Thousands of children converted to rugby in sport’s birthplace

Thousands of children have been converted to the game of rugby in the birthplace of the sport.

Around 2,500 nine to 11-year-olds from 42 schools across Rugby and surrounding areas have successfully completed a three-week coaching programme that saw them learn tag rugby for the first time and receive information about the interactive World Rugby Hall of Fame museum now located in Rugby Town Centre.

Rugby Borough Council commissioned Coventry Sport Foundation’s Engage! project to deliver the World Rugby Hall of Fame Schools Programme.

Engage! is a programme designed to promote the core values of the game - teamwork, respect, integrity, enjoyment and discipline – to develop healthy, well-rounded and confident young people.

Tom Clift, Programme Manager at Engage! Coventry, said:

We are delighted to have worked with Rugby Borough Council in offering the sport to hundreds more young people across the Borough, whilst also promoting the World Rugby Hall of Fame.

The interest and uptake of the programme from schools overall was really encouraging, the important part now is to capture that interest while it is still raw and continue to involve the children in tag rugby games over the coming months and years, signposting them to a local club in their area.

We’re hopeful that now the region’s young people have been introduced to the sport, they will also pay a visit to the World Rugby Hall of Fame.

We’re very fortunate to have such a wide collection of prestigious rugby memorabilia right on our doorstep in Rugby, and the museum is a really important tool to stimulate the next generation’s interest in the sport, whether it’s playing, officiating or spectating.

The World Rugby Hall of Fame is a collaboration between rugby union’s governing body, World Rugby, and Rugby Borough Council, which opened in the heart of Rugby town centre in November 2016.

It honours players and administrators who have developed the game through exceptional achievements, and features video archives of rugby matches and memorabilia.