Belgium's rugby family continues to grow

By Kate Rowan
When Francis de Molder first picked up an oval ball, the game in his native Belgium was in a very different place to where it is today.

It is with a wry chuckle that the scrum coach for the Belgium national side recounts his early rugby experiences.


“When I started as a nine year old, I had to play with guys that were 13, 14 and 15,” he says.


“Back then in 1976, we only had 800 or 900 players in Belgium.

It was the first time we had youth players in the country.

I remember playing my first game and we had a combination of Under 12s, Under 14s and Under 16s players mi…