Rugby Coaching Blog | Professional Rugby Advice & Coaching

In South Africa, many schoolchildren play rugby barefoot. It is not a financial issue. It is because the grounds are so hard boots would be uncomfortable.

It also removes one of the fears of contact: a foot in the face is far less scary than a bunch of studs.

I was interviewing Lynn Evans yesterday who has just returned from coaching for the IRB in South Africa. He witnessed some very interesting training and games, alongside the test matches and provincial games for the Lions. I think he was most amazed by an Under 9s game where the players were barefoot, played 15-a-side on a big pitch, with full scrums and lifting in the lineout. “Apart from the lifting and scrums, the game was like any normal Under 9s game”, he told me, “with the players congregating around the ball.”