Harlow Rugby Club is a member of the Saracens Club Partnership Programme.

A few questions you might like answered. Your parents might also find this useful.

Am I old enough to play rugby?: Mini rugby starts for children aged six and there are mini teams to cover all age-groups up to 12.

 Can girls play rugby?: In Mini rugby which is for children from six to twelve, girls and boys play together in the same teams.

 My brother and sister are over twelve can they play?  Certainly, once you are in your teens boys and girls moved into separate squads. The boys play in the youth section which has teams at every age group from 13 through to 18 after which they become seniors. Girls in their teens become part of Harlow Rugby Club ladies' squad. Training times for all groups are listed on the back page.

 I like the idea of Rugby but am a bit worried about scrums and tackling : In the youngest age groups, starting at six, you play a completely non-contact version of the game. You concentrate on the running and ball-handling skills which are so important for all age groups. Each year as you move up to the next team just a few more aspects of the senior game are introduced. You will only start tackling when you are ready and have learned how to do it safely.

 Who will teach me the game?:  Harlow Rugby Club has a large group of qualified coaches and regularly sends more members on RFU organised training courses both to obtain a nationally recognised coaching awards and to upgrade their existing awards to more advanced levels. All of the teams in the junior and mini sections are the direct supervision of one or more qualified coaches.

 Can my parents join the club?: When a junior member joins the club their parents automatically become social members of the club. If they would like to get more involved then that they are welcome to join as full members. Many of our coaches arrived at the club as parents of junior members and then decided to attend training courses so that they could help coach other young players. Some parents have even decided that is not fair that the juniors should have all fun and have joined the senior playing section of the club. One or two fathers have even worked their way up to play for the first team in the London and South-East in Division I of the English Clubs' Championships. Now we are running a ladies team your mum can join in as well. Alice Gladden who coaches in the mini section is also manger of the Ladies Team. Get your mum or older sister to ask her for details. Or she can come along on Monday evening.

How much does it cost?: We believe that rugby is a great sport and that every youngster should have a chance to play. We keep the costs as low as possible. To be a mini section member costs £12 per year. For that we throw-in free social membership for your parents. Where several members of the same family all want to play we have family membership schemes which provide a discount. Older age groups pay more in a sliding scale but all junior rugby is heavily subsidised by the club to keep costs down.

 Do I have to pay to join the club on my first session?: No we prefer new players to attend for a few sessions first to make sure that they really want to play rugby. What we must have before you start is your parents’ permission for you to play.

What should I wear for training?:  

• Shirts, shorts and socks.

• Rugby or football boots in winter, trainers in summer.

• In cold weather will also need tracksuit.

• Don’t buy expensive kit, use your oldest clothes which you don't mind spoiling.

• Don’t buy boots until you have spoken to the coaches, the rules about studs are different from soccer. There is no hurry, you will do better with trainers until the wet weather starts in the autumn.