Students from four regional primary schools were given their first taste of rugby this week, following RugbyWA’s involvement in a round-robin sports day held at Lake King.
About 120 students from Years 5 to 7 congregated in Lake King, approximately 500km South-East of Perth, to participate in the fun-day which had stalls promoting rugby union, soccer, AFL, gymnastics and athletics.
RugbyWA Development Officer Tobias Hoskins was on hand to promote rugby union to the country kids, which he believes to be of vital importance to the future of the sport in WA, especially in an AFL dominated State.
“There are not many junior rugby clubs around that area, so it is good to expose the kids to the game of rugby when they don’t have as many opportunities to see it,” he said.
“There were five groups of kids and they rotated around each sport throughout the day so they got a bit of a go at everything. It was pretty good fun.”
From having a go on the inflatable try-line tussle to perfecting their pass-the-ball skills, the students were highly enthusiastic and responded well to the clinic.
The students, from Lake King, Hopetoun, Newdegate and Ravensthorpe Primary Schools were particularly excited to be given Emirates Western Force caps and a copy of the Line Break magazine as a keepsake.
“By the end of the day it was great seeing all the kids wearing the Force hats,” Hoskins said.
“Since rugby is still growing in regional Western Australia, it was great to get some exposure out there and hopefully the kids will spread the word to their friends that rugby is a great sport to play.”