Re: Sam Burgess Union debut : Tue Sep 29, 2015 6:34 am
Him wrote:
Offside Monkey makes a really good point about the amateur game in the 2 sports.
It's a huge recruiter for the international and event games in Union. The reason it is is that the amateur game in Union has much stronger links to the sport itself but also its more inclusive. It allows people to keep playing and so keep involved in the sport.
If we want to do the same we have to make some big changes in our amateur game.
First and foremost we have to make it much less confrontational, much less about violence & intimidation and much more about enjoyment and inclusivity.
I don't play, partly due to lack of fitness, but mainly due to the fact I simply don't enjoy being around a bunch of violent, intimidating, swearing, aggressive people, many of whom have either been or are one step away from jail.
That's obviously a generalisation and doesn't apply to all, but it sadly applies to far too many of RL's open age amateur players.
We need a purge of these kind of people from our sport. And it's not just players. Coaches and club officials are too often the same.
Even if we do that, the nature of open age RL is still very physical so it will rule out a lot of people who don't fancy it. So we need Touch RL teams and leagues. Far, far more than currently. It can be our 5-a-side football. And it involves people in the sport.
On the same theme we need far more girls and women's teams. Am I right in saying that from Year 7 onwards girls can't play in the same team as boys?
Whilst we start to see a drop off from boys as well at this time I'm sure there must be plenty of girls who want to carry on playing RL but can't or don't because of the lack of girls teams.
We then need a much stronger link between the amateur clubs and both their local pro clubs and the governing body/national side.
The amateur game is a huge gateway to the sport for both young people and adults, and too often it's closed to far too many people.
It's a huge recruiter for the international and event games in Union. The reason it is is that the amateur game in Union has much stronger links to the sport itself but also its more inclusive. It allows people to keep playing and so keep involved in the sport.
If we want to do the same we have to make some big changes in our amateur game.
First and foremost we have to make it much less confrontational, much less about violence & intimidation and much more about enjoyment and inclusivity.
I don't play, partly due to lack of fitness, but mainly due to the fact I simply don't enjoy being around a bunch of violent, intimidating, swearing, aggressive people, many of whom have either been or are one step away from jail.
That's obviously a generalisation and doesn't apply to all, but it sadly applies to far too many of RL's open age amateur players.
We need a purge of these kind of people from our sport. And it's not just players. Coaches and club officials are too often the same.
Even if we do that, the nature of open age RL is still very physical so it will rule out a lot of people who don't fancy it. So we need Touch RL teams and leagues. Far, far more than currently. It can be our 5-a-side football. And it involves people in the sport.
On the same theme we need far more girls and women's teams. Am I right in saying that from Year 7 onwards girls can't play in the same team as boys?
Whilst we start to see a drop off from boys as well at this time I'm sure there must be plenty of girls who want to carry on playing RL but can't or don't because of the lack of girls teams.
We then need a much stronger link between the amateur clubs and both their local pro clubs and the governing body/national side.
The amateur game is a huge gateway to the sport for both young people and adults, and too often it's closed to far too many people.
Agree with this. Amateur R.L is a more intimidating enviroment since i stopped playing over 20 years ago. Even at some of the junior games where some of the parents/spectators act like unruley mobs baying for blood.
I have also seen some local club union games,and despite the action on the pitch the spectators seem better behaved and more friendly.
