby in a way that is active, purposeful, enjoyable and safe. There is a separate guide about coaching youth rugby.
Finally, take the topic off the sports field and into the classroom by getting your class debating whether rugby is too dangerous for children to play. Some experts have raised concerns that injury rates among school-aged children are increasing. Others argue that the benefits of rugby and its focus on the core values of integrity, passion and discipline outweigh the risks. What does your class think? Ask them to research the issue as a homework task then present their ideas during a class debate.
