HSBC ROOKIE RUGBY
Quick Links
Looking for tools, resources, and information about implementing Rookie Rugby as part of your physical education curriculum? Jump to Rookie Rugby For Schools.
Looking to add Rookie Rugby to your community organization’s youth programming? Jump to Rookie Rugby For Community Organizations.
Looking to find a rugby club that runs Rookie Rugby activities and/or youth rugby programs? Jump to Sask Rugby Member Organizations.
About Rookie Rugby
Rookie Rugby is the nation-wide introductory rugby program for ages 6 to 14 that provides both teachers and coaches with a safe, fun, and inclusive non-contact curriculum to introduce children to rugby.
Rookie Rugby is a game-based curriculum built on national guidelines for Health and Physical Education curriculums.
The program provides open-access, easy-to-follow game modules for leading a variety of activities that build introductory, non-contact rugby skills and provide teachers – including those that are unfamiliar with rugby – with new methods to promote physical literacy and practice Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS).
Rookie Rugby For Schools
Looking to make Rookie Rugby a part of your physical education curriculum? Sask Rugby’s goal is to make Rookie Rugby easy for teachers to add to their curriculum by addressing the specific challenges posed by learning and teaching a new sport. Check out the tools and resources below to help you on your journey!
You can’t play rugby without rugby balls, right?
A complete Rookie Rugby kit, which includes all the equipment needed to teach Rookie Rugby to a class of 30 students, including rugby balls, flag belts, cones, and a kit bag, can be obtained in the following ways::
- Purchase online at www.RookieRugby.ca
- APPLY for the Rookie Rugby Kit Grant Program:
- The Rookie Rugby Kit Grant Program allows schools to acquire rugby equipment on a temporary basis and if the school is successful at fulfilling the grant requirements then the school keeps the rugby equipment for FREE.
- The grant requirements are designed to assist schools with long-term inclusion of Rookie Rugby in their physical education classes, thereby increasing the number of students learning about rugby in school.
- Applications are evaluated against a set of criteria that aims to assess whether the grant is likely to result in future rugby registrations. Having youth playing rugby is the ultimate goal of all of our programs and therefore this forms the basis of deciding which schools are approved for the Rookie Rugby Kit Grant Program.
- See full grant terms and details HERE.
Sask Rugby has developed, with the endorsement of PHE Saskatchewan, curriculum-friendly Rookie Rugby Unit Plans for use in schools and communities to help instructors implement rugby in their classroom. These lesson plans have been developed with the philosophy that any instructor – regardless of rugby experience – should be able to pick up a guidebook and teach the content. Further, with 14 Unit Plans covering a wide age range of participants, a teacher implementing rugby in their classroom may never need to develop their own lesson plan regardless of whether they are teaching Kindergarten or Grade 12!
Access each lesson plan by clicking on its name in the list below:
Active Start – Introduction
Active Start – Intermediate
Fundamentals – Introduction
Fundamentals – Intermediate
Fundamentals – Advanced
Learn to Train – Introduction
Learn to Train – Intermediate
Learn to Train – Advanced
Train to Train – Introduction
Train to Train – Intermediate
Train to Train – Advanced
Train to Compete – Intermediate
Train to Compete – Advanced
Intro to Contact – Supplemental
Unsure of which Unit Plan is appropriate for your group? Check out our quick HOW TO GUIDE!
Looking for these lesson & unit plans in a convenient, easy-to-access format? Download the Athlete Era app and create an account with “Rugby” as your sport. You can find all of these plans on Athlete Era under the “Rookie Rugby Extended” program. Instructors can also use the detailed skills information on the app to assist with how to coach and perform specific skills contained in the lessons and activities.
Sask Rugby is committed to helping teachers gain the familiarity and confidence required to teach rugby as part of their physical education curriculum. We recognize that teachers are a key part of growing our sport and are committed to ensuring that teachers have the tools, resources, and knowledge required to implement Rookie Rugby in the classroom.
We encourage teachers to use the Rookie Rugby Teacher Professional Development form to get connected to us and let us know what your unique professional development needs are. Once we hear from you we can help to connect you with the specific strategies or tactics to best address your needs and build your confidence with using Rookie Rugby in a curricular setting.
Some of the strategies and tactics that teachers can access through the Professional Development form are:
- In-school demonstrations by Sask Rugby instructors
- Rookie Rugby Instructor Training* (NCCP Rookie Rugby workshop)
- Specific skill demonstrations and coaching cues
- Tactical and gameplay introductions for Rookie Rugby
- Mentorship & co-delivery
The exact mix of strategies and tactics used will be determined by the needs of each individual with the goal of preparing teachers to teach rugby on their own.
*Note on Rookie Rugby Instructor Training: We require a minimum number of participants to run this training opportunity. We collect interest in all Training & Education workshops and clinics via an Expression of Interest form and teachers are welcome to use this form as well. Rookie Rugby Instructor Training will be listed as NCCP Rookie Rugby on the form. If you have a group of teachers within your school or district that are interested in this training, please contact rdo@saskrugby.com and we can work towards a specific session for your group.
The Rookie Rugby School Leagues project is a multi-year comprehensive program that creates partnerships between schools and the rugby community for the purposes of growing the sport of rugby and providing enjoyable athletic experiences to youth.
Schools who sign-up for this project will participate in an annual extra-curricular school league with neighbouring schools culminating in a wind-up Jamboree event that brings together schools from the different leagues in the area. Schools will be supported through this project by a suite of curricular tools and resources, Sask Rugby’s league administration, and community rugby coaching. This project is a three-year project with the goal of being able to set up a program that is sustainable year-over-year beyond the initial three years.
Some highlights of the Rookie Rugby School Leagues project are:
- The core of the project is a 6-week flag rugby league featuring teams from 6-8 schools. The goal of the program is for the 6-8 schools to be from the same geographic area to allow for easy participation.
- Participating schools are responsible for the operation of their school teams, including any preparation of the players.
- Sask Rugby administrates the league, manages standings, and coordinates between local leagues.
- Sask Rugby supports the participating schools with a full suite of curriculum tools and professional development so that teachers and schools have the knowledge and confidence to prepare their athletes. This includes: rugby equipment, lesson plan curriculum binder, Rookie Rugby Instructor Training, and guaranteed in-school delivery.
- The rugby community will support the league through additional coaching support and building positive relationships with schools.
For complete information, please view the Rookie Rugby School League Manual (click link or picture above to view).
Sask Rugby is currently recruiting schools in Saskatoon and Regina to participate in this program in 2025. If you are interested in bringing this program to your school, please fill out our Rookie Rugby School League Expression of Interest Form!
For more Rookie Rugby resources, visit the Rookie Rugby website at www.rookierugby.ca. Some examples of resources that you will be able to find on the Rookie Rugby website include:
- Rookie Rugby Guidebook: Rules for flag rugby games & basic coaching cues.
- Game Cards Library: Activity instructions for the original Rookie Rugby games and activities.
- Curriculum Links Guide: How Rookie Rugby aligns with the Saskatchewan physical education curriculum.
- Rookie Rugby Activity Log: Report Rookie Rugby activity and help us grow the sport.
Rookie Rugby For Community Organizations
Are you involved in operating a community program for youth (e.g. camp, daycare, after-school program, community association, etc.)? Find out more about how Sask Rugby can assist with fun, age-appropriate programming for youth in your programs below.
Sask Rugby can provide rugby instruction for community organizations who are looking for fun, movement-based activities for the youth who enroll in their programs. We have many years of experience working with community programs to provide positive experiences for youth of all ages. Contact us to learn more about how we can work together!
Here’s some information about our services before you book:
- Our preference is to arrange multiple rugby sessions with the same group of participants in order to increase their understanding of the sport to develop their fundamental movement skills. We are flexible about how to achieve this goal within the structure of your program.
- We can and will work with youth of all ages. However, our preference is to work with smaller age groups (i.e. 2-4 years between the youngest and oldest participant) so that we can cater each session to the participants’ specific needs. We would be happy to devote more time to your organization to enable sessions with smaller age groups (i.e. by delivering multiple sessions per visit).
- We believe in participant-to-instructor ratios that create positive experiences for the youth involved. As such, we need to know the expected number of participants before confirming the session so that we can ensure that we have capacity to work with your group size. We appreciate any assistance that community program staff can provide in managing participants’ behaviours in line with the standards expected from your organization.
- We can run sessions both indoors and outdoors and at any time of year. Please specify whether you want to be indoors or outdoors when booking so that we can plan accordingly for the amount of space and number of participants.
- We bring all of our own rugby equipment to enable us to deliver the planned sessions.
- We do not charge a set fee for our services but will prioritize working with organizations that can provide an instructor fee or honorarium. We may require an instructor fee or honorarium to provide services in locations that do not have nearby Sask Rugby Member Organizations.
Please use our Community Organization Booking Inquiry Form to let us know how we can best serve your organization/program. This form helps us collect the necessary information to proceed quickly to booking specific dates and times (which we will do based on organizational capacity at the time of year specified in the form).
You can’t play rugby without rugby balls, right?
We strongly encourage community organizations to acquire rugby equipment that can be used in their programs on a regular basis. The equipment needed for Rookie Rugby activities can be purchased online at www.RookieRugby.ca. If a desired item is sold out on the Rookie Rugby website, please don’t hesitate to contact Sask Rugby and we’ll see if we can help.
Rugby equipment is an eligible expense for many youth community development grant programs. We encourage community organizations to utilize grant programs wherever possible to acquire rugby equipment.
Sask Rugby has developed, with the endorsement of PHE Saskatchewan, curriculum-friendly Rookie Rugby Unit Plans for use in schools and communities to help instructors implement rugby in their classroom. These lesson plans have been developed with the philosophy that any instructor – regardless of rugby experience – should be able to pick up a guidebook and teach the content. Further, with 14 Unit Plans covering a wide age range of participants, a leader implementing Rookie Rugby in their community program may never need to develop their own lesson plan regardless of the age group they are instructing!
Access each lesson plan by clicking on its name in the list below:
Active Start – Introduction
Active Start – Intermediate
Fundamentals – Introduction
Fundamentals – Intermediate
Fundamentals – Advanced
Learn to Train – Introduction
Learn to Train – Intermediate
Learn to Train – Advanced
Train to Train – Introduction
Train to Train – Intermediate
Train to Train – Advanced
Train to Compete – Intermediate
Train to Compete – Advanced
Intro to Contact – Supplemental
Unsure of which Unit Plan is appropriate for your group? Check out our quick HOW TO GUIDE!
Looking for these lesson & unit plans in a convenient, easy-to-access format? Download the Athlete Era app and create an account with “Rugby” as your sport. You can find all of these plans on Athlete Era under the “Rookie Rugby Extended” program. Instructors can also use the detailed skills information on the app to assist with how to coach and perform specific skills contained in the lessons and activities.
For more Rookie Rugby resources, visit the Rookie Rugby website at www.rookierugby.ca. Some examples of resources that you will be able to find on the Rookie Rugby website include:
- Rookie Rugby Guidebook: Rules for flag rugby games & basic coaching cues.
- Game Cards Library: Activity instructions for the original Rookie Rugby games and activities.
- Event Guide: How to run a stand-alone Rookie Rugby event outside of your regular programming (e.g. Try Rugby Day).
- Rookie Rugby Activity Log: Report Rookie Rugby activity and help us grow the sport.
Your organization doesn’t need to be reliant on Sask Rugby to run rugby sessions for your programs. We encourage your leaders to sign up for relevant training & education opportunities run by Sask Rugby through the year.
The core training for delivering Rookie Rugby (non-contact, flag-based) activities is the NCCP Rookie Rugby workshop (also referred to as Rookie Rugby Instructor Training). This workshop is a 4-hour course that teaches the core competencies required for instructing rugby in this format. A key part of this training is practical experience running Rookie Rugby activities with your peers.
There are two main ways of accessing the NCCP Rookie Rugby workshop, depending on whether you are looking to attend as an individual or a group:
- As A Group: Organizations that have a group of trainees wishing to take this training should contact Sask Rugby’s Rugby Development Officer (rdo@saskrugby.com). Even if your organization doesn’t meet the minimum number of participants to run the workshop by itself, we may be able to schedule an opportunity around your needs based on other interest in the community.
- As An Individual: Individuals wishing to take this course should use Sask Rugby’s Training & Education Expression of Interest Form to let us know that you’re interested in this opportunity. Individuals who fill out this form will be contacted when we have enough participants to schedule a course in their area.
For more information about all of the training & education opportunities available through Sask Rugby, please visit our Training & Education webpage.
Sask Rugby Member Organizations Offering Rookie Rugby Activities
Sask Rugby Member Organizations (a.k.a. rugby clubs) also incorporate Rookie Rugby activities, philosophies, and gameplay in their programming for youth between the ages of 3 and 18. These programs are great destinations for youth who have tried Rookie Rugby in their school or community organization and want to learn more about the sport and take their game to the next level.
In addition to being additional community programming for youth, rugby clubs that have programs for youth can offer additional services to schools and community organizations above and beyond what is offered by Sask Rugby. If you are a teacher or community program lead, it is always good to know and create connections with the rugby clubs in your area.
We encourage you to check out the full list of Sask Rugby Member Organizations, sorted by age and location, HERE!
