Kids Rugby

James Ihaka at the NZ Herald reports:

The Rugby Union has stopped kids winning their matches by more than 35 points, saying it makes the game more enjoyable.

But one coach describes the changes as “political correctness gone mad” and says he and other coaches will lobby for the new rule to be dropped.

Under the NZRU’s Small Blacks development programme for children aged 13 and under, coaches from opposing sides can meet at halftime if one side has put on 35 or more points against the other to agree on how they can “generate a more-even contest”.

A score of 100-nil is now posted as 35-nil – the maximum points differential allowed.

If a side wins 90 to 5, the score is recorded as 40 to 5.

Oh please tell me you are kidding. A friend on Twitter said she was going to read 1984 for the first time – there should be a chapter on faking the rugby score.

I reckon kids will feel worse knowing that they lost by so much, that the score had to be faked. And as if they won’t keep track themselves.

On this issue, I agree with Trevor Mallard.