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Global rugby community gets behind boy bullied about his size

January 25, 2022

Some of rugby's biggest names have reached out to send a young Welsh boy messages of support after he was bullied about his size.

Mark Pugsley posted on Twitter on Monday he had to remove an image of his son Alfie due to a number of negative comments.

"Had to remove a post from Facebook as an idiot commented saying my boy is too 'big' to play under-12s and isn't healthy," Pugsley wrote.

"If only people knew how hard he works to get fitter and how low his confidence has been. Don't worry Alfie, I'll always be your biggest fan."

As it turns out, Alfie's dad isn't his only fan with the tweet going viral and and receiving replies from some of the game's greats including a number of All Blacks.

Former All Blacks powerhouse Jerome Kaino was one of the first to send the Welsh youngster some kind words, telling him to keep having fun and working hard.

"Our beautiful game is for ALL genders, people from ALL walks of life and also ALL shapes and sizes," Kaino wrote on Twitter.

"Keep that smile on your face brother and keep up the awesome work."

Along with messages from the official accounts of both the All Blacks and All Blacks Sevens, players such as Ardie Savea and Israel Dagg also reached out as well.

"Keep chasing your dreams," Savea wrote.

"You've [got] another fan all the way in New Zealand Alfie. Keep up the great work brother," Dagg added.

Other big names in the game also replied to the tweet, including refereeing legend Nigel Owens, 89-cap Argentina hooker Agustin Creevy, South Africa prop Tendai Mtawarira, the French Rugby Union and even World Rugby themselves.

"I walked this road too once upon a time when people silently bullied me about my size and questioned whether I was the correct age for my age group," Mtawarira said.

"Keep your head high and never let the haters get to you. The game of rugby is for all."

Premiership Rugby - England's top division - also reached out to Alfie and his dad to offer them tickets to the final of this year's competition which organisers said the pair have accepted.

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