| The RFU would like to thank everyone who has participated in providing valuable feedback in our consultation on reducing the tackle height in the community game. We have listened to thousands of players, volunteers and match officials to understand how we as a game can come together to best define and implement a reduction in the tackle height. We have heard a wide range of views and gathered thoughts and ideas from 8,500 people through an online open survey, met with over 1000 people during 25 in-person and virtual forums across 13 locations and met 270 coaches, players, match officials, disciplinary officers, Club chairs and CBs, parents and teachers through 22 focus groups and online panels. Everything you have told us is now being independently analysed by the research company YouGov. This independently verified feedback, will be presented to the RFU Council ensuring your views are directly heard. Once the RFU Council have fully reviewed your feedback, decisions will be taken on the proposed law variation and game regulations. Further updates will be provided towards the end of April and we will then provide a range of materials including virtual and in person training and education tools to enable the tackle height reduction to be implemented as smoothly as possible. These materials are being developed using the views, ideas and needs you have shared with us. We learned a lot from this process and are determined to maintain this two way dialogue so we can keep improving our support for the game. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and to all of you who make rugby the game we know and love. Nigel Gillingham RFU President |
Community Game Update 14 March
| Community Game Update Read Online |
| 1. ACTION REQUIRED Tackle Height Survey The RFU has launched a series of initiatives, including face-to face and virtual forums and an online survey, to listen to and learn from people across the game by consulting on the process around implementation of a lower tackle height in the community game. Read more and take part in the survey in this piece. 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Volunteer Recruitment Project Applications are now open for a £500 grant to support the recruitment of more volunteers. Read more and apply via the link in this article. International Ticketing Allocations Following indicative allocations sent in the summer, we hope that club administrators have continued to enter all club fixtures via the Team Management module on GMS. Only fixtures uploaded by 26 May 2023 can be attributed towards a club’s new ticket entitlement. GMS Drop in Sessions Having recently trialled a GMS Technical Support Session designed to answer any questions users may have about the Game Management System, we will now run these sessions on a monthly basis. Find out when they are and sign up in this section. DBS Update Service The project to integrate the DBS Update Service is now nearing its conclusion. Read this piece for more information about how this service can reduce the administrative burden for volunteers. 3. FOR AWARENESS Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC) – Latest from HMRC HMRC has issued a newsletter for all Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) which we’d recommend all clubs who are a CASC, or considering becoming a CASC, to read. Find it in this article. Age Grade Playing Calendar 2023-24 We are pleased to provide the National Playing Calendar for 2023-24 in this piece. This is the framework for national competitions and player pathway activity throughout the year. Read Online |
RFU Community Game Update 14 February
| Tuesday 14 February Stay up to date with news about the community game by following @RFU on Twitter here. |
| Community Game Update Read Online |
| 1. ACTION REQUIRED Update on end of season scheduling Exceptional weather conditions and unique circumstances have led to a considerable number of teams in RFU Leagues not playing as many matches as they usually would have at this stage of the season. The effect of this is that some teams need to play matches beyond the scheduled league completion date, ultimately also affecting the Papa John’s Community Cup and County Championships. Find out more information in this piece. Transfer Deadline Reminder for RFU Leagues With the end of the league season approaching, clubs are reminded about the registration transfer deadline. For men’s clubs playing in the National Leagues and below and women’s clubs at Championship 1 and below it falls on the 17 February 2023. For those playing above those levels it is 31 March 2023. 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Honda Volunteer of the Year 2023 nominations closing soon! The Honda Volunteer of The Year Awards 2023 nominations are open for the three categories: Game For All, Unsung Hero and Challenging Spirit. Nominate your amazing volunteers before Friday 24 February. Final call for claims: Community Rugby Support Fund 2022/23 The Community Rugby Support Fund for 2022/23 claim window closes on 19th February. As with last year, the purpose of this fund is to support voting member clubs, CBs and referee societies who are in greatest financial need. Energy saving tips for your clubhouse The RFU teamed up with Shaunagh Brown and Medway RFC to help your club reduce their energy bills. Watch the video in this piece and find more information online. England Rugby Advanced Coaching Workshop webinar 2023-24 The England Rugby Advanced Coaching Workshop webinar is now available to book until midday on Sunday 5 March. The webinar is a pre-requisite for those looking to book onto Part 1 of the England Rugby Advanced Coaching Award – Developing Advanced Coaching Practice. Find out more in this piece. Artificial Grass Pitches (AGP’s) – How to book Rugby 365 Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs) are available for hire in many areas of the country all year round and available to rugby clubs at heavily subsidised rates. Find out more about them and where they are located in this article. Opportunity to join our new Women’s Competitions Advisory Group (WCAG) With the 2025 Rugby World Cup due to be held in England, there couldn’t be a better time to help shape the future of RFU Women’s Competitions. This is your opportunity to join a new group of volunteers involved in the women’s community game, who will act as an advisory body and will support game-led development of the competitions landscape. 3. FOR AWARENESS Every Game Matters For A Chance To Play At Twickenham As part of the RFU’s #PlayTogetherStayTogether campaign, every team participating in a men’s merit table/league or women’s national challenge league (including the Allianz Inner Warrior Series) now has the chance to play at Twickenham Stadium on Bank Holiday Monday, 1 May, 2023. More details can be found in this piece. Inclusion and Diversity Community Game Survey Last autumn, the third RFU Inclusion and Diversity Community Game survey took place. It remains an RFU strategic objective to drive rugby union in England to reflect the diversity of society, to improve diversity of all facets of our game and to continue to create an inclusive environment for all. Find out the results of the survey and the next steps in this piece. The County Championships 2023 The return of the Bill Beaumont, Gill Burns and Jason Leonard Men’s National U20 County Championships in the 2022/23 season will feature improved competition structures to enhance player experience. Find out more here. Thank you from the Safeguarding Team! We are really pleased to be able to report that all clubs to whom the Safeguarding Audit applied, submitted on time. We really appreciate the time and effort that clubs and volunteers have taken to get this done. Read Online |
We apologise for the anger and concern created among the rugby community
| The RFU Board, Council and executive staff apologise for the anger and concern that has been created among the rugby community by announcing the decision to lower the tackle height from next season. In our desire to act quickly to reduce head impacts and concussions in the community game, which represents 99% of the rugby playing population in England, we have upset many of you who are the champions, volunteers, and ambassadors of our game. We fully acknowledge we got the engagement wrong, and we are truly sorry. In making our decision we were aware that France have lowered the tackle height, New Zealand will be doing so and World Rugby supports this approach. We, like the French, used the term “waist and below”; this has caused misunderstanding and confusion. We would now like the game to help us define how we describe a lower tackle height to reflect what the research is telling us in a way that is understood by all. Consequently, the risk of head injuries should be reduced if tackling below that optimum height. We will now begin a series of forums and workshops with players, coaches, match officials and volunteers, to explain and develop the details of the domestic law variation. A large body of scientific evidence (links to documents below) demonstrates the risk of head injury and concussion for players can be reduced by lowering the tackle height to prevent head on head contact. However, we also accept that the rugby community has other concerns that this change may bring and we need to listen, understand and respond to those concerns. We will start inviting players, coaches, match officials and volunteers to these forums from early next week, so that we can all work together. Rationale Paper Science Presentation |
Community Game Update 19 January 2023
| Community Game Update Read Online |
| 1. ACTION REQUIRED RFU Council approves lowering of the tackle height across community rugby in England from 2023/24 To support player welfare, the RFU Council agreed on Monday 16th January to lower the height of the tackle across the community game(Adult & Age Grade) from 1st July 2023. Find out more information about the law change and what to expect, including training support in this piece. Mandatory Player Registration 2023/24 From next season, all players, in all formats of the game (including non-contact), will be required to register to play rugby within RFU member clubs annually. More information on the benefits and next steps in this piece. Age Grade Rugby Update & Actions The new year signals the restart of Age Grade Rugby in clubs, schools and colleges. This article contains reminders and actions for a few key elements to get your rugby back underway for the second half of the season. 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact Programme – Facility fund closes 31st January Part of the Rugby World Cup 2025 impact programme is to help improve club facilities and the experience for female supporters and players. Clubs can apply for funds to support female toilet upgrades and sanitary packages before the deadline on the 31st. Club Rugby Support Fund 2022/23 The Community Rugby Support Fund for 2022/23 is now live. As with last year, the purpose of this fund is to support voting member clubs, CBs and referee societies who are in greatest financial need. The claim window closes on 19th February. Every Game Matters For A Chance To Play At Twickenham As part of the RFU’s #PlayTogetherStayTogether campaign, every team participating in a men’s merit table/league or women’s national challenge league (including the Allianz Inner Warrior Series) now has the chance to play at Twickenham Stadium on Bank Holiday Monday, 1 May, 2023. More details can be found in this piece. Honda Volunteer of The Year Nominations Now Open The Honda Volunteer of The Year Awards 2023 nominations are now open for the three categories; Game For All, Unsung Hero and Challenging Spirit. Nominate your amazing volunteers before Friday 24th February. The National Rugby Survey The National Rugby Survey 2023 will be live between 20 January until 17 February and will be shared via email and social media. The survey is targeted at anyone who has been involved with community rugby in the 2022/23 season in some way. 3. FOR AWARENESS RFU Leagues & Papa Johns Community Cup update Read information about potential changes to the end of the league season date after the exceptional weather conditions experienced so far this season, plus the latest on the Papa Johns Community Cup. Submission Of Payment Of Player Declarations Declarations of payment of players are due to be submitted between 1 March and 30 June 2023. Find out more in this piece. Divisional U18s Programme returns in 2023 The RFU has confirmed the Divisional U18s programme – a culmination of matches played between the 28 Constituent Bodies – will return in 2023, providing a higher level of representative rugby and development opportunities for players, coaches and management. Read Online |
Community Game Update 6 December
| Tuesday 6 December Stay up to date with news about the community game by following @RFU on Twitter here. Community Game Update Read Online 1. ACTION REQUIRED The deadline for your 2022 Club Safeguarding Audit is 31 December A reminder to all clubs who offer age grade activity, you must complete the Safeguarding Audit by 31 December 2022. You can find further information on how to conduct the audit in this section. 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact Programme – Facility fund Part of the Rugby World Cup 2025 impact programme is to help improve club facilities and the experience for female supporters and players. From today, 6 December 2022, clubs can apply for funds to support toilet upgrades and sanitary packages. More information is in this piece. Tackling energy use in rugby clubs and using Artificial Grass Pitch (AGPs) As energy prices rise and impact clubs across the country, we share some tips on reducing these costs. These include using AGPs, which could help save on the club’s electricity bills by reducing your floodlight usage and wear on pitches. Discover how you can book a local 365 AGP in this section. 3. FOR AWARENESS Age Grade affiliations reach over 150,000 players, incentives and GMS support trainers Age grade affiliation has reached over 150,000 players in the 2022/2023 season. In this article, Farnham RUFC and Hackney RFC share their experiences of how affiliation has worked for them. Also, a reminder of our incentives for age grade affiliation and GMS support trainers for clubs. Ways to support retention of players from age grade to adult rugby Hear from Surrey and Cheshire Constituent Bodies and clubs who have been running U21/U23 competitions to retain university players who might otherwise be lost from the game. Developing female match officials #Inspire 50 inspiring female referees lined up at England v Japan as part of the new Inspire campaign to attract more female match officials to the sport. This section discusses how you can get involved and more about the programme. Off-field support services for clubs A reminder of the off-field services for clubs, including guidance in legal and tax matters, licensing and VAT support. Many of these are free for clubs, so if you need help, read this article. Read Online |
Community Game Update 29 November
| Community Game Update Read Online |
| Headline News Adult Affiliation to begin in the 2023/2024 season After the implementation of age grade affiliation, which has already seen over 150,000 players affiliate in the 2022/2023 season, RFU Council members voted last week to introduce the same mandatory process in the adult game for the 2023/2024 season. There is no need to action anything at this stage, this article is for awareness only. 1. ACTION REQUIRED Deadline to enter the Papa Johns Men’s Community Cup is this week At midnight on 1 December, the entry period for the Papa Johns Men’s Community Cup will close. Some finals will be played at Twickenham, so don’t miss your chance to play at this iconic venue. Read this section to register your team and see what other benefits your club can receive by entering. 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Game On Using Game On, you can ensure you still get your games played and recorded as a full 15-a-side match. Hear from players who took part in our recent Mike Tindall XV v James Haskell XV as to why Game On works for them. 3. FOR AWARENESS Enhancement to Electronic Match Card from today From today, 29 November, a change to Electronic Match Card for match days will be made. The enhancement means clubs can only select registered players, except in leagues where non-registered players are eligible to be selected. Read Online |
Community Game Update 16 November
Welcoming more people to rugby union
During their record-breaking run to the Rugby World Cup Final, and their performance in it, the Red Roses have inspired more people to get involved in rugby in all kinds of ways from playing to volunteering.
Capitalising on RWC 2021 – new video available to share
The video outlines how we can capitalise on the excitement of the Rugby World Cup and the Red Roses’ inspiration as we continue to work together to grow the game and build towards RWC 2025 in England.
Practical guides and aims for growing the women’s and girls’ game
Guides, action plans and webinars are available for rugby communities to understand more about how they can increase playing numbers, coaches, referees and volunteers in their areas.
Attracting new players – Allianz Inner Warrior Camps and findrugby.com
More women and girls are interested in giving rugby a try. Have you held an Allianz Inner Warrior Camp at your club yet? If not, find out how you can in this article. We are also promoting findrugby.com to help direct new players towards clubs in their area.
What’s next – where to watch more rugby
We have welcomed many new viewers and players to the game through TV coverage of the Rugby World Cup 2021. Help to keep them engaged by letting them know what comes next.
Inspired by Red Rose
Activity supporting participation in the men’s game
Enter your club in the Papa John’s Men’s Community Cup before 1 December
All Clubs at Regional 1 and below can enter the Papa Johns Men’s Community Cup. In this article, you can discover more about the Cup and fixture dates, with Twickenham Stadium set to host many of the men’s and women’s finals.
Content to encourage more social players back to the men’s game
A vast selection of Play Together, Stay Together content is available to engage players via your social media channels. From match action with Mike Tindall and James Haskell to inspiring videos to remind players what they’ve been missing. Read online for examples
Community Game Update 1 November
| Community Game Update Read Online |
| 1. ACTION REQUIRED Enter the Papa Johns Community Cup from 3 November On 3 November, all clubs at Regional 1 and below will receive an email containing a registration link to enter the Papa Johns Community Cup. In this article, you can discover more about the Cup and fixture dates , with Twickenham Stadium set to host many of the Finals. WATCH The Clubhouse – Community Game Magazine Programme Episode 1 A new TV magazine programme celebrating the community game is available to watch in this section. This pilot episode lets rugby communities know what’s happening behind the scenes to support the grassroots game and where to find information that may help them. Age Grade Affiliation 2022-23 More than 140,000 age grade players have affiliated, compared to 150,000 throughout the entire 2021-22 season. All age grade players need to be affiliated as part of Regulation 15, which allows for a 45-day window after they start playing. Therefore players who started in September need to be affiliated by now or clubs risk operating outside of Regulation. 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Win an England Rugby matchday makeover as part of #PlayTogetherStayTogether Win the chance to have an England Rugby matchday makeover for your club which will include a live stream and commentary, team announcements and post-match interviews. Enter the competition using the link in this section. RFU Community Game Strategy Development Survey We are currently in the process of putting together the strategy for the next 10 years of the community game. As part of this, we would love to have your input to create a shared vision for the future. Tackling Energy Use in Rugby Clubs Webinar If you missed the webinar on Tackling Energy Use in Rugby Clubs, you can watch it on-demand. You can also find other videos on how to support your club on the RFU Club Support YouTube channel. Join the RFU IPF 2023 #RugbyRunners Team! You can sign up to run the TCS London Marathon or London Landmarks Half Marathon on behalf of the RFU Injured Players’ Foundation (IPF). We will support you in every step, including a welcome pack, free sports massage and much more. 3. FOR AWARENESS RFU teams up with The Good, The Bad & The Rugby for #PlayTogetherStayTogether Two invitational sides led by Mike Tindall and James Haskell took to the pitch at Aylesbury RFC on Thursday 20 October. A mix of ex-internationals and community players combined to celebrate rugby and how it creates lifelong friendships. Watch the video and read more about the game in this section. Honda Volunteer of the Year Awards Congratulations to all the nominated volunteers and finalists across the three categories: Unsung Hero, Beyond Rugby and Game for All. This year’s winners were Jodie Hill, Lincoln RFC; Will Gilgrass, Old Streetonians RFC and Arthur Crabtree, Didsbury Toc H RFC. You can read about the night and their achievements using the link in this story. New Premier 15s CEO and Chair Belinda Moore and Genevieve Shore have been named as the Chief Executive and Chair of Women’s Premier 15 Limited (WP15Ltd), respectively. They will head up a new company to oversee the Allianz Premier 15s competition from 2023/ 2024. You can discover more in this article. Read Online |
Community Game Update 4th October
| Community Game Update Read Online |
| 1. ACTION REQUIRED There is no immediate action required from clubs in this edition of the Community Game Update 2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST U18s Tackle Height Study The 17 September saw the evaluation of waist-height tackling get underway at Millfield School. Eight schools: Millfield, Exeter, Kings Taunton, Canford, Taunton, Clifton, Blundell’s and QEH Bristol took part in a festival which involved around 180 U16 players. All matches were filmed, and two teams wore Instrumented Mouth Guards (IMGs). Any U16 – U18 club, school or college teams wanting to discover more or to be part of the ongoing evaluation of tackle height in age-grade rugby, please email johnlawn@rfu.com. Bonfire And Fireworks Displays With November’s bonfire and fireworks displays now being planned, clubs need to check the guidance and risk assessment to ensure everyone attending is kept safe. You can access the RFU insurance centre, guidance and risk assessment in this article. Upcoming Club Support Webinars & Virtual Workshop In October and November, virtual support to clubs around various areas of the game will be available. Webinars include: Marketing to Women, Tackling Energy Use in Rugby Clubs and an Age Grade Affiliation Update. There will be a Club for Everyone workshop in November. Times and dates are included in this section. Honda Volunteer Hospitality Registrations For Autumn Nations Series Honda continues their support of grassroots rugby with their annual pre-match hospitality in the British Airways Fan Village at Twickenham. Make sure your club/volunteer doesn’t miss out. All details are in this article. How To Show Rugby World Cup & Autumn Nations Series At Your Club How clubs can access the Rugby World Cup & Autumn Internationals to show in their clubhouses. 3. FOR AWARENESS Championship Live Streamed For Free Starting with Doncaster Knights v Bedford Blues on Saturday 8 October, there will be ten games live streamed for free over the season. To discover how to watch the games, read this article. Papa Johns Community Cup It has just been announced that the finals of the Papa Johns Community Cup will take place at Twickenham Stadium. With every player dreaming of running out onto the Twickenham turf, don’t miss out on your chance. England Team Announcement At Community Club Last week saw England men’s head coach Eddie Jones head down to Grasshoppers RFC, Ben and Tom Curry’s first club, for the England men’s training squad announcement. In this video, Eddie discusses the important connection between grassroots and international rugby, and we hear from young players who met him. Data Management Update Following feedback from clubs and Constituent Bodies, a more targeted approach to data management, as part of the Platform for Rugby review, will see Yorkshire and Surrey become part of a pilot study. Read Online |
