Cornwall mini and junior rugby for kids

Mini-Junior Rugby

Youth Rugby in Cornwall is thriving and at Redruth RFC we have over two hundred members, covering all age groups from Under 7 to Under 16. All age groups take part in competitive games against other local clubs – most on a weekly basis, and teams also take part in County Cup competition, festivals and tours. Find out more here.

Rugby is a fun and exciting activity, and is a great way for you to make new friends and learn to play Cornwall’s favourite sport.

We welcome new players of all standards to Redruth Youth Rugby, and would particularly like to see more girls joining in, especially within the age groups that cover Primary age children. This year, due to intense demand, we are also launching a under 15’s girls team.

Matches take place on Sundays 10.30am – 12.00 noon. Training for the mini/midi’s takes place on Friday from 6pm. Juniors (13-16 years) takes place on Wednesday from 6pm. Throughout the season we offer free taster sessions that you can come along to see if you like the game.

If you want to join in the fun, then contact Chris Sidwell on 01209-219091 or email ckjsidwell@aol.com today!

UPDATE: More information is also available at the Mini-Juniors own mini-site at www.pitchero.com/clubs/redruth/.

Why Join Redruth Rugby Minis?

Redruth Rugby’s Mini and Junior Rugby teams are the best in Cornwall, and the sport makes for a fantastic activity for your kids. The numbers of children playing rugby at Redruth continues to grow year on year, and a dedicated team of parents and coaches provides a safe and enjoyable environment for your child to join in the fun.

Membership of the Club will provide your child with:

  • A unique opportunity to establish and develop friendships,
  • Improved skill at rugby football,
  • Greater self discipline,
  • Better fitness,
  • Teamwork skills,
  • Character development, and most of all…
  • FUN!

During the season we will regularly play teams from all areas of the county and beyond, this year the mini section will be competing at Clifton, and at the end of season festival of rugby at Bath where the players get to compete with some of the best teams in the west of England and Wales and get to meet some of the clubs players past and present. The junior section plays many touring sides during the season and also gets to go on tour themselves, recent tours have been to Ireland, France, Wales and all parts of England.

The children are not thrown into the deep end of full-blown contact rugby from the age of 7! Instead, players learn skills gradually, following the RFU’s Rugby Continuum model:

Continuum Stage Game Characteristics Skills Learnt
Under 7s/8s
Mini Tag – 7 a side
  • Tag tackles
  • No contact
  • No kicking
  • Developing understanding of spirit of Rugby
  • Playing against opposition in training matches
  • Fun & enjoyment
  • Running
  • Evasion
  • Passing
  • Support
  • Tag tackling
  • Teamwork
  • Basic rules of on and offside
  • Communications
Under 9s/10s
Mini Rugby – 9 a side
  • Introduction to contact
  • Tackling
  • 3 person scrums & 2 person line-outs, uncontested at U9, contested at U10
  • Still no kicking
  • Playing opposition and taking part in rugby festivals in county and at Bath
  • Even more fun and enjoyment
  • Build on skills learnt in tag rugby
  • How to safely make a tackle
  • How to fall when tackled
  • How to work as a team including positional play, rucks and mauls, forming a defence, working together in attack and defence
Under 11s/12s
Midi Rugby
Under 11s – 12 a side
Under 12s – 13 a side
  • Larger pitches
  • 5 person scrums
  • 4 person line-outs
  • Kicking for position
  • Kicking for points
  • Build on skills learnt in mini rugby
  • Kicking and catching a ball
  • Understanding tactics and positional play
  • Ball retention and phases of play

All adults associated with the Minis and Junior rugby sections, whether coaches or volunteers, have been CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checked, and we take your kids’ safety extremely seriously. Pitches are checked before being played upon; all players must have footwear with aluminium studs carrying the IRB kite mark; scrum hats, body armour, gloves etc, are encouraged for contact rugby (age 9 upwards); gum shields are compulsory when either playing or training in contact rugby; no player can wear any form of jewellery during training sessions or matches.

We also issue very clear guidelines for everyone involved: for the players, coaches, match officials, spectators and even parents! To see the Good Conduct guides, visit our Mini-Juniors Policies.

Contact Us

Whatever the nature of your enquiry – whether your child is interested in joining Redruth Rugby’s Mini-Junior section, if you wish to know when our next taster session is or you have any other questions which need answering, please contact: Chris Sidwell on 01209-219091 or email ckjsidwell@aol.com.