Defining U18

What is an Under 18? When, exactly, is the cut-off point? Simple enough question, you'd think.

Or maybe not. A few years ago this problem was raised in Hertfordshire when we discovered that one of the girls in the county team had a birthday on 1st September. The problem was that RFUW rules say that you have to be "Under 18 on 1st September" to qualify for junior rugby, and if you birthday is the 1st then clearly you are not under 18.

However, this was a nonsense. Such girls will still be in school, and if they were boys they would be U18s as the RFU have a much clearer definition - ie. you must be under 18 at midnight on the 31st August/1st September. At the time we appealed, and the girl concerned was allowed to play as a junior.

Consider my surprise to learn that this example of bad rule writing is still in the RFUW's books - and girls are still being caught out by it. A parent in the south east contacted me only recently to ask for advice about it as their daughter fell into this trap. Fortunately it now seems that, although the RFUW rule remains in place, officials in Twickenham are in practice applying the RFU's rule instead and - after much confusion and general grief (again) - the girl concerned can now line up with her team-mates again.

While it is good that RFUW are behving sensibly over this, it rather begs the question - why not just change the rule? Why do RFUW still have different rules from the RFU over simple matters like age definitions (especially when the RFUW rule is demonstrably bad)? One game, surely - especially now the merger has sort-of happened? I mean, if we have to slavishly follow RFU policy when they get things wrong - things like banning junior players from kicking (even though it damages the female game) and stupid recruitment panics (when it is almost entirely a male issue, if it is actually an issue at all) - then why can we not take on the good stuff as well?