Interest in new Seaton Carew junior rugby team booms after a year indoors

After a year indoors Hartlepool youngsters are on the move again – and a new rugby team in the town has experienced unexpected success.

Little SCRUFs, part of the Seaton Carew RUFC (SCRUFC), was launched just over two months ago and already has 40 members and counting.

Boys and girls aged between three and 10 have been joining the training sessions, which take place every Sunday at Hornby Park.

A spokesman for the team said: “Really, it’s just gone crazy. We started off and the first few sessions, we only had a few kids.

"And then all of sudden now we have 40.”

Organisers have said they wanted to help kids get moving again after a year of pandemic restrictions.

The club’s spokesman explained: "We wanted to start a rugby club for the kids, because they’ve had a difficult year. They’re always stuck in the house.

"We’re just trying to get the kids out exercising and having fun and introducing them to the joy that is rugby.

"It’s quite amazing how much it has grown in a short space of time. It just proves that people out there want to be active and stay fit. It’s fantastic.

"The kids absolutely love it. They’re all coming down, they’re making new friends, they’re learning new abilities.

"It’s become a thing for the parents as well. All the parents come down, they bring deck chairs and they sit down and watch the kids train. It’s brilliant.”

SCRUFC is 100 this year and coaches hope that the junior club will help preserve rugby in Hartlepool for the next generations.

The spokesperson added: “It’s our hundredth anniversary this year and we wanted to do something big to mark the occasion and, obviously, starting again from the beginning with the little kids is the best way to do that.

"We want to get as big as we can and then hopefully we’ll start entering leagues and competitions and having proper games.”

Training takes place every Sunday from 10.30am until 11.30am. Each session is £2 and all kids get a hot dog at the end.

Children aged between three and 16 of all abilities are welcome and can sign up by turning up at one of the sessions.

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