A CHARITY focused on educating and supporting people through playing rugby, will start in-person courses again at Ebbw Vale rugby club, from June 9 to June 29.

The School of Hard Knocks course is for male and non-binary people who have problems in employment, possibly due to factors such as poor mental health, substance misuse, and criminal convictions.

Rugby is used to improve the confidence of those attending, with other sessions including input from a psychologist and a psychotherapist.

At the course’s end, there will be a jobs fair and, if Covid-19 regulations allow, a full contact or mixed ability rugby match.

Course coach Adam Powell, said: “We look at the body, the mind, and the future.

“The psychiatrists come in and focus on keeping everyone’s minds healthy, we use rugby as an impact sport to change the body, and for the future we look at CVs, interview skills and online image among other things”.

Catryn Grundy, School of Hard Knocks Director for Wales, said: “The course is all about developing those amazing transferable skills that rugby gives you.

“It wasn’t until this job that I realised what rugby had given me, such as confidence, leadership, respect for authority, and controlling aggression.

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“Rugby is a great leveller and is a sport for all shapes and sizes having different but equal roles, and that’s something that is really empowering.

“For some of our female groups it’s maybe the first time somebody’s been celebrated for their size, there really is a place for everyone on a rugby team”.

While this course will be for those who identify as male, normally they run side by side with female courses, which will resume later this year.

The Ebbw Vale course will be the first held in-person since December, with online classes having being available over lockdown.

Ms Grundy said: “Our bread and butter is in-person stuff. We know those transferable skills rugby gives you and it’s a lot harder to do that online because the power of teamwork is something we massively promote.

“The online stuff has been brilliant and we had much more of an impact than we first considered. But saying that, we are very grateful to be working face-to-face with people again.”

The School of Hard Knocks was started in 2007 by its chief executive Ken Cowen in Liverpool, when he was asked by Knowsley council to help young men who were unemployed and opposed to receiving any help.

Mr Cowen decided that getting them to play rugby would instil positive values in the men and give them an improved sense of self-worth.

Sky Sports broadcast a TV programme following the courses that was presented by former British and Irish Lions rugby internationals Scott Quinnell and Will Greenwood.

The series ran for eight seasons, with the final season airing originally in 2015.

The group was registered as a charity in 2012 and offers courses to schools and adults.

Mr Powell said: “We’re giving people the tools to take that next step in their lives.

“We’re there to support them on the next step after that, we’re constantly trying to keep in touch.

“It’s amazing to see the stuff they go through first of all and then how this has all helped in the long run”.