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| THANK YOU TO ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS – A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO As another busy and exciting community rugby season comes to a close, Bill Sweeney, RFU CEO, wanted to take a moment to say thank you for everything you have done to deliver the game. 1. IMPORTANT UPDATES Player registration season switchover information Ahead of the season switchover for 26/27, scheduled for 1 July, check out all the key information you need to know, including when and how you’ll receive registration information, as well as key technology changes that are streamlining the process. England Rugby Learning – Upcoming technology changes We’re introducing a major upgrade to how we support coaches, match officials and volunteers to complete essential training, access resources, and continually refresh their knowledge and skills. Learn about it in this section. Age Grade Regulation 15 – What’s changing With over 600 survey responses and many conversations with clubs, schools, colleges and partner organisations, the community game has been integral to upcoming Regulation 15 changes. Find out more about the changes and the planned implementation of them in this piece. National Schools Finals, ACE Girls play-offs & Rosslyn Park dates 2027 We want to make you aware of some changes to the age grade calendar pre-Easter in 2027 that rebalances the Age Grade Playing Calendar for the benefit of the whole game at that time. Age Grade Summer Activity Plan – July Age Grade activity in the off season needs to be in line with the Summer Activity Plan, shared last month. Check out the plan for July in this section. READ ONLINE > |
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| 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Share your views on the Gill Burns Women’s County Championship The County Championship Management Committee is inviting players, coaches, volunteers, and supporters to share their views on the Gill Burns Women’s County Championship. Help shape the future of the competition in this section. Cut costs. Strengthen operations. Keep more money in your club. With nearly £2m in purchasing spend reviewed and over £68,000 in confirmed annual savings already delivered, participating clubs are achieving significant savings across key purchasing categories. Find out how you can get involved with One Club in this piece. Upcoming webinars and support available for your club! Find details and registration information for our upcoming webinars and wider support your club can access and benefit from here. |
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| 3. FOR AWARENESS County Championship Finals The 2026 England County Championships came to an end last weekend with seven fantastic finals played at the Allianz Stadium. Huge congratulations to all the teams that made it to the finals and for showcasing the very best of county representative rugby. Rugby family breaks IPF fundraising record for injured players 12 community rugby teams came together at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, to raise a record-breaking £153,000 for players supported by the RFU Injured Players Foundation (IPF), England Rugby’s official charity. Community News – monthly round-up Read this month’s round-up of the best community rugby stories – and find out how to submit your own story. READ ONLINE > |
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RFU Community Game Update June
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| 1. IMPORTANT UPDATES A clearer, fairer pathway for girls in rugby We’ve launched a new national framework for the RFU Girls’ Player Pathway, giving talented girls a clear, consistent route to develop – wherever they play. Information on Martyn’s Law You may have seen some recent coverage about Martyn’s Law, also known as the Terrorism ( Protection of Premises) Act. We’ll continue to work through what this means specifically for rugby, and the RFU will share clear, sector-specific guidance for each tier in due course. FREE STIGA mowers – Make sure your club doesn’t miss out STIGA, the RFU’s Official Grounds Care Partner, is offering free robotic mowers to community clubs, helping them save time, reduce costs, and improve turf quality. Register your interest in receiving one today! Age Grade Summer Activity Plan – June Age Grade activity in the off season needs to be in line with the Summer Activity Plan, shared last month. Check out the plan for June in this section. READ ONLINE > |
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| 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST National Volunteers’ Week: 1 – 7 June Volunteers’ Week is being celebrated between Monday 1 and Sunday 7 June. If you want to use this national celebration to say thank you to your volunteers, the RFU have developed some templates to help. Reduce your running costs with One Club Through the One Club alliance, rugby clubs can gain a uniquely valuable combination of cost savings and practical, operational insight that makes a meaningful difference where it matters most — your club’s bottom line. Find out how you can access the support in this section. Local Engagement Sessions – May 2026 Following the success of our January Club Engagement events, we are pleased to announce the next series of sessions, designed to provide targeted, practical support for rugby clubs. RFU Injured Players Foundation Awareness Survey 2026 What do you know about the RFU Injured Players Foundation (IPF)? Please complete and share this short survey with your clubs/teams to help the IPF understand levels of awareness of the charity amongst our community. Upcoming webinars and support available for your club! Find details and registration information for our upcoming webinars and wider support your club can access and benefit from here. |
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| 3. FOR AWARENESS County Championship Feedback Opportunity We will in the next few weeks be reaching out for thoughts and feedback on the Gill Burns County Championships via a survey and some online focus groups so please keep an eye out and we look forward to hearing your feedback. Community News – monthly round-up Read this month’s roundup of the best community rugby stories – and find out how to submit your own story. READ ONLINE > |
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RFU Community Game Update – April
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| 1. IMPORTANT UPDATES Special General Meeting this week (Friday 24 April) – please read and vote An RFU Special General Meeting (SGM) relating to governance reform takes place this Friday, April 24. Ahead of the meeting, we strongly encourage all members and clubs to take the time to read the supporting documents in full and ensure you have a clear understanding of what is being proposed and why. Summer Activity Plan 2026 The Summer Activity Plan for this summer is now available to view. This provides the maximum activity permitted in the off-season months from May to August within the regulations of the age grade game. Girls Registrations – 26,000 and counting! The RFU has an ambitious target of hitting 27.5k girls player registrations target in 2026. The number of girls registrations has been and is continuing to climb steadily and has now topped the 26k mark. England Rugby Learning – Upcoming Technology Improvements England Rugby is introducing a major upgrade to how we support coaches, match officials and volunteers to complete essential training, access resources, and continually refresh their knowledge and skills. 2026/27 RFU Women’s League and Inner Warrior Series Entry Information Applications are now open for entries into the 2026/27 RFU Women’s League structure and the Inner Warrior Series. Only new, withdrawn, or expunged teams are invited to complete the online entry form to confirm participation in the 2026/27 season. READ ONLINE > |
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| 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Local Engagement Sessions – May 2026 Following the success of our January Club Engagement events, we are pleased to announce the next series of sessions, designed to provide targeted, practical support for rugby clubs. RFU Injured Players Foundation Awareness Survey 2026 What do you know about the RFU Injured Players Foundation (IPF)? Please complete and share this short survey with your clubs/teams to help the IPF understand levels of awareness of the charity amongst our community. Reduce your running costs with One Club Through the One Club alliance, rugby clubs can gain a uniquely valuable combination of cost savings and practical, operational insight that makes a meaningful difference where it matters most – your club’s bottom line. Find out how you can access the support in this section. Upcoming webinars and support available for your club! Find details and registration information for our upcoming webinars and wider support your club can access and benefit from here. |
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| 3. FOR AWARENESS New SEND resources for T1 rugby Our schools’ team have worked with the Youth Sports Trust to develop a suite of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) resources, designed to support schools, teachers and other partners to deliver inclusive, enjoyable and meaningful rugby‑inspired activity for all young people. Business Rates Support and Helpline Business rates are a property tax charged by the local council on the property you occupy. The government have confirmed the outcome of the latest revaluation of premises which establishes a new set of Rateable Values for all properties. Find out what this means for your club in this section. The new GMS Competitions module has launched Please note, until the season switchover on 1 July, both the new Competitions Management module and the existing V12 module will run alongside each other. Community News – monthly round-up Read this month’s roundup of the best community rugby stories – and find out how to submit your own story. READ ONLINE > |
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Community Game Update March
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| 1. IMPORTANT UPDATES Special General Meeting 2026 A Special General Meeting (SGM) of the Rugby Football Union will be held at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Friday 24th April 2026 at 5.30pm. Find out more about what will be voted on, and how voting works, in this piece. A year on: What you told us and what we’re doing A year ago, we heard from hundreds of clubs, volunteers and leaders across our National Roadshows about what matters most to the community game. Your feedback gave us a clear mandate and continues to shape our strategy and priorities we are now driving forward. Regional Growth Partnership Boards To drive efforts to take rugby to new people in new places and to recognise the importance of regionalising decisions and actions, we are establishing seven new Regional Growth Partnership Boards. Find out more in this section. National Age Grade Playing Calendar – Season 2026/27 We are pleased to provide the National Playing Calendar for 2026/27. This is the framework for national competitions and player pathway activity throughout the year. Win equipment for your club by registering your players by the end of the season! Are all of your players registered to play this season? We’re offering all participating clubs the opportunity to win one of eight Gilbert vouchers for your club, worth £1,000 each for playing a match with a player yet to register this season! READ ONLINE > |
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| 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Girls’ Rugby – Register your event! During the Women’s Six Nations, England Rugby will be supporting clubs to celebrate and promote girls-only activity, encouraging new girls and parents to get involved at rugby clubs. Register your event now! Become a member of the RFU National Youth Council The RFU’s National Youth Council (NYC) is helping to grow rugby and is currently recruiting for new members to join the group. This is an opportunity for someone between 18-24 to influence the future development of rugby, gain valuable skills and become part of the NYC. Reduce your running costs with One Club One Club is a completely free support and solutions service created to help rugby clubs reduce costs, simplify purchasing and strengthen day-to-day operations with expert guidance. Upcoming webinars and support available for your club! Find details and registration information for our upcoming webinars and wider support your club can access and benefit from here. |
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| 3. FOR AWARENESS New Competition Module Upgrade Coming to GMS From the week commencing 13 April, and continuing through to the season switchover in July, we will be operating both the existing V12 Competition Module and introducing the new Competition Management Module in parallel. New Education Module for 16–18 Age Grade Rugby Players We’re pleased to share that we’ve been working in partnership with age-grade education specialists Hark to develop a new anti-discrimination learning module for 16–18-year-olds involved in rugby. Community News – monthly round-up Read this month’s roundup of the best community rugby stories – and find out how to submit your own story. READ ONLINE > |
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RFU Community Game Update February
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| 1. IMPORTANT UPDATES Hear more about our new strategy to grow the game The RFU’s new strategy came out last week, and it puts community rugby right where it belongs: front and centre. Hear Steve Grainger, Ali Donnelly and Rory Price from the leadership team at the RFU take a quick look at some of the key issues for the community game in this section. Register for our National Engagement Sessions! As part of the member pledges we made earlier this year, we committed to enhancing engagement opportunities with our member clubs. Find out more about our National Engagement sessions running February through to April in this section. RFU Men’s Leagues – Mid Season Briefing As we enter into the last few months of the season, this section includes useful information and updates for clubs playing in RFU leagues. Nominations close soon for the Volunteer of the Year Awards! Do you know someone who goes above and beyond to make rugby happen? Now’s your opportunity to give them the recognition they deserve! Grow girls’ rugby at your club! Find out more about girls’-only playing opportunities and girls’ rugby giveaways in this section! READ ONLINE > |
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| 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Groundbreaking Free Robotic Mower Offer for Community Rugby Clubs STIGA, the RFU’s Official Grounds Care Partner, is offering free robotic mowers to community clubs, helping them save time, reduce costs, and improve turf quality. Find out more here. Community Mascots at the 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations We have a limited number of community mascots spaces for the 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations matches. Find out more here. England Rugby Female Health & Wellbeing Conference – 21st March The England Rugby Female Health & Wellbeing Conference 2026, taking place at Allianz Stadium on Saturday 21 March 2026. Register to attend here. Reduce your running costs with One Club One Club is a completely free support and solutions service created to help rugby clubs reduce costs, simplify purchasing and strengthen day-to-day operations with expert guidance. Upcoming webinars and support available for your club! Find details and registration information for our upcoming webinars and wider support your club can access and benefit from here. |
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| 3. FOR AWARENESS Digital Improvements for Rugby Clubs this Season! Learn about the improvements already delivered, along with an exciting preview of what’s coming in 2026 to better support volunteers and help reduce their workload. Business Rates – revaluations please check your Rateable Value Find about changes to business rates and how this might affect your club in this section. Rugby community supporting injured players When you’re part of the rugby family you’re never alone and will always have people to support you during the tough times as well as the good. See some of the amazing efforts of the rugby family in supporting injured players here. Community News – monthly round-up Read this month’s roundup of the best community rugby stories – and find out how to submit your own story. READ ONLINE > |
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Community Game Update January
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| 1. IMPORTANT UPDATES Register for our National Engagement Sessions! The National Engagement Sessions running from February through to April will open up opportunities for dialogue between clubs and RFU Executive and Board members, including Bill Sweeney (CEO), Steve Grainger (Exec Director of Rugby Development) and David Roberts (Community Game Board Chair). Celebrate the people who make rugby happen – nominate your Volunteer of the Year today Do you know someone who goes above and beyond to make rugby happen? Now’s your opportunity to give them the recognition they deserve! Grow girl’s rugby at your club! Our upcoming Bring a Friend campaign is a great way for girls to share their love of rugby with their peers. Access campaign assets and find out more in this section. Reduce your running costs with One Club Through the One Club alliance, rugby clubs can gain a uniquely valuable combination of cost savings and practical, operational insight that makes a meaningful difference where it matters most — your club’s bottom line. Find out how you can access the support in this section. READ ONLINE > |
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| 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Have your say on the future of National Girl’s Cup Competitions As part of an ongoing review of the National Girls’ Cup competitions, the RFU would like to hear your views on its current format and future purpose. Your feedback will help ensure the competition continues to meet the needs of players and clubs while protecting the integrity of the Cup competition. England Rugby Advanced Coaching Workshop 2026-27 Our FREE online workshop is now open for booking! This on-demand workshop is essential for anyone looking to enroll in Part 1 of the England Rugby Advanced Coaching Award: Developing Advanced Coaching Practice Upcoming webinars and support available for your club! Find details and registration information for our upcoming webinars and wider support your club can access and benefit from here. |
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| 3. FOR AWARENESS Ready2Ref The Ready2Ref course officially launched on 1 August 2025. A reminder of the booking process can be found in this section. Community News – monthly round-up Read this month’s roundup of the best community rugby stories – and find out how to submit your own story. READ ONLINE > |
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Community Game Update – December
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| 1. IMPORTANT UPDATES Protect Where We Play: Act Now To Save Our Playing Fields Rugby pitches are under threat, but you can help to protect them. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has proposed major changes to the planning system – including removing Sport England’s statutory consultee status for planning applications relating to playing fields. Help protect our playing fields by contributing to the consultation. Reduce your running costs with One Club Through the One Club alliance, rugby clubs can gain a uniquely valuable combination of cost savings and practical, operational insight that makes a meaningful difference where it matters most — your club’s bottom line. Find out how you can access the support in this section. Club Engagement – Have Your Say! As part of the member pledges we made earlier this year, we committed to enhancing engagement opportunities with our member clubs. We’re running local and national engagement sessions between January and April 2026 – find out how you can get involved and help shape the future of community rugby in this piece! How did RWC 2025 help your club? With the Women’s Rugby World Cup recently concluded, it’s been brilliant to already hear stories about how the tournament influenced interest and activity across the game. We would like to hear more about how the tournament impacted clubs around the country and you can submit your stories and reflections through this section. It’s time for the Love Rugby Series! To build on the success of RWC 2025, the new Love Rugby Series is here, with a nationwide calendar of girls-only festivals, joining up girls new to rugby with those already playing, for a fun, friendly and positive experience. READ ONLINE > |
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| 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Regulation 15 Update – Consultation The RFU is reviewing Regulation 15, Age Grade Rugby and would welcome the input of coaches, teachers, team managers, volunteers and more to ensure all views are considered as part of any update. Registrations for the Volunteer Area, supported by Switch, at the Guinness Six Nations As part of the Switch Volunteer Recognition Programme, volunteers with tickets to an England home match at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham can register for up to four places in the volunteer area pre-match. England Rugby Advanced Coaching Workshop 2026-27 From 17 November the England Rugby Advanced Coaching Workshop will be open for booking via GMS. The completion of the Workshop is essential to be able to book onto Part 1 of the England Rugby Advanced Coaching Award – Developing Advanced Coaching Practice. Upcoming webinars and support available for your club! Find details and registration information for our upcoming webinars and support here. |
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| 3. FOR AWARENESS The 2026 World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List: Summary of Changes The latest World Anti Doping Agency Prohibited List is now available to view. Ensure you are aware of any updates through this section. Community News – monthly round-up Read this month’s roundup of the best community rugby stories – and find out how to submit your own story. READ ONLINE > |
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Community Game Update November
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| 1. IMPORTANT UPDATES Club Engagement – Have Your Say! As part of the member pledges we made earlier this year, we committed to enhancing engagement opportunities with our member clubs. We’re running local and national engagement sessions between January and April 2026 – find out how you can get involved and help shape the future of community rugby in this piece! Age Grade Updates – Prize Draws and Love Rugby! If you’ve got more age grade players than you did a year ago, there’s just a month to go to enter our age grade and girls registration prize draws! Also, find out more about our Love Rugby series for U9-U11 girls – with more than 40 events taking place between now and next summer – as well as details of the Try Love Rugby 4-week programme. How did RWC 2025 help your club? With the Women’s Rugby World Cup recently concluded, it’s been brilliant to already hear stories about how the tournament influenced interest and activity across the game. We would like to hear more about how the tournament impacted your club, from registration numbers to people trying our sport for the first time, and if you fill in the form you’ll be entered into a draw for tickets for your team to see the Red Roses play at the Allianz Stadium in April! READ ONLINE > |
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| 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Regulation 15 Update – Consultation The RFU is reviewing Regulation 15, Age Grade Rugby and would welcome the input of coaches, teachers, team managers, volunteers and more to ensure all views are considered as part of any update. England Rugby Advanced Coaching Workshop 2026-27 From 17 November the England Rugby Advanced Coaching Workshop will be open for booking via GMS. The completion of the Workshop is essential to be able to book onto Part 1 of the England Rugby Advanced Coaching Award – Developing Advanced Coaching Practice. Subject Access Requests We have been made aware that many clubs have received Subject Access Requests from members and we will be running a webinar to give clubs the information and guidance that is needed to deal with such requests. Upcoming webinars and support available for your club! Find details and registration information for our upcoming webinars and support here. |
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| 3. FOR AWARENESS Digital Improvement Update – Ecal is live! Ecal is widely used by elite sports teams, and now you can follow our England International teams directly through it. Even better, we’re proud to be one of the first National Governing Bodies to offer this calendar feature to the community game, covering a wide range of teams and fixtures. Saving VAT on fundraising events With Bonfire Night just come and gone clubs are reminded that they can potentially save material levels of VAT by treating certain events as fundraising events. The relief enables all income, including bar income, generated at qualifying events as exempt from VAT. Community News – monthly round-up Read this month’s roundup of the best community rugby stories – and find out how to submit your own story. READ ONLINE > |
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Community Game Update October
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| 1. IMPORTANT UPDATES Don’t miss the chance to have your say on competitions Following our tour of the country last season, we’ve been working hard to ensure everyone in the game has the opportunity to engage and help shape the game. The next opportunity will be on the topic of competitions, taking place in October. Find out more in this section. Try Love Rugby Following the success of the Red Roses and the Rugby World Cup, now is the perfect time to inspire more girls to give rugby a try. Try Love Rugby: 4 Week Intro is a programme that focuses on introducing girls to rugby in a supportive, all-girl environment. Age Grade Updates – Registration & Playing Out of Age Grade Make sure your age grade players are registered to play rugby, find out how you can win prizes for your club and re-familiarise yourself with the playing out of age grade rules in this section. READ ONLINE > |
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| 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Registrations for the Volunteer Area at Quilter Nations Series Volunteers who already have tickets to an England home match at Allianz Stadium can register for up to four places in the volunteer area pre-match, find out how to do so in this piece. Female health resources and projects Check out the updates to the resources available for all players, coaches, match officials and club volunteers in the female game, from toolkits to workshops. Upcoming webinars and support available for your club! Find details and registration information for our upcoming webinars and support here. |
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| 3. FOR AWARENESS Bonfire night events – Public Liability Insurance As bonfire night approaches, it’s reassuring to know that affiliated clubs are protected under the RFU’s Public Liability cover, as long as you are able to comply with the insurers risk management conditions, details of which can be found in this section. Community News – monthly round-up Read this month’s roundup of the best community rugby stories – and find out how to submit your own story. READ ONLINE > |
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Community Game Update: RWC Edition
| CELEBRATE RUGBY WORLD CUP 2025 WITH RUGBYFEST The Rugby World Cup may be coming to an end, but the celebrations don’t have to stop there! We’re inviting clubs across the country to join in RugbyFest – a nationwide weekend of rugby fun and community spirit taking place from Friday 3 October to Monday 6 October. Your RugbyFest can be anything you want it to be – a festival, tournament, open training session, social event, Home Fixture, or even something completely unique. The only rule? Make it a celebration of rugby and the World Cup! Already planning something that weekend?  Add your event to the England Rugby Find Rugby page so new players & supporters can get involved. By adding your event to findrugby.com, it will be included in our national campaign directing people to your event.Let’s make RugbyFest a weekend to remember!  |
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