SEND rugby 'incredibly friendly and inclusive game'

Rugby for children and adults with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is about "opening up the opportunity" to take part in the sport.

Banbury, Gosford All Blacks, Wallingford and Witney rugby clubs all regularly offer the specialist sessions in Oxfordshire.

Theresa Clark, whose son James is "profoundly disabled" and plays for Witney Wolves, said rugby was an "incredibly friendly and inclusive game".

Players with SEND from across the county recently played in a curtain raiser ahead of the Championship clash between Chinnor and Coventry.

Darren Rea, who is co-chair of diversity, inclusion and equality at the Oxfordshire RFU, said the players "enjoyed the opportunity to be somewhere different and play rugby".

He said the event "just talks about the values of rugby".

Oxfordshire is the first English county to have a SEND representative team, along with all of the four club sides, called the Wolves.

SEND rugby was an "opportunity to really provide a provision for children and parents that otherwise maybe don't feel that inclusion or that ability to take part in team sports", Mr Rea said.

He said: "Rugby's a really good vehicle for that, [it involves] all shapes and sizes and there's a real ability to adapt sessions and provide something useful."

Ms Clark said her son, who has played for 16 years, "absolutely loves putting on his rugby shirt and being out there, and he feels totally included".

She said SEND rugby in Oxfordshire was "one big family".

"They consider themselves to be brothers and sisters to each other, and they support each other through life so much so that when they get to older ages, they often choose to live with each other so that they can be in the same family for the rest of their lives," she added.

On 26 April, the counties teams will descend on Witney for an annual SEND rugby festival.

Katiefest, which is named in honour of a former Wallingford player, will see six mixed ability SEND teams play against one another.

Mr Rea, who is also the SEND lead at Gosford All Blacks RFC, said the festival was about "providing the opportunity to really highlight the amazing talent these players have", adding it would be "fantastic to watch".

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