“Level Up” Development Resources For Clubs & Schools

Development resources are to be made available to coaches, players and all volunteers through a new IRFU initiative called Level Up.

Its purpose is to help communities stay rugby active during ongoing public health measures that fight the spread of COVID-19.

Irish Rugby worked extremely hard in the summer of 2020 to reopen the sport safely. With COVID-19 Health & Safety Plans in place, clubs and schools can now work within government guidelines to continue as a hub for physical and mental wellbeing.

Level Up will provide clubs and schools with the tools to keep their rugby activity fresh, relevant and rewarding for everyone involved.

There will also be support content available for people looking to keep busy and stay active in their own homes. Resources including session plans and video guides will be rolled out in the coming weeks.

The first round of resources are available below.

October 30th 2020: Non-Contact Skill Development For School Aged Children (Video)

Non-Contact Skill Development For School Aged Children:

These sessions are all suitable as permitted activities under Level 5 Restrictions. They are non-contact and can be run within a pod of 15 including coaches and COVID-19 Club Compliance officers.

The following video series was originally produced for Rugby Prime –  a fun, non-contact version of rugby linked to the Aldi Play Rugby Programme with an emphasis on keeping the game moving as quickly as possible.

The purpose of these videos is to help coaches plan a session around a particular theme. Each session contains information on warm-up, skills, games and warm-downs.

Click on each theme below to view the relevant video.

	Theme	Format	Suitable For	To Help Players To
1	Picking and Placing	Non-Contact	School-Aged Children	Pick up the ball properly Place the ball properly
2	Touch and Evasion	Non-Contact	School-Aged Children	Score tries Tackle effectively Evade
3	Rolling and Passing	Non-Contact	School-Aged Children	Roll the ball correctly Pass the ball correctly
4	Passing Effectively	Non-Contact	School-Aged Children	Choose the correct pass Pass effectively to either side Carry the ball in two hands
5	Evading and Tackling	Non-Contact	School-Aged Children	Carry the ball with two hands Evade defenders Touch correctly
6	Passing and Catching	Non-Contact	School-Aged Children	Catch the ball correctly Pass correctly
7	Passing – When And How?	Non-Contact	School-Aged Children	Catch the ball correctly Pass the ball correctly Know when to pass
8	Game Understanding	Non-Contact	School-Aged Children	Understand the game more Know when to pass