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Page Last Updated: 12/01/2007
Page Published By: Christopher Joslin
Statement on Age Eligibilty for U18s by Dorset&Wilts RFU
Eleven recommendations were made in an RFU Age Grade Representation Task Group Report published in April 2006. Recommendations 1-6 covered CB Schools of Rugby and these were not to be implemented until 2007-08 season after further work on providing a suitable framework. Recommendations 7-11 covering U18 Representative Programme were to be implemented immediately.
Recommendation 8 stated that the development programme at U18 age grade should be a 2 year programme integrating the U17 age grade and that selection of players for the U18 age grade will, in future, be based on date of birth eligibility
1st Jan
and not
1st Sept
as previous
.
A memo from Andrew Scoular, Director of Community Rugby was sent out to Constituent Bodies
and
Schools Unions during the summer detailing the implications of this recommendation.
The D & W U18 Management Team were concerned that several
players, who had their 18
th
birthday between 1
st
Sept and 1
st
Jan, would this year be denied the opportunity to play for D & W U18. Although they were aware of the change in eligibility date, they had not seen the memo, and were therefore unclear as to whether the 1st Jan date referred to
England
, Division
and
County
U18
teams. They also noted that the request from D & W for nominations for all D & W age grade teams had already been sent out to clubs, before the end of last season, and that it referred to 1
st
Sept date for all age grade teams.
Various parties were consulted, including some SW selectors,
as to
whether D & W could still select an U18 squad based on 1 Sept date. D & W were led to believe that this could be done provided that the SW selectors were advised which players had a birth date before 1 Jan 1989. The game against Bucks on Sunday Oct 29
th
was played on this basis.
Several of the players, who were not eligible to play for the SW, performed well in that game. Unfortunately, they had not been individually advised of the change of eligibility date and therefore may have had expectations of being selected for the SW squad. Obviously they were very disappointed.
Dorset & Wilts were advised by the SW that they must not select any 1st September players again. This presented a huge challenge to the team management as a number of new players had to be found at very short notice, but after a great deal of hard work a 1
st
Jan D & W U18 team took the field on Sunday Nov 5th at Canford School against Oxfordshire.
The publication of a report containing recommendations that needed to be implemented by CBs in a very short timescale does not help those volunteers faced with the very challenging task of managing the integration of club and school pathways. The development of a relatively small number of talented players, who will benefit from joining an elite pathway, must always be balanced with the needs of the majority of players for whom just playing for D & W U18 is seen, not only, as an outstanding achievement, but also, a key part of their development process.
D & W RFU wishes to state that it retains full confidence in the D & W U18 Management Team and is very appreciative of their endeavour in light of the very difficult circumstances they faced.
The rationale behind the RFU’ s decision set out in the second
paragraph, which is clearly to allow better pathways for
improving young players, is understood and accepted. However,
Dorset & Wilts RFU also recognises that a small number of
players who had the potential to play for the SW have been
affected by the new eligibility criteria and regrets very much
that these young players will be unable to represent D&W or the
SW this season at Under 18 level.
Issued in
Council on 9 November 2006
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