U9's Rules for Season commencing 1st Sept' 2011

WELSH RUGBY UNION - RUGBY PATHWAY
U9's - EARLY CONTACT RUGBY

• Tackle must be below the waist, only one person allowed to tackle on each occasion.
• No ripping the ball.
• No contest at tackle area, ball carrying team must pass ball from tackle area, no pick and go.
• Non contested scrum, side putting in wins ball, no pushing or wheeling
• Scrum half is not allowed to pass centre line of scrum
• Scrum half must pass ball from base of scrum
• No Lineout, Rucks or Mauls
• Re starts free pass at halfway
• No handoff allowed
• No kicking of ball allowed

THE TACKLE (Definition)

• Waist high tackle or lower, if the tackle is above waist height, a free pass is awarded to the attacking team. (If deemed dangerous with intent, the player may also be temporarily or permanently suspended from the game).

• Defence can only tackle, they are not allowed to contest for the ball on the ground. (i.e. unlike full game laws, the U9's tackled player's team must always retain possession unless an infingement occurs).

• The offside lines are the rear most part of the body at the tackle area.(no rucks apply at U9).

• No ripping of the ball or mauling allowed (i.e. team mate or mates bind onto their player in posession of the ball).

• If a hand-off (an action taken by a ball carrier to fend off an opponent by using the non ball carrying hand) occurs the referee awards a free pass to the defending side.

• If a knock on occurs a scrum is awarded.

• Rolling replacements.

• Players must leave and enter the field of play at the halfway touchline.

If a player is sent off then he will be replaced by an appropriate substitute. If there is no substitute available then that team will be disadvantaged. The non-offending team does not lose a player.

LINEOUT: No, free pass from five metres in from the touch line.

SCRUMMAGE: Five man passive scrum, the team putting the ball in must win it. Neither team is permitted to push. Acting scrum half must pass from the base of the scrum, and the opposition scrum half to stay at the tunnel.

FAQ's
Q. Does the acting scrum half need to pass the ball away from the breakdown?
A. Yes, the acting scrum half cannot pick and go - penalty, free kick to the non offending team, only applicable to U9’s, U10’s and U11’s.
Q. What is a passive scrum?
A. Both teams do not push or wheel.
Q. Can a support defender at U10’s and U’11s tackle the ball carrier above the waist height?
A. Not permitted as all tackle attempts must be waist height and below.
Q. What happens if a player falls over with the ball?
A. The player with the ball must play the ball immediately or get to their feet.
Q: Can a second player from the defending team join the original tackler at U9's?
A: Not permitted if the ball carrier is held by the original tackler.
Q: Can the tackler contest for the ball after the tackle is completed at U9's?
A: Not permitted as the breakdown is non contested at U9's
Q: Can a defender at U9's, U10's and U11's rip the ball from the ball carrier?
A: Not permitted as all tackle attempts must be waist height and below.
Q. What happens if the attacking team put more than one player contesting for the
ball?
A. At under 10’s and 11’s if either team put more than 1v1 contesting for the ball they are subject to a penalty, however advantage law applies.
Q. What is the definition of a hand off?
A. A hand off is a player using their non ball carrying hand to hand off a defender.
Q. What happens if the scrum is pushed forward more than the allowed amount for that age group?
A. The referee will indicate to the team to stop pushing, if the team then pushes more than the amount for that age, the referee will award a free kick to the non offending team.
Q. How far back must the defending team go when a free kick has been awarded to the opposition?
A. The defending team must go back ten metres.
Q: Are quick throws in permitted?
A: Yes for age groups that have lineouts applicable within the pathway (U11's+) and providing the line out is not set, the ball being thrown in is the original ball that went out, has not been touched by any other member of the opposition, crowd, ball boys etc.

COACH’S ROLE
• Develop the player through the introduction to contact
• Safety points in tackling and being tackled, develop the skills of offload, placement of the ball and the pass off ground

AIMS RATIONALE
Encourage the offload in contact and the correct placement of the ball and introduce tackling around the legs

AGE: Under nine as on the first of September at the start of the season.

TEAM SIZE: 10 a side with unlimited substitutions. Five forwards five
backs.

The WRU requires that both teams shall field the same number of players throughout the game.

PERIODS OF PLAY: Two halves each of up to 10 minutes playing time, maximum 20 minutes of play.

PLAYING AREA: Half pitch.

BALL SIZE: Size three.

COACH QUALIFICATION: UKCC Level one recommended Level two.

REFEREE QUALIFICATION: WRU Level one Award.

GAMES, No Inter Club / Inter School Leagues. Where teams have matches, entered Festivals/Tournaments (which start and finish on the same day) it is recommended that each game should not exceed 10 minutes (maximum) each half.

T Shirts, DVD's & another sponsor - DRAGON CRAFTS

Along with the Rugby Club itself, DRAGON CRAFTS in Mumbles (next to Captain's Cabin) have very kindly offered to sell our 'Property of Mumbles RFC' T shirts (£10), passing on all profits to the Vikings. So please tell as many people as possible! Hoody's (£15 children / £20 Adults) will also be in stock soon.

Our official team photographer Rob O'Shea, in addition to his highly prized "MUMBLES VIKINGS MATCH ATTAX' has also kindly produced a very professional DVD which contains footage of the majority of games this season and many still photos of the players in action. If you wish to obtain the DVD then Rob is selling them for £7.50 with all proceeds going to the Vikings funds.

Gwernyfed end of season Finale

A fun day had by all I hope - I think Gwern enjoyed themselves, I certainly thoroughly enjoyed it and on behalf of Lee and Phil, we'd like to thank you all for your support this year - (and for all the beers !).

END OF SEASON FINALE - SATURDAY 7th 11.00am @ UNDERHILL

Well it's hard to believe but it's finally here - the end of the rugby season.

No training this week and no game Sunday as we are hosting Gwernyfed RFC on tour from Brecon on SATURDAY 7th May 11.00 am @ Underhill Park. Those of you who attended Luctonians may remember them - they were the 2nd team we played - so expect a strong side!

We will also use this opportunity to draw a close to the season with a small presentation for each Viking player at the park after the game. We will be playing our game on the junior soccer 5 a side pitches behind the changing rooms (where we trained last Saturday).

As has taken place in previous years, the U7's will be organising some BBQ food and selling refreshments to raise funds for new jerseys next season - but as ever, your offers to assist will be gratefully appreciated. Some Mum's have offered to bake fairy cakes and may need assistance in selling them off, and the BBQ always needs a Dad (with beer in hand of course) to flip the odd burger! - the rule is don't be shy, you're all club members and every contribution, however small you may think it is, will all add up to be a significant effort overall.

Training 12pm SATURDAY 30th April @ Underhill

There is no game scheduled for this Sunday and no doubt you will all be emotionally drained after watching the Royal Wedding on Friday (especially you Dads), so we will hold training at Underhill this week on SATURDAY 30/04/11 @ 12pm instead.

At 13.00 the Mumbles Youth team, enjoying a fantastic season under coaches Richard Llewellyn, Richie Greenwood and Andy Hughes take on South Gower in a curtain raiser to the first team game. At 14.30 the senior first team then take on Crymych in a top of the table clash. Both teams can still win the league and Mumbles will be looking for a monumental effort to beat Crymych in front of a healthy home crowd. All are welcome to come along to what promises to be a great afternoon and along to the club house later for post match refreshments!

To celebrate Mumbles RFC 1st team final home game of the season a full programme of events has been organised at Underhill. There will be BBQs, Beer Tents and more, - the ideal way to spend your Bank Holiday Saturday in the sun!

SUMMARY OF EVENTS THIS WEEK:-
28/04/11 -Mumbles Under 15's V Lunel RFC - Under 15's host French visitors 6pm @ Underhill.

29/04/11 - Friday the 29th THE CONTENDERS @ MRFC, free entry celebrating the royal wedding, all invited STARTS 8PM

30/04/11 - 12pm Saturday - Training @ Park followed by youth team curtain raiser and 1st team final top of the table clash.

01/05/11 - Sunday MRFC has the mumbles music mile with TED CROOK AND THE BLUES HIGHWAY strating at 2.30pm £3 on the door.

Lucton Tour 17th April 2011 - Photos

The boys all played their hearts out at this (very) competative tournament, which was exceptionally well organised by our hosts Luctonians RFC. Our players should all be very proud of their 'never say die' attitude, (even when playing with only 6 players at one point). It was a tough day with some strong teams, and despite being well beaten in the first two games, the team was very unlucky not to win or at least draw our 3rd and 4th games. It took some time to adjust to the English rules (everyone felt for Kieran when he had a penalty against him for falling over - yes it's in the English rules!) but eventually the boys found their groove and played some excellent stuff. For those that stayed on afterwards, they had the satisfaction of playing with our young ref 'Bobby' and drenching him with all our water bottles, proving that rugby can still be the winner on the day!

EASTER HOLS 22/04/11 & 24/04/11

NO TRAINING ON GOOD FRIDAY - NO MATCH ON EASTER SUNDAY

Lucton Tour

Training at the park at 5.30 pm as usual with Lucton 'tour' on Sunday.

We do not have the numbers interested to warrrant booking a Vikings bus, but for those still wanting one we may possibly be able to share one with the U11's depending on available spaces (hopefully more on this towards the end of the week).

Otherwise, if travelling by car please meet there at 10.30am.

SQUAD CONFIRMED FOR LUCTON

1 Joseph
2 Ciaran
3 Jamie
4 Kieran
5 Willis
6 Josh
7 Harry
8 Alex
9 Jack

Use of TEAMER

I'm sorry to preach to the converted majority, but for those of you yet to get into the habit (you know who you are!), please can you confirm attendance (or otherwise) a.s.a.p in future for tournaments/festivals? There is no pressure to accept, just please let me know either way as soon as you can and in any event within a week of being invited.

If 2 seperate teams can be registered well in advance of a tounament/festival it allows for more productive game time per player, (rather than players turning up 'en-mass' unexpectedly after we have only registered the one team).

Another alternative to ensure productive game time is to restrict playing places on the day only to those who have confirmed their attendance by the required deadline. This is obviously something that we would be reluctantant to have to enforce since it would be unfair on your child to tell them they can't play on the day.

It is however also unfair to your child and the majority of other players who could have all benefited from 2 or even 3 seperate teams being registered in advance had it not been for a lack of Teamer responses.

10/04/11 9am @ Dunvant RFC

We have been told to expect 6 games in total with a finish approx 2.30pm. Please aim to arrive at 9am at the latest @ Dunvant RFC - (1st game K.O. 9.30am).

The dirty dozen !

A great festival of rugby was played against 3 teams from touring team Farnham RFC hosted by South Gower RFC today. Our 'dirty dozen' had plenty of time over 3 games and as many hours to hone their skills with some great weather, fantastic hospitality from S.Gower, and some great skills shown on the pitch. In the words of our own William Wallace".....they can take our tags, but they'll never take our freedom!"

Saturday Apr 9th @ South Gower RFC‏

Please park in Bishopston Primary School car park at 9.30am, Bishopston Road, Bishopston, Swansea, SA3 3EN.

The Farnham coach drivers have been asked to ferry you from the Comprehensive School car park area to the rugby club, so that service is available if you wish to use it. Alternatively the walk to the club is about 3/4 mile from the primary school. If you want to take the coach option, then please could you walk through the school grounds to the comprehensive school car park to get on the coach. If you are unsure of where to go, there will be car park marshalls available to help.

It's your choice to use the school for parking, but there will be a police presence looking to book people on the residential roads after extensive campaigning by locals. You have been warned!

(Please phone/text me to let me know if you are NOT coming on the bus to prevent us waiting around).

Luctonians RFC Tournament

We have been invited to attend a Tournament at Luctonians RFC on Sunday 17th April 2011 - (meet there 10.30am or see below for possible bus option). Can you please indicate your attendance or otherwise using TEAMER a.s.a.p? A failure to use Teamer promptly may prevent formal player registration and resultant 'formal' participation within the tournament (although we will try to give as many players an 'informal' game as we can anyway!). Depending on numbers interested, a bus/coach might be an option for travelling - (meeting @ 07.45am to leave 8am sharp from MRFC). Likely (subsidised) cost will be £10 per bus seat, (which will include return bus travel and player registration fee or spectator entry for 1 accompanying adult). Please reserve any bus spaces required by email to me by 10 April. If travelling by car the fee for entry will be around £5 per head for each player and spectators over 14yrs old. The day will be wrapped up by around 3pm-4pm meaning a return to Mumbles for 6-7pm.

2 for 1 special offer !

This SATURADY 9th April @ 9.30am South Gower RFC then also the day after at 9am on SUNDAY 10th April at Dunvant RFC. (Both clubs will also be hosting a touring team from Farnham who we are also invited to play against). To assist in the pre-organisation of these festivals can you please indicate using TEAMER if you are available for either or both events. Rather than just rely on TEAMER to provide information on time/place, could you please also play your part and either DECLINE or ACCEPT? TEAMER IS FREE ONLINE OR CHARGED AT A STANDARD TEXT MESSAGE RATE USING Y/N TO ACCEPT OR DECLINE ON A MOBILE PHONE. Please don't feel at all pressured to attend either event, but if we know who can / can't attend in advance it would help tremendously. To this end you will have by now received up to 3 TEAMER messages for each of these events (depending if you have responded or not). If you could respond a.s.a.p. then we would be very grateful. Friday training 5.30pm @ Underhill as usual on 8th April this week.

Bryncoch @ Home & TEAMER use

Training 5.30pm @ Park & Bryncoch RFC @ Bishopston 10am for 10.30KO (early for Mother's Day).

With the end of the season around the corner we will be looking to enter some festivals/tournaments rather than just one off games against other clubs. The first of these will possibly take place (depending on numbers interested) at 9.30am South Gower RFC on SATURDAY 9th April and then also the day after on SUNDAY 10th April at Dunvant RFC. Both clubs will also be hosting a touring team from Farnham who we are also invited to play against.

To assist in the pre-organisation of these festivals can you please indicate using TEAMER if you are available for either or both events. Rather than just rely on TEAMER to provide information on time/place, could you please also play your part and either DECLINE or ACCEPT so that I can respond in good time for hosts to source alternative teams if we don't have the numbers interested (i.e. at least a week in advance).

Please don't feel at all pressured to attend either or both matches (if anything it would assist if we could split the squad over the 2 days) - but if I know who can / can't attend in advance it would help tremendously. To this end you will have received 2 TEAMER messages for both these events - if you could respond a.s.a.p. (And by this Sunday 2nd April at the latest) then I'd be very grateful.

Training and more Training this week !

On both Friday 25th March at the Park 5.30pm and 10.30am Sunday 27 March at Bishopston we will have training.

Training @ Park 5.30pm - Sunday 10am @ Swansea Uplands RFC

Training @ Park 18/03/11 5.30pm - Sunday 20/03/11 10am @ Swansea Uplands RFC

Sunday 13/03/11 10am @ Bishopston

An early kick off this Sunday as we aim to host both Penlan RFC at 10am and Fall Bay RFC straight after at 10.45am, with hot dogs to follow at Mumbles Rugby Club.

It's back to the park for an introduction to contact

Training @ Underhill Park 5.30pm 11/03/11.

It is our intention to begin to slowly introduce tackling to the Vikings. We want to take this opportunity to assure you that safety at this transition point is paramount. Preparation to the tackle will follow a step by step process that will involve progressive practices and drills before any contact game is played.

At this point you may wish to consider protective equipment (Mouth Guard / Head Guard/ body armour etc) but please note that the use of protective equipment is a personal choice and not a requirement. Please ensure you take professional advice (e.g. dentist) on this equipment when purchasing and making sure that they fit adequately. Please note that ill fitting equipment may do more harm than good (particularly ill fitting mouth guards).

If you have any questions, or you consider that attending an informal meeting at the club with all parents one evening to discuss the progression to contact might be of benefit, then please feel free to contact any of the coaching team.

As ever, the continued assistance from volunteers is essential to the success of teams and clubs such as the Mumbles RFC Vikings. To this end, if you would like to consider attending any official WRU coaching or refereeing courses over the summer to progress your understanding, qualifications and involvement in the running of the team (funded by the club), then please speak to any of the coaching team.

Penclawdd away this Sunday 6th March

Training 5.30pm at the gym as usual with Penclawdd away this Sunday 6th March. Meet at 10.15am for a 10.30am K.O.

Please note that Penclawdd play at Graig y Coed Playing fields (further along the promenade than their clubhouse field which is behind the church).