| Return to competitive play in 2020/21 season delayed to January 2021 earliest. Under powers delegated by Council, the RFU Governance Committee today made a difficult decision that, with the exception of Premiership, Championship and Premier 15s rugby, no organised* RFU or non-RFU Leagues including merit tables, adult or age grade competitions will be played before January 2021 at the earliest. With the increased uncertainly caused by Government’s additional restrictions to curb the increase in Covid-19 cases across the country, the decision has been made so that we can provide clubs with some certainty over the next few months. The rugby community can continue to organise non-contact fixtures with other clubs using Ready4Rugby and other touch rugby activity. Limited and restricted contact rugby training can also be continued. The RFU continues to be in active dialogue with government about moving to Stage E on the Roadmap should we reach this point at any time before Christmas, competitive friendly matches could commence. The Adult and Age Grade Competitions Groups will be making recommendations to Governance on what they can do to ensure that any competitions from January are meaningful, including whether to make changes to the structured season. Governance also agreed that any decision to suspend promotion and relegation for the 2020/21 season would be referred to Council once the nature of the competitions is known. Further guidance will be provided in due course to support clubs, schools, colleges and universities in playing to the relevant stage of the appropriate Roadmap stage. Jeff Blackett, RFU President, comments: “We are very keen to see competitive rugby being played again. However, given the introduction of further restrictions to curb the increase in Covid-19 cases, we will not be able to move to Stage F on the Roadmap until a later date. This announcement gives clubs clarity over the immediate term to help them with their planning. We will continue to liaise with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Public Health England to accelerate a return to competitive play as soon as it is safe to do so.” Although social gatherings of more than six people were banned in England from Monday 14 September and a number of local lockdown restrictions put in place in some areas of the country, the Government has confirmed that organised sports and activities that have been through return to play protocols can continue. With the exception of clubs impacted by local lockdown restrictions, we continue at Stage D on the Roadmap. Clubs in areas where additional local lockdown measures have been introduced may need to limit their activities in line with any local restrictions. All are advised to consult with their local authority should they be in any doubt. *Organised competition in this instance includes any competition organised by the RFU, its delegated competition organising committees, or any other league or cup organiser.Return To Play To read the rest of the update click on the link |
RFU Community Game Update, September
| Community Game Update – September 2020 Content; 1. Update on the Adult Male Future Competition Structure 2. Change in registering for GMS support 3. Check out great offers available on the Club Hub 4. Return to Rugby – support for schools, colleges and universities 5. Great British Week of Sport | 19 to 27 September 6. Mental health support 7. VAT Helpline 8. Chance to win a training day for your club with Dylan Hartley 9. Community Rugby – current status 10. Local lockdown restrictions To click read the rest of this update please click on the link. Welcome to the September 2020 Community Game Update. We hope you find the update useful, and if you have any feedback, queries or content that you would like to feature, please email Vee Montebello, RFU Senior Communications Manager (veemontebello@rfu.com). Our communications to you are based on the data held in the Game Management System (GMS). To ensure you receive the communications that you want to from the RFU, please check the information held on this system is up to date and active. In addition, if you know of a colleague who should be receiving these updates, but isn’t, please help them to check their details on GMS. This communication is only sent to the roles highlighted in the distribution list above. Please share it with others in your club who need to see it. Share |
Latest RFU Community Game Update 15th Sept
| Coronavirus (Covid-19) update We have provided an update on the handling of positive Covid-19 cases by clubs and of current local lockdown restrictions. Handling positive Covid-19 cases  We are currently liaising with Public Health England (PHE) to seek additional clarity on the process and requirements for a club to follow in the event of a positive Covid-19 case within their club. In the case where a positive test is a player, providing all rugby activities that the player participated in were within RFU Return to Community Rugby and Stage D guidelines, then there is no requirement for other players to self-isolate. For any non-playing positive cases, e.g. spectators, the general Government guidance must be followed – see link below. Further information will be published in due course. In the meantime, following a positive test, a representative from the club should contact the local PHE centre to inform them of the development and seek further advice. Clubs should also ensure that they have an appropriate risk assessment in place and are operating within Government and RFU guidelines for all facility usage and rugby activity. To read the rest of the update click on the link. Please visit our dedicated web portal on the England Rugby website to access coronavirus information and updates here. Past editions of these weekly updates can be found on this part of the website. Click here if you need to find a previous edition. |
RFU statement on Law Changes Update announced by HMG
| Law changes update |
| We wanted to update you on the law changes announced by the Government on Wednesday 9 September in relation to the ban on groups of more than six people meeting socially indoors and outdoors. Although social gatherings of more than six people will be banned in England from Monday 14 September, the Government has confirmed that organised sports and activities that have been through return to play protocols can continue. With the exception of clubs impacted by local lockdown restrictions, we remain at Stage D on the Return to Community Rugby Roadmap. The rugby community can continue to organise non-contact fixtures with other clubs using Ready4Rugby and other touch rugby activity. Limited and restricted contact rugby training can also be continued. Detail of the permitted training activity is available in the return to contact training guidance. Following feedback we are working to see whether guidance on numbers permitted on training areas can be increased to reflect the age of participants. Until we have secured approval for this clubs should follow current guidance of no more than 20 players per half pitch in training. RFU guidance as well as Government Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidelines must be followed. We have worked closely with the Government to gain approval to return to rugby activity and the recent progression to Stage D has been well received with lots of positive impact being reported by clubs. We will continue to have close dialogue with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to progress community rugby activity to the next stage on the roadmap and we will keep you advised of any updates. To read the rest of the update please click on the link |
RFU Coronavirus Update 8th September
| We have provided a link to an on demand webinar to help the rugby community manage Stage D activities. We’ve also shared some highlights from the successful NatWest RugbyForce weekend. RFU headlines  Local lockdown guidelines Clubs are reminded that the powers around local restrictions lie with their local authorities. We are advised that unless local restrictions specifically mention restrictions on team sports and/or rugby, clubs should follow the NGB guidelines. This includes the North West of England where some restrictions have now been lifted. To read the rest of the update click on the link Please visit our dedicated web portal on the England Rugby website to access coronavirus information and updates here. Past editions of these weekly updates can be found on this part of the website. Click here if you need to find a previous edition. |
RFU Community Game Update – 1st September.
| Coronavirus (Covid-19) update Please find below the thirty-eighth edition of our coronavirus (Covid-19) update. We have provided an update on the move to Stage D on the Return to Community Rugby Roadmap and, as promised, the latest update (Tuesday 1 September) on adult and age-grade competitions. Community Rugby – moved to stage D  With the exception of clubs impacted by local lockdown restrictions, effective today, Tuesday 1 September, we have moved to Stage D on the Return to Community Rugby Roadmap. Clubs are now able to organise non-contact fixtures with other clubs using Ready4Rugby and other touch rugby activity. Limited and restricted contact rugby training is also now allowed. Varied training conditions will allow the return of tackling, lineouts and rucks, ensuring that players are prepared to perform these skills safely and effectively with some restrictions. Mauls, scrums, opposed lineouts or upright tackles are still not permissible as the transmission exposure risk remains high. Contact training sessions have to be carried out in small groups of no more than six players. Detail of the permitted training activity is available in the return to contact training guidance. To read the rest of the update please click on the link. Please visit our dedicated web portal on the England Rugby website to access coronavirus information and updates here. Past editions of these weekly updates can be found on this part of the website. Click here if you need to find a previous edition. |
Community Rugby Roadmap to move to Phase D from 1st September
Clubs will be able to start limited and restricted contact rugby training and organise inter-club non-contact fixtures. This follows the reintroduction of intra-club non-contact rugby union activity at the beginning of August.
The reintroduction of limited contact training has been approved by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (‘DCMS’) and moves The Return to Community Rugby Roadmap from Stage C to Stage D.
The reinstatement of some contact activity is important to ensure players can continue to practice core skills and are able to start preparing and conditioning themselves appropriately as the game starts to return to normality with regular training and matches.
Varied training conditions will allow the return of tackling, lineouts and rucks, ensuring players are prepared to perform these skills safely and effectively with some restrictions. Mauls, scrums, opposed lineouts or upright tackles are still not permissible as the transmission exposure risk remains high. Contact training sessions have to be carried out in small groups of no more than six players.
Detail of the permitted training activity is available in the return to contact training guidance.
RFU Community Game Update – 25th August
| Coronavirus (Covid-19) update Please find below the thirty-seventh edition of our coronavirus (Covid-19) update. We have provided a reminder that in September the NatWest Rugby Force weekend will take place on the 5th/6th, followed by the Pitch Up for Rugby weekend on the 12th/13th. We have also provided an update regarding the impact of various local restrictions on rugby activity. RFU headlines  Community Rugby – current position With the exception of clubs impacted by local lockdown restrictions, we remain at Stage C on the Return to Community Rugby Roadmap. The rugby community can, if they wish, recommence some larger group rugby activity, initially non-contact, subject to adherence with RFU guidance and also continuing to follow Government Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidelines. The return is initially through Ready4Rugby, a non-contact game, and other touch rugby activity (including O2 Touch). To read the rest of the update, click on the link Please visit our dedicated web portal on the England Rugby website to access coronavirus information and updates here. Past editions of these weekly updates can be found on this part of the website. Click here if you need to find a previous edition. |
Return to Rugby Team Sport Risk Exposure Rationale – Video
A good explanation as to the process the game is following.
RFU Community Game – Covid 19 Update 18th August
| Coronavirus (Covid-19) update |
| Please find below the thirty-sixth edition of our coronavirus (Covid-19) update. We have provided a reminder that we are at Stage C on the Return to Community Rugby Roadmap, of our advice to clubs in local lockdown areas and that in September the NatWest Rugby Force weekend will take place on the 5th/6th, followed by the Pitch Up for Rugby weekend on the 12th/13th. There’s also a last call for the rugby community to take part in our Diversity and Inclusion Survey. We remain at Stage C on the Return to Community Rugby Roadmap. If they wish to, the rugby community can now recommence some larger group rugby activity, initially non-contact, subject to adherence with RFU guidance and also continuing to follow Government Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidelines. The return is initially through Ready4Rugby, a non-contact game, enabling two teams of up to 10 players to engage in training and match activity in their own club environment. Other touch rugby activity (including O2 Touch centres) will also be able to recommence.  To read the rest of the update please click on the link. Please visit our dedicated web portal on the England Rugby website to access coronavirus information and updates here. Past editions of these weekly updates can be found on this part of the website. Click here if you need to find a previous edition. |
