One of the biggest Primary aged Rugby tournaments in Australia will take place this weekend in Northern NSW as around 1000 children aged between 11 and 12 years of age make their way to The Armidale School Rugby Carnival.

The Game Management Guidelines are now finalised for 2012. It is an amalgam of outcomes of various conferences and workshops held over the past 5 years. They have been adapted to reflect the playing, coaching and refereeing of the
game at community levels in Australia for 2012.

With finals in various rugby competitions upon us & the Rugby World Cup just about to start, it’s only natural to look to all avenues to get the most out of your body during these critical games. You’ve trained hard throughout the season, won more games than you’ve lost, managed your recovery between games and worked through those niggling little injuries and you’re ready to lift the trophy aloft.

In recent times, the role of the ‘specialist positional player’ has altered.  We now see wingers who are the same size as yester-years front rowers, we now see scrum halves who are 180 centimetres tall, and we see flankers who are less than 180cms tall. 

Without doubt, this is the one issue in the game that continues to create debate as to the best way to coach this aspect of play, and how to referee it. The determining factors are what is legal under current Law and what the referee sees, communicates and adjudicates on.

Let's take a look at dealing with players at kicks in general play. You may have noticed an increase in penalties for offside at kicks throughout the Super 14 season and in recent Test Matches. There has been a focus from the IRB and SANZAR to clean up this area of the game. Why you might be asking?

The importance of winning your own ball at the set piece is paramount to success. Conversely, attacking the opposition at the set piece and disrupting their possession can create all sorts of problems for the team with the feed.