Among the excitement of being allowed to scrum and maul again, we want to make sure that all players return safely.

Coaches are responsible for working with all players to assess and develop their physical readiness.

This is especially true for front 5 players given the period of time the game has been operating without scrum and maul.

Returning to scrummaging

Return to scrummaging should be introduced incrementally with the initial emphasis on individual scrum specific conditioning and technique work.

When players are ready, they can move to 1 v 1 building to 5 v 5 before finally practising 8 v 8 in a controlled environment.

We recommend keeping the number of match intensity scrums to a minimum. Instead the focus should be on individual and unit body position/posture and building time in players respective positions.

For coaches looking for hints and tips we have a three stage Return to Scrummaging guide available:

1. Crouch
2. Bind
3. Set

As part of the ongoing support to getting players back to rugby safely, we have the following webinars that we hope match officials, coaches, players and club officials will find useful.

#SCRUMTOGETHER

Scrum Together – Episode 1
Scrum Together – Episode 2

Mauling - Players will also need to be reintroduced to mauling incrementally. The focus should be on individual body technique first before ‘live’ mauling is introduced.

Activate - All Age Grade players are encouraged to follow the Activate Injury prevention exercise programme here with coaching sessions planned and delivered around the FITT principles (Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type) here.

Safeguarding - Ahead of pre-season training and the new season starting, clubs must have safeguarding procedures in place. More information is available here.

Click here for the RFU Safeguarding Children policy.

If you have any questions, or if you need any safeguarding advice or support, please contact us by emailing [email protected].

Insurance - Will be in place as long as clubs and coaches follow RFU guidelines and government guidelines. Please be aware that you may not be covered if you begin full contact rugby before the dates specified above, or do not follow the guidelines communicated.

Further information on insurance cover can be found here.