We hope that clubs and players are enjoying the return to full contact training.
While we’re all excited about being able to reintroduce scrums and mauls in training, we want to make sure that all players return safely. We remind coaches and players to follow an incremental approach in training and ahead of full contact matches, which are permitted in the adult game from Saturday 7 August for clubs that wish.
Coaches are responsible for working with all players to assess and develop their physical and technical readiness before progressing to matches against other teams. This is especially true for front 5 players given the period of time the game has been operating without scrum and maul.
Players should also be encouraged to follow the Activate Injury prevention exercise programme.
You can find our updated Return to Community Rugby Roadmap.
Key return to full contact dates are summarised here.
Age Grade rugby still follows the Summer Activity Guide
This Summer Activity Framework includes provision for friendly matches to be played under adapted contact laws during August. These can start from Saturday 7 August, following a period of development in training sessions from Monday 19 July.
Activate - All Age Grade players are encouraged to follow the Activate Injury prevention exercise programme with coaching sessions planned and delivered around the FITT principles (Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type).
Global Law Trials
As communicated last week, World Rugby has released the Global Law trials that will apply to competitions beginning on or after Sunday 1 August 2021. These are available here.
We are eager to provide more detailed communication around these law trials, but are awaiting clarification from World Rugby on a couple of areas. As you will be aware, the timeline for the release of the Global Law Trials is set by World Rugby and these are effective from 1 August. We will provide further detail in next Tuesday’s Community Game Update when clarification has been received.
Off-Field Guidance
We continue to update our Club Support Helpdesk FAQs as we receive more information, for example around Test and Trace, self-screening and how to deal with a positive case.
On Monday 16 August, the rules on self-isolating as a contact will change for people who are fully vaccinated and for under 18s. Those not fully vaccinated will still need to isolate if they are contacts, and everyone will still have to isolate if they test positive, to protect themselves and others. The current NHS Test & Trace remains in place until Monday 16 August.
There will inevitably be a rise in cases of Covid-19 as measures relax. We must, therefore, manage any risks as best we can by remaining vigilant, supporting the vaccination effort and reminding members to self-isolate if they have a positive Covid test.
With millions of us now protected by the vaccine, you are less likely to become seriously ill or go to hospital. Getting your Covid-19 vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others from the virus. To get maximum protection, you must get a second dose after 8 weeks. If you’re over 18, Go to nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/ to book, or visit your local walk-in centre.