SARACENS have held a morning of coaching in St Albans to launch the club phase of the NSPCC Anti-Bullying Programme. The taster day at the Old Albanian (OA) RFC in Harpenden Road was run in conjunction with the club s usual Sunday morning junior rugby tra

SARACENS have held a morning of coaching in St Albans to launch the club phase of the NSPCC Anti-Bullying Programme.

The taster day at the Old Albanian (OA) RFC in Harpenden Road was run in conjunction with the club's usual Sunday morning junior rugby training session and was aimed at introducing the players to the idea of peer support.

Old Albanians and four teams aged under 12 took part in four separate activities - three from Saracens demonstrating rugby skills and the fourth a Childline activity which explained peer support.

At the end the young people could sign up if they were interested in becoming a peer supporter and the OAs will pick five from each age group for training.

Saracens club and England captain Steve Borthwick, who is Saracens ambassador for the anti-bullying programme, commented: "Kids get singled out for all sorts of reasons and sometimes bullies will have a go at you just because you're seen as being big and tough.

"Being part of a team where everyone is different means you need to play to each other's strengths and work together to get a winning result.