Dunfermline Press | Sport | Former Edinburgh coach aims to boost West Fife rugby

Tuesday, 6th January, 2009

Published: Thursday, 13th September, 2007 12:00

Former Edinburgh coach aims to boost West Fife rugby

By Nicola Jeffs

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DUNFERMLINE Rugby Club is set to get West Fife kids active with the help of a new development coach.

It has appointed a former Edinburgh Rugby Club coach, Phil Smith (37), who will be working to promote the game among primary and secondary school pupils.

He said, “So far I’ve just been going into the schools and seeing what the needs are, either after school or at lunchtimes.

“I will be slotting in, helping out and getting on with it however I can.”

Along with making school visits, Dunfermline man Smith, once a teacher at Queen Anne High School, will be organising coaching sessions and tournaments at McKane Park.

Dunfermline Rugby Club aims to have as many as 500 youngsters playing the sport through the new venture, which is supported by Fife Council and the Scottish Rugby Union.

It is also hoped that some of the youngsters trained up by Smith – also the coach of the club’s main team – will become the stars of the future.

He told Press Sport, “The challenge is to keep them in the game. When they hit 18 that’s the hardest age so we will be making personal development plans for individual players.”

Club president Grant McKenzie said, “We are not a wealthy club so if we can breed our own players that is great.

“Now there is a club focus and the kids know they can participate at a club level.”

Neil Carrie, the Scottish Rugby Union’s regional development manager for Tayside and Fife, said, “DRC are already a successful club so we are building on that.”

David Maiden, Fife Council service manager for sports development and physical education, added, “We need to get more people, more active, more often.”

Smith’s role will also involve linking up with others in the Scottish development network to establish new fixtures and build up competitions and he also hopes to be able to take players to the rugby festival held at McKane Park during the October school holidays.