Our Minis (under 6 to under 11) and Juniors (under 12 onwards) form an integral part of the club. Whether your child dreams of a career in Rugby – or simply wants to keep fit, meet new friends and try something new – they will always be welcome at Wortley.
About the club
Based in the historic village of Wortley, we are a short drive from Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham, Stocksbridge and Penistone. The club has facilities on Finkle Street Lane with two well-maintained, full size pitches. Whilst we are only a fledgling club when compared to many others, the hard work of our volunteers means we have changing facilities including showers, a brand-new scrum machine and provision for hot and cold refreshments, open most Sundays for training and matches.
We pride ourselves in being a family-friendly club and encourage players of all abilities to take part. Our dedicated and enthusiastic coaches are a mixture of current and former senior team players, parents and volunteers all operating under the same club ethos of ‘everyone plays’.
Children in the Under 6 to Under 8 age groups will learn to enjoy the game through 'Tag Rugby' where there is no physical contact and no tackling. The emphasis is on having fun, running and passing skills - all of which are the foundation of the game.
Beginning with the Under 9s and through to the Under 16s age groups, the coaches progressively introduce such skills as tackling and progressing to scrummaging and lineout, under skilled control, so that children are not exposed to a level of physical pressure that they cannot understand or cope with. All our coaches supervise the sessions and games to ensure that that we put the child first in a fun and safe environment.
Training and matches
Training and/or matches take place for all age groups on a Sunday morning. Start times vary by age group but are typically 9.30 for under 6 – under 12 and 11.00 for under 13 upwards. We aim to provide refreshment facilities of hot and cold drinks and bacon/sausage sandwiches most weekends. All proceeds help towards the running of the club.
In addition to Sundays, some age groups hold midweek training – days/times vary by age group.
We try to organise as many matches as possible which take place on a Sunday morning, allowing for enough time in between matches to train. Matches can be home or away with varying kick-off times – although these are usually between 9.30 and 11am. Whilst we try to keep away games local, we do travel longer distances a couple of times per season (e.g. Hull, Glossop, Gainsborough) to ensure our players get the benefit of experiencing different levels of play.
Equipment
The club will provide balls, tackle bags and shields and any other equipment used during training or matches. However, players will need to bring their own boots (football or rugby), a gum shield (contact rugby only) and a refillable water bottle.
You can usually find a selection of second-hand boots in the clubhouse available for a small donation. Please speak to your coach for more information.
Once registered with the club, each player will be provided with a reversible match jersey, shorts and socks. Additional kit such as training tops etc. can be purchased from the supplier’s website (see coach/team manager for details).
In colder weather, players may wear ‘skins’ or tights, but hoodies, jackets or anything with a cord, zip or hood are not allowed for contact training.
Keeping you updated
Each age group will have a Messenger or WhatsApp group for parents. This is the primary tool for communication and will be used to confirm availability, fixtures etc. Please give your name and contact details to your coach or team manager and they will be able to add you. There is also a club-wide WhatsApp group used for communicating social events, fundraisers etc.
In addition, the club has a website https://wortleyrugby.rfu.club/ that publishes news and match reports as well as Facebook (Wortley RUFC) and Twitter (Wortley RUFC Junior and Minis) pages which are used to promote the club. If you use social media, please help promote the club by interacting on these platforms.
Registration and Memberships
Players are registered to the club through the RFU website (also known as Game Management System or GMS). Players new to rugby can be registered directly using the link below. Players transferring from a club should be de-registered by that club but the system does allow dual registration.
Wortley GMS homepage: https://gms.rfu.com/GMS/Wortley
The first step is to create a parent/carer account. Click/tap on Create Account and follow the instructions. Ensure you have validated your email address otherwise you will not be able to register a family member. Please ensure you affilate with Wortley RUFC.
The second step is to register the child as a player. Go to your profile, under family section add the player’s details and then click/tap ‘register to a club’. It is important that you keep the players details up to date and each summer you will be asked to re-register and validate your information.
Full instructions can be found here: https://help.rfu.com/support/solutions/articles/103000064034-new-age-grade-player-registration-for-a-parent-guardian
At the start of each season (September) you will need to purchase a junior membership. It can be paid as a one-off amount or by direct debit (11 instalments) and contributes towards all running costs associated with the club including pitch maintenance, kit etc. Unfortunately, this doesn’t cover everything, and we run other fundraising events throughout the year to sustain the future of the club. We also offer sponsorship opportunities to local businesses.
Where there is demand, we may also offer half season memberships from December onwards for players that join/transfer part-way through the season.
We also understand that some players would prefer to try out rugby before committing to a membership. This is absolutely fine and you should discuss this with your coach.
Player safety
Last, but certainly not least, we should mention player safety. Rugby is a full contact sport that will involve bumps and grazes from time to time. Whilst most injuries will be minor, with full contact rugby especially there is an inherent risk of concussion.
Concussion is a traumatic brain injury typically resulting from a blow to the head or body which results in forces being transmitted to the brain. The symptoms can present immediately and be short-lived or the onset of symptoms may be delayed and start to occur sometime after the initial injury.
Concussion must be taken extremely seriously to safeguard the safety and long-term health of players. All coaches are required to undertake a course to ensure they are able to recognise the signs of concussion and take the necessary action.
Recognised as one of the UK’s leading concussion awareness and education resources, the RFU’s HEADCASE programme aims to increase understanding and provide information on concussion and other related topics, including how to prevent and manage suspected concussions. We recommend that every parent or carer reads the information available on the RFU website (link below) and undertakes the short, e-learning module.
