Junior-Teenage-Development-Strategy

Canterbury Rugby Union

Junior & Teenage Player Development Strategy – U15 and Below

Focus – Player & Coach Development

CRFU Strategic Plan 2022 – “Deliver a holistic representative experience to more junior players”


The CRFU have been reviewing its development strategy for the last 12 months to come into line with the philosophies being put forward in teenage sport with a strong lead from Sport NZ.

NZ Rugby have also undertaken its own review and recently published its own letter (attached) on what ages it sees development focus give way to Talent ID or High performance.

Programmes should be designed to:

• Focus on delivering quality coaching to develop competence and confidence in core rugby skills to as many participants as possible.

• Develop the holistic aspects to as many participants as possible from both a playing and personal attributes perspective.

• Maximise the quality of experience for as many participants as possible through inclusive development opportunities and programme design and delivery.


NZR guidelines to high performance teams

  • National level only at U17
  • Provincial level U15 and U16 under review by NZR
  • Provincial level not at U14 or below


​​​​​​​Canterbury wide guidelines

  • Provincial only at U16 and above
  • Provincial development camps at U14 and U15
  • Club and provincial union responsibility for development at U13 and below


2021 Programme - Male

Under 15 - Canterbury U15 Development Programme – July School Holidays - Dates/Venue TBC

Development camp covering CRFU 6 pillars of Player Development

Self Nomination - details will be posted here in mid-June and communicated directly to eligible players - born in 2006


Under 14 - Canterbury U14 Development Programme - Post Club Season - 11, 18 & 24 September - CANCELLED for 2021 due to Covid restrictions

11 September -  Training Day

18 & 24 September - Fixtures at the same venue

No Weekday trainings

Players will be split into even Canterbury wide teams

CRFU to recruit, appoint and support Coach Development

Self Nomination - details will be posted here in August and communicated directly to eligible players - born in 2007


U14 and U15 Coach Selection Process:

  • Aspiring Coaches will be sourced externally to develop personally within the Canterbury Wide Teenage Player Development Strategy – U15 & U14
  • Coaches will show a willingness to upskill and develop alongside our CRFU Coach Education team
  • Coaches will have a passion to develop and inspire our next generation of players


Further rationale for change:

CRFU ‘Representative Programmes’ vary across the Sub-Unions for U15 & below but are predominantly game based, with little emphasis on skill development. A review in 2017 identified ongoing issues with uneven results and trialling of children aged below 13. In 2018 the representative programme was altered to include more teams, however the results continued to vary, and trials continued in North Canterbury & Ellesmere.

There is considerable evidence that suggests competitive environments too early lead to what is called the double-edged sword of selection/de-selection. Those selected get too much exposure to intense competition and specialisation and eventually burn out, exiting the game. Those de-selected interpret that message that their time in the sport is over and exit the game. Up to the age of 14/15, there is a sport view that “Balance is Better” and it is only from that point that players should start singularly invest in a single sport. There is also research that shows players who are in U13 Representative teams are often not in Senior Representative teams, and many are not playing the sport at all.


The recommended programme would put in place a system that:

  • Focuses on skill development
  • Is age and stage appropriate
  • Provides coach development opportunities
  • Provides equal opportunities across the region

SportNZ have done extensive research into athlete development and talent identification and identified 3 key myths around the development and identification of high performers:

Myth 1. Early specialisation is good

Conventional wisdom is that the earlier athletes choose their sport and focus on it, the better. And there are examples that convince us that this is true. In fact, earlier is not necessarily better. Burn-out, over-use injuries and declining motivation: these are the more likely outcomes of early specialisation. What we now know is that when young people have diverse sporting experience’s they develop transferable skills, greater creativity and better decision-making capabilities.

Myth 2. Childhood success leads to adult success

Conventional wisdom is that talent can be identified early. Again, this isn’t necessarily so. It’s true that some athletes’ gifts are obvious from childhood, but every athlete is different and progress is non-linear. Some only develop and emerge much later. What we now know is that how someone performs at a young age is not a reliable predictor of their future potential.


Myth 3. Successful athletes focus on winning

Conventional wisdom is that you get what you think about, so think about winning. In fact, the most successful athletes, teams, coaches and administrators don’t focus on winning at all. Instead, they focus on their development: how well they perform. And they regard winning as an inevitable outcome of being the best they can be.