A new school rugby rule requiring all players get at least 30 minutes game-time is receiving mixed reviews, with one coach giving it a red card.

New Zealand Rugby Union this season implemented a rule variation making it compulsory for all players at school rugby Second XV level and below to receive opportunity to play a minimum half a game of rugby – and made it the responsibility of coaches to enforce.

Tauranga Boys' College head of rugby Rodger McBrydie. Photos: Bruce Barnard.

NZRU says the policy has been introduced as a result of a 2012 survey of 1686 teenagers, which found most players were leaving rugby due to lack of game-time.

Otumoetai College sports co-ordinator Paul Braddock is against the rule-change he says puts player safety in jeopardy and causes headaches and more pressure for coaches.

'We want to regulate and put them [injured players] in at a time that's safe for them,” says Paul, who is concerned players returning from injury may not be physically ready to play the required 30 minutes.

Paul, also an U15 rugby team coach, says Otumoetai College has long been attempting to give each player at least 20 minutes' game-time – but says the compulsory new rule allows students to flaunt the sport's ethos of being rewarded for attending training and playing well.

Some players now only attend one training weekly, knowing they're guaranteed half a game, says Paul.

He feels the principle behind the new rule is sound, but believes it will cause headaches for coaches, as substituting multiple players disrupts a team's dynamic and could jeopardise winning a tight match.

'People have been saying weak players going on in the second half - it weakens the team dramatically.”

Tauranga Boys' College head of rugby Rodger McBrydie believes the rule is a positive change, and is adamant it doesn't remove school rugby's competitive nature.

He says while it was initially thought the replacement of players would dilute competitiveness, the change has received nothing but positive feedback.

Instead of seeking feedback from coaches, Rodger looks to first-hand information from players to back up his stance.

'Talking to the players themselves is where I'm hearing the positive stuff, which is fabulous,” says Rodger.

'I ask the boys to see what their opinion is and more than once it is: ‘it's going really well'. One of the reasons is because they are getting guaranteed half a game.”

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