Mini rugby branches out to Pointe Claire

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca

At the ripe age of seven, Théo Blachon had been looking for a theatre to resume his budding rugby career.

Like his father before him, Blachon played rugby in his native country of France.

This year, after his family moved to the West Island, he discovered the Dragons, a fledgling "mini-rugby" club based in Pointe Claire.

"Rugby is a marvellous community sport," Blachon's father Gérald said. "Because of that, it's interesting. It's not an individual sport at all."

The mini-rugby movement, for kids aged seven to 12, has been growing in the West Island for the last couple of summers.

The area's first club, Rockhill, is based on the pitches behind Ecole sécondaire Saint-Georges in Senneville.

Local players usually get their first taste of the sport in high school, but now kids can get an early start.

Dragons co-founder Mark Sibthorpe says the team is working to introduce the game's merits that keep legions of athletes coming back for more.

Rugby's unique community atmosphere has many athletes playing well into their 40s, and sometimes longer.

"(Rugby) is about families and friends having fun as a group together," he said.

"The kids really get to know one another in the community."

Rockhill boasts around 50 members aged seven to 12, while the Dragons are at 23 and counting.

Sibthorpe said because of the Dragons, Rockhill has a team to square off against.

With players travelling to the West Island from areas like the Town of Mont-Royal, he says it won't be long before other clubs start popping up across the island.

On Sunday, the Dragons hosted Rockhill on the Lindsay Place High School field in Pointe Claire.

Coaches help kids learn the basics of rugby, while some players are learning the art of tackling.

Sibthorpe said newcomers play flag or touch rugby, while more experienced — and usually older — athletes are introduced to contact "in a very controlled, safe way."

When children are prepared to tackle, they are divided into appropriate skill and weight classes, he added.

For extra safety, mini-rugby rules don't allow ball carriers to resist tackles or they lose possession.

Meanwhile, for the elder Blachon, he said the sport gets a bad rap for its violence.

"It's not at all dangerous," he said.

He should know, his playing days started at age seven. Blachon continued to lace up for the next 28 years.

"It's really adapted to the build of each child," he said of mini-rugby.

The Dragons are hosting a mini-rugby tournament and open house starting at 10 a.m. on July 8 at Valois Park in Pointe Claire. They are expecting 150 to 200 kids from Montreal, Ottawa and Kingston, Ont., Sibthorpe said.

For more information about mini-rugby, check www.minirugby.ca or call 514-671-0208 or e-mail mark@minirugby.ca.