DRAGON SPORT SET TO RECRUIT YOUNG RUGBY CAPS OF THE FUTURE

Gareth Delve (Bath rugby) and Barry Davies (Scarlets) are set to make their Six Nations bows this year and are urging children across the length and breadth of Wales to get involved in Dragon rugby with the hope of finding the Welsh caps of the future.

Dragon Sport is the Sports Council for Wales’ pioneering initiative to get primary school children involved in extra-curricular sport.

It has already drawn the support of Welsh National Rugby coach, Mike Ruddock and Ospreys star Gavin Henson – the latest in a line of Welsh sport stars to be enlisted as Dragon Sport Ambassador. They follow in the footsteps of Ashes-winning cricketer Simon Jones and Team Wales Captain, Tanni Grey-Thompson, who is heading Wales’s Commonwealth charge Down Under while the Welsh 15 take charge back home.

The National Lottery-funded scheme has reached outstanding heights across Wales as the biggest drive to broaden children’s interest in sport.

Having fought back from a string of career-threatening injuries, Cardiff-born Delve, 23, understands the meaning of working hard to achieve the rewards and champions the scheme:

“It’s important that children get involved in sport when they’re young.

Dragon Sport is an excellent initiative because it gives young children the chance to explore new talent rather than waste it. They are our next generation on the rugby pitch, and some of them could be winning their first cap in a few years to come.”    

One of the main aims of Dragon Sport, is to recruit and train volunteer sports organisers, leaders and coaches to spend time introducing youngsters to sports like rugby, tennis and hockey – especially parents and teachers who are the real experts on getting children out onto the pitch. 

The Welsh Assembly Government last year launched Health Challenge Wales – a new national focus to secure greater ownership, commitment and action for better health, as part of a coordinated and sustained effort to improve levels of health in Wales.

If you are in primary school and you want to find out more about Dragon Sport in your area, contact your Dragon Sport Coordinator at your local authority or check out www.dragon-sport.co.uk

If you are in secondary school or older and would like to find out more about rugby opportunities in your area, contact your local sports development officer at your local authority.