U13s: What's the verdict?

The continued success of England at international level is not unrelated to the numbers and quality of the young players coming through to the national team. At least half-a-dozen of the current elite squad could still play U20 rugby, and star players like Emily Scarratt are still at university - the age and place that, ten years ago or so, most England players started playing.

Girls rugby at clubs around the country has therefore made a huge contribution to England's success, bringing girls into the game, and developing their talent before they move on to greater things (a fact that is often ignored, even in some individual player biographies). England's success is based on the club system, and one of the best pieces of advice with any system is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Tinkering around should be done with care, and for a very good reason.

The only major difficulty with the existing system was the drop-out of girls from around the age of 9 who did not want to play mixed rugby, a situation made worse when U15 rugby came in as there was no longer anywhere that 11-year old girls wanting to play rugby could go.

Then a year ago, out of the blue, RFUW came up with a solution - the introduction of U13 rugby - a type of game designed to encourage secondary schools to offer the game.  The aim was that more schools would offer this simpler game, and player numbers would therefore increase (thereby saving the RFU's grants from Sport England). However, it was a huge gamble as the new age band cut across the existing U15 club age band - where player numbers were already a problem. Intense lobbying against the change from clubs was all but ignored

So, a year on, what effect has it had?

Well, on one level it may have succeeded. Certainly the entry for the London North Schools tournament in Bishops Stortford last week was larger than ever before, with some 50 or so teams competing in the U13 and U15 competitions (with Hertfordshire schools dominating the winners' podium). Quite what the situation has been around the country is anyone's guess as such information is all but impossible to obtain.

The trouble is that, while schools can be useful in introducing the game, with an overcrowded PE curriculum, and increasing pressure from academic subjects, the days when a sport could rely on schools to provide their new young players are long gone. In all sports now it is the clubs where the next generation of stars can be found - and unless these schoolgirls are making it through to club rugby then the rise of players will have no effect on the game as a whole.

And this is the problem. The new system is totally dependent on whether schools in an area are willing to offer girls rugby (given a multitude of alternative sports), and - just as important - whether a club has good links with those schools. Where the two come together it seems to be working - several of the successful Herts schools were from North Herts and Stevenage, and as Hitchin have had strong links with these schools for years, they are benefiting. However, where few schools take up the game well established girls clubs like Saracens are now struggling. Similarly schools offering U13 rugby where there are no clubs will mean that sporting girls will go to other sports, the effect of the new game being wasted.

As far as clubs like Saracens are concerned the new U13 system does nothing solve the problem of keeping girls in the sport, made worse by girls being unable to start playing club rugby until they are 13. If anything it has made things worse.

The result is that Saracens are reporting that they may have a tiny handful of U15s next season, and barely a dozen U18s (if that). Other traditionally major clubs - clubs that have produced some of the current young England players (Rochford for example) - are also reported to be in the same position. Elsewhere other developments, like some local county RFUs taking over running the girls game, has been disastrous with  the collapse of county "cluster" teams (never mind girls club rugby). On this one at least Hertfordshire - which has always gone its own way - remains immune... for the time being.

Overall, therefore, it seems (from admittedly little available evidence) that both sides may have been right. The new game has been more popular in schools, RFU can claim that player numbers are up and keep its grant money BUT for clubs - the training ground for the England team of 2020 and beyond - unless they are lucky to have connections with schools offering new game, it is killing girls' rugby.

The good news is that the RFUW are reviewing the effect of the new game... the bad news is that the review  has already collected all its feedback it wants (was your club asked?) and will be making a decision next month. There will also be reporting on U15 and U18 leagues, which continue to have the problems many predicted when they were introduced.