England wing Mark Cueto was on his best behaviour when he joined up with YAZOO and Child Victims of Crime (CVOC) to take part in a police officer tag training day at Kings Norton Rugby Club, Birmingham.
The RFU accredited tag coaching course, run by National RFU Tag Rugby Development Officer Matt Ferguson, qualifies the officers to coach the game in schools and provides them with an opportunity to deliver the CVOC’s Tackle Safety message.
Encouraging safety, personal health and welfare, social inclusion and community involvement, CVOC works to prevent children from becoming victims of crime.
"It has been great to be involved today," said Sale Sharks captain Cueto.
"The partnership between Yazoo, CVOC and the RFU is an excellent way of broadening the coaching base for tag. It is exciting to see how keen the officers are to pass on the skills they have learnt today to the children in their local schools.
"I’m pleased to promote tag as it is a fun and simple form of rugby which introduces young children to the sport and the values associated with it."
Since 2007 some 2000 officers across the country have been trained and with the support of YAZOO, in the last two years alone, two million children have been involved with tag rugby.
West Mercia Deputy Constable David Shaw, a police force with a leading role in the initiative, said: "We are delighted to be involved. It’s important that we don’t just see ourselves as out there catching bad people: we want to work with young people who are often not only the people who cause the crime, but are also the victims of it.
"For us one of the key messages is meeting with children in a positive environment, in a way we might not have done so otherwise. To show the extent of our support for the scheme our force has made it the prime youth engagement activity to reach as many children as possible."
Following a session on the rules of tag and a talk from Dominic Chambers, Manager of CVOC, the officers braved the elements and used tag drills to take 45-cap England star Cueto back to basics.
PC Tracy Wood, an officer involved in the day said: "The Core Values of Rugby, team work, discipline, respect, enjoyment and sportsmanship are the exact values we as police officers want to encourage within young people. Today’s experience has been even better than I anticipated. Tag will be a great tool for me to engage with kids on another level, in something that they will want to do as well.
"I can’t wait for them to see me in a different light. Being there as a coach will break down barriers, and show that we are not just a uniform but will enable them to see that they can come and talk to us as a person rather than a Police Constable or Community Support Officer."
Schools who take part in the programme can enter their local area tag events. The winners of these become part of the Tag 2 Twickenham competition which holds its annual National Finals Day at Rugby School.
Published: 21/01/2011
Source: http://www.rfu.com/News/2011/January/News%20Articles/170111_Cueto_Tag.aspx
