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Joined July 2012
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I still think it is a two pronged strategy that needs to be adopted. Many here say the 1st XV at many schools are imported and the strong players get offered scholarships. All well and good but is club Rugby gets too weak due to lack of interest then where do the Private Schools poach these players from? If players are only ever exposed to League due to no clubs in their area then the GPS schools will simply not get them. The overall GPS quality will drop significantly if they have to rely solely on the kids that started at those schools in Yr 7.
Anyway, the intent of WCR’s article was not just based on GPS, but the entire independent schools sector (most of which would not/could not offer scholarships). I think promoting Rugby to this sector is a good thing, but you also need the ensure club Rugby remains strong otherwise Rugby is on a very slippery slope.
Why private schools are the key to rugby growth
I agree the strong promotion of the code to Private/Independent schools is certainly a goal to be pursued and fully support this, I think it is a more efficient path to growth then the public schools. The main reason for this is that AFL etc, are completely paying for the administration and managing of their competitions in the public schools (in West and North Western Sydney anyway) , and unless the ARU is going to go in with an equally large and determined effort, then any attempt to run large scale weekly competitions is not going to happen. History would tell us that the ARU are not motivated to do this.
What must be supported, however, if the private/independent schools strategy is being pursued, is the village club structure. My boys go to an independent school which does not compete in a weekly sports competition. If my boys want to play Rugby then a village club is the only avenue (this would hold true for all of the public school children as well in my area). Hence via this method all children have access to Rugby regardless of which school they attend. Exposing them Rugby via schools (whether through an organised competition or one-off gala days) is an excellent delivery method, you can only capitalize on any interest stirred if you have an organised competitive village club structure in place.
To have Rugby being played in all schools is an admirable goal, however it is just not realistic in this environment. An alternative must be provided to those who attend schools where Rugby is not played (which is the majority of children in Australia at this point).
Why private schools are the key to rugby growth
Goose Step,
I am on the committee, I know they haven’t made contact.
There are only 2 development officers for in Sydney’s West, which covers many hundreds of schools and probably 10 or so clubs. I know they run a number of schools gala days and particularly this year and last year they have had a focus on the Penrith district probably to the detriment of Eastwood and Parramatta which appear to have shown declining numbers over the last couple of years.
In the end, their are only two of them so they can only do so much.
CAMPO: I've tried to help grassroots rugby, to no avail
“The smh article said, NSW rugby was considering a proposal to have a new competition, with CAS/CHS/GPS/ISA and some junior rugby clubs. Basically a more sydney wide comp, and different divisions, according to standards”
Why some Junior clubs, why not just have 1 competition is Sydney where all boys which want to play Rugby can do so on the 1 day under the 1 competition. Why not include all Junior Clubs and all schools in the 1 competition. Provided it is graded then all the kids get to play against kids of their ability and the “A” grade competition is truly the top tier of that age group. Would save a bunch of money in admin and would reduce overlap in responsibilities etc.
101-0 just the tip of the iceberg for club rugby in Australia