Is rugby the next soccer?

Even if rugby is a very old sport, it is still quite unknown in the province. Ron Chiasson has been coaching Vanier college teams since 1986 and according to him, the key to success is getting the young children involved. “Soccer’s popularity exploded because of all the efforts that were made to get kids into it. This is why we have mini rugby now.”

The Montreal Lions are the future of rugby in St. Laurent and in its surroundings. Every Sunday, all summer long, children from 7 to 12 are getting familiar with this sport on the Lauren Hill academy field. Contacts have been replaced with a tag version of rugby where the ball carrier needs to drop his possession as soon as he is touched. The kids are coached by members of the Town of Mount Royal Rugby Football Club, a team founded in 1954 that plays in the Montreal league.

However, between the Lions’ mini rugby program and the Vanier College Cheetahs’, there are not many opportunities for younger players to practice their favourite sport in the borough. «Lauren Hill academy has a program, but that’s about it. Kids in high school need to tell their school they want to play, but we need the teachers’ support as well”, said coach Chiasson. Although he understands that it is a contact sport and that the players are barely wearing any equipment, he feels more high schools should consider including tag rugby in their sport program and reminds that it is not a costly sport.

Since he first started getting involved with rugby, Ron Chiasson did not witness a lot of change in the sport’s popularity in Quebec. Still, he remains optimistic towards the future as more children seem interested in playing New Zealand’s national sport.

(Photo: Courtesy)