Welsh Rugby Union faces backlash after changing rules on over-11 girls playing mixed rugby with boys

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) is facing backlash amid fears its latest attempt to grow female participation is being rushed through too quickly.

Earlier this year, on the day of a men’s Six Nations clash, community clubs were informed that the age at which girls can play with boys was being lowered from 13 to 11 and the directive is now in force.

The move is part of the WRU’s initiative to get 10,000 girls and women regularly engaging with the sport by 2026.

Safety concerns relating to the biological development of children at the onset of puberty were also cited, and it’s hoped that the move will address a drop-off in female participation around the time children head to secondary school.

But detractors of the move feel blindsided by how sudden the move has been implemented. An online petition calling for it to be deferred by one year has received over 5,000 signatures, that’s roughly 16 signatures per grassroots club in Wales.

Rob Ford, coach of Caerleon under-12s, who will lose two girls this summer as a result of the move, told ITV Wales: “I think everybody understands that at some point, mixed rugby stops and then there's a clearly defined pathway for girls and boys into the senior game. That's great. I fully support that.

“My only issue is with the pace of change and the speed that they've brought this about doesn't work for clubs, for the kids, for their families. I just think it's well intentioned but it hasn't been executed at all well.”

He added: “Girls have had basically a couple of months’ notice, very little preparation for what they're going to do if we want to keep them in the game.”

Under the new proposals girls will have to join female ‘hubs’ in their area after the under-11s season and the hope is that will strengthen the women’s pathway and eventually the senior female game.

But the timing of the move is what has caused consternation.

The WRU says that 1,700 parents, players and coaches were involved in a lengthy consultation process.

WRU Community Director Geraint John said: “You'll never satisfy anybody with the right time, but sometimes you have to make a decision and that's the hardest part. We can delay decisions but what does that do in the long term plan?

“We felt we made the right decision and we’ll put the resources right there to make sure we support all the girls that are playing.”

However, fears remain and Ford concluded: “I just think we're going to lose an awful lot of girls out of the game when it's difficult enough to attract and retain players as it is.

“I think we're going to see some community clubs being unable to field under 12 sides next season, probably under 13 as well.

“And I don't think it does anybody any favours to lose people out of the game when we're already, quite frankly, struggling to make sure that we've got enough numbers across the whole of Wales.”

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