I was going to put this in chat, but the experts will be here.

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At my DC's school the captain of the boys rugby team is a trans boy (a girl transitioning to a boy) 14yo. He's identified as a boy since 8yo and to look at him you'd never know.

There are a couple of things that puzzle me. The first is how he can possibly be fast/strong enough? The other is whether this is the same issue as men taking over women's sport?

I was inclined not to believe it when I first heard, but it's true.

"At my DC's school the captain of the boys rugby team is a trans boy (a girl transitioning to a boy) 14yo. He's identified as a boy since 8yo and to look at him you'd never know."

Also if this child looks like a 14 year old boy then they are taking testosterone. I've seen 14yo transboys and they look like pre-pubescent boys. They don't look like 14 yo boys.

If this child is being doped on steroids well all bets are off.

Note that steroid abuse is a thing (and strictly prohibited) among MALE child rugby players, but for FTM it's completely permitted.

This was the outcome of steroid abuse from a school rugby player:

www.ghanagrio.com/articles/uk/21790-environment-secretary-s-boy-17-posts-online-video-accusing-parents-of-turning-their-backs-on-him-after-rugby-ban.html

Clearly if there are FTM children on testosterone competing in competitive rugby that's completely horrific because actual competitive top-level school rugby is based on weight lifting, and building muscle mass, something which is made massively easier by steorids/testosterone.

However it is as I understand it generally accepted that FTM athletes can do unlimited doping on testosterone as part of their hormone 'therapy'.

I would not be surprised at all if this exploited for competitive advantage in sport.

Girls hit puberty earlier. I was for the first 6-8 school years always a head taller than ALL of the boys and overpowered most of them.
Highschool came, and then I suddenly was overgrown by a good 20cm and the strenght difference was visible as well.

Where I grew up in NZ rugby teams took weight into account as you could have some massive boys that were young and you risked injury to the other children if they were just placed in their age group. I understand it is still quite common for age groups to govern teams in the UK and this has massive implication with trans players.
There have been calls for that to be taken into consideration in football too, mainly because boys of different races grow at different speeds. So if it's done by age groups, some boys are much bigger, taller and therefore faster than their peers. Balances out in adulthood mainly, but it would probably make sense to do it by height/weight instead, like boxing does by weight. Nobody would want to watch a heavyweight beat up a welterweight boxer, the weight divisions are there for a reason and some of the best boxing is in the lower weight categories.
Fair play to the girl in the rugby team, it's going to be tough on her when she can't compete any more. But I agree that 14 is a bit late to be segregating the teams.

Also if this child looks like a 14 year old boy then they are taking testosterone. I've seen 14yo transboys and they look like pre-pubescent boys. They don't look like 14 yo boys.
14 year old boys aren't all big. Some look much younger. Many can't grow facial hair. I think it's possible for a girl dressing as a boy to look like one of the lads at 14, especially if she's tall. It'll be harder to keep up as they all grow older obviously.

Yes turph if you check out rugby players form South Pacific nations some are just massive and have incredible muscle mass.

It would be so dangerous to have them compete by age.

Cross sex hormones aren't administered before age 16, are they?

quietcontrarymary that is just shocking

The thought of young people ruining their bodies - yes I imagine this will be exploited but that is just appalling.

I just keep thinking of women bonding their chests as up there when women had to wear tight corsets and women had their feet bound.

I wonder if in 20 years when the sheer dangers of these puberty blockers or extra hormones are really understood then will people will really look back with complete horror.

They shouldn't be, Liverpool, but wasn't that one of the things that has led to a certain "prescribe over the internet" doctor being prosecuted recently? I don't doubt that you can get hold of testosterone through dubious means if you are sufficiently crap at parenting.

Recently before the big rugby tests are televised I have noticed that there have been women games played and televised immediately before the men's game - which have really boosted the profile of women playing rugby. On a side note, it has been a joy to watch some of the women's rugby on TV. The men's game has now bulked up so much (backs are the size forwards used to be 20 years ago) and become so much a crunching war of attrition, that watching the French women's team is like a trip down memory lane - they play like that fabulous Welsh team of the 1970s, open, running rugby, just running rings round their opposition. It's fabulous.

"14 year old boys aren't all big. Some look much younger."

Some do. But rugby players are massive.

A quick look confirms that expected height is close to 6' old.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/23g6l3/whats_the_average_weight_height_for_someone_my/

The average adult woman is 5'3".

"Cross sex hormones aren't administered before age 16, are they?"

They certainly are. Susie Green gave her child oestrogen at 14.

Landon Richie started on testosterone age 12 and had double mastectomy at 13 and is vigorously promoting this to other.

I have NO DOUBT that there are

Should have said - legally.

It's very concerning.

Also there are children going on puberty blockers at 10 or 11, clearly not all are going to want to be Peter Pan till the age of 18, and the steroids will come out before then.

I very clearly remember a secondary school year when the girls were ALL taller than the boys at the end of the summer term (July) and when we came back in September, the boys were ALL 10cm plus taller than us.

I think I might’ve gotten a perm that summer, but I’d rather not try too hard to remember that bit.

I’m surprised Rugby set mixed sex limits at 14, if I recall correctly, the FA cut off is 11 (end of primary school).

Betty , English Rugby has cut off age 11. I suppose OP might not be in UK.

www.englandrugby.com/news/age-grade-rugby-changes-get-underway/#

Mixed (girls and boys) rugby is up to and including U11. Single-gender rugby starts from U12 with girls in dual age bands at U12/13, U14/15 and U16-18

but should be single-sex from U12+ surely?

Yes it should.

My mistake upthread (must have misheard when I asked the other parents about it). I did think 14 seemed too old.

I naively thought the RFU would above other sporting bodies get this.

England rugby union note that the safety and well-being of all players are of paramount importance within the trans section / guidance. That is what it seems from my reading at this hour.

They also go on to state that coaches and parents are involved in decision making so all sound quite reasonable and does not seem to give trans people a free ticket in but then i gather they will look to adopt Olympic type view point on trans so is that when they will lose any sensibility?

To be honest my 8 year old will be a giant he is in mid teen clothing when he starts tackling there is no way I want him playing against a girl.

Yes the French women rugby team are great too.

But honestly with the issues rugby has had with concussion especially young players and secondary impact syndrome I am surprised they would entertain this. It just blows my mind - pardon the pun. 

But honestly with the issues rugby has had with concussion especially young players and secondary impact syndrome I am surprised they would entertain this. It just blows my mind - pardon the pun.

Yup - DS is just about to come back after a lengthy stint of no sport at all due to a concussion. He and ( (by extension) have been climbing the walls.

He's a weeny little kid too - I spend my whole life worrying about him getting flattened but he loves playing.

Oh poor him and poor you. May he stay safe. 

I worry and my son is not tackling yet.

Once they get the rugby bug it is hard to shake.

But on the trans issue I just can't see it being feasible and able to be accommodated.
This is too high risk and I can't see how a rugby club can accommodate mixed sex rugby once puberty hits.

It doesn't seem right at all from a physical safety or safeguarding point of view.

However, this child thinks she is a boy, whatever the rights and wrongs of that are.

What the school and the parents need to do is be creative and get the child happily and productively involved in sport in a way which is going to keep her safe physically and also in " safe uncertainty" as GIDS calls it regarding gender identity - not on the train track to certain transition as an adult.

DS isn't in the rugby team, I've no idea what they do about showering.....what will they do about showering?!

Schools these days have facilities for disabled students, there is probably a shower in one of the accessible toilets. Many transexual people don't want to shower communally.

As for the strength, one of my uni friends was on the uni women's rugby team, she looked like she could have competed with men.

And agree that boys are usually smaller until puberty. I'm 2 years younger than my brother, between the ages of about 9 and 13 people often asked my mum if we were twins.

Incidentally my brother played rugby for his school, but when he was 16 the school asked if he would play for them in the younger team, I can't remember the ages but guessing 12-14 as he was small enough to not be noticed he decided to give up.