Junior rugby participation in Wales

Research into the junior development plan for rugby in Wales analysed how much time young rugby players aged between six and 16 spend playing in competitive games, training, practicing and participating in unstructured play.

Dr Paul Ford collaborated with the Welsh Rugby Union and academics from Swansea University on the investigation into whether the current approach provided fair access and a well-balanced activity suitable for supporting young players and producing the next generation of talent within the game.

The aims of this research were to determine:

> the investment of time that junior rugby players in Wales give to the sport
> how this time was apportioned between play in matches, training, or practice, unstructured play
> the effect of deprivation on time spent in rugby and other popular sport activities.

The researchers used a sporting life history questionnaire that was used in junior football. The questionnaire asked about time spent in matches, training and play from the age of six through to 15. The data was split into mini (age six-10 years) and Junior (11-15 years) rugby age groups.

The players who completed the questionnaire were U15 Dewar shield squad members and 590 individuals took part from across all 26 districts in Wales.

The researchers found:

> during the mini-rugby stage players accumulated an average of 113, 89, and 43 hours per year in rugby play, practice and competition, respectively.
> during the junior rugby stage players accumulated 179, 115 and 64 hours per year in rugby practice, play and competition, respectively.
> between five and 16 years of age these players invested an average of nearly 2000 hours into rugby. This was equivalent to nearly two years in school.
> opportunities to access rugby facilities and coaching are equally excellent in both affluent and deprived areas of the country.

The focus of time spent up to the age of 12 is on play and practice. Competition increases from U12 but is still less than the sum of play and practice. Researchers concluded that this is an effective strategy to maintain interest and develop players at a junior age.

The amount of time spent in rugby activities was equivalent to two years in school. This is a significant investment and the WRU need to make sure that there are opportunities for players to receive a return on their time investment by having supportive playing structures maintaining players interest through to the adult game.

Junior rugby union players spend much less time (2000 hours) in the sport than junior football players (around 4000 hours). This is supportive of the early diversification pathway where players do not focus all their time on rugby but try other sports.

In conclusion, Wales’ junior development plan engages players in healthy amounts of rugby activity that is balanced and appropriate at each age and stage of development.

Deprivation did not have an effect on rugby hours accumulated which confirms that rugby union meets the criteria for a national sport that reaches every community in Wales and is effective in providing match, practice and play opportunities for players. Although accumulated deprivation did have an effect on participation with fewer ‘other sports’ played in more deprived groups.

Winn, CON Ford, PR, McNarry, MA, Lewis, J and Stratton, G (2016) The effect of deprivation on the developmental activities of adolescent rugby union players in Wales. Journal of Sports Science, Dec 26:1-7.