Four schools from Neath Port Talbot attended a Year 7 festival for rugby beginners at Western Avenue organised by the WRU Development Officers for the Ospreys Region.
Of the 47 boys who attended only seven were attached to a club and the long term objective for Development Officers David Arthur and Michael Dyer is to get as many as possible of the other players to register with a community club.
Gavin Groves of Cymer Afan Comprehensive commented on the festival:
“Today was an ideal opportunity for a small school like ourselves to get the chance to play on a level playing field. Although two of our players are registered with clubs the other eight have no match experience at all”.
At the other end of the spectrum two of the main rugby schools in the borough, Ystalyfera and Llangatwg, saw it as an ideal occasion to play boys who have not had the opportunity to represent the school. Ystalyfera’s Owen Phillips said
“We have a large group of players in Year 7 so today was perfect for us to provide an option for boys who have not played for the school. I’m keen that every boy who wants to represent the school gets a chance and today’s festival helped me to achieve that".
The Development Officers will be holding another festival for the region in December, giving more pupils the opportunity to try out rugby and hopefully encourage them to join their local club.