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1. TO ACTION Player Registration – What have we learnt? One of the benefits of registration is the ability to better understand the health of our game. Check out some of the key findings from the first season of registration in this section. Regulation Changes for the 2025/26 Season Check out all the information on the key changes which will impact the game and volunteer burden this season. Getting Ready for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Everything you need to help you make the most out of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 – including resources and social assets – can be found here. Referee Training is Changing for 2025/26 From this season, the Ready 2 Ref course is replacing the Introduction to Rugby and England Rugby Referee Award courses and consists of a mix of pre-course eLearning, one day of face to face learning and post-course support. The Age Grade Registration Prize Draw returns for 2025/26 Clubs can enter this prize draw to win great England Rugby prizes, including a visit from an England Rugby legend to your club. Don’t forget that all levels of registration are now open, so you can get ready for the new season by registering to play today! READ ONLINE > |
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2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Inspire Leadership Programme Applications are now open for the Inspire Leadership Programme for women aged 20-25 who are involved in rugby union, who might currently be leading or looking to lead in the future. Could your club partner with local Scout groups to get more young people into rugby? Following a highly successful first year of collaboration, with thousands of young people being introduced to the sport of Rugby and its core values, England Rugby and Scouts are expanding their partnership by connecting more Scouting units with local rugby clubs. Mascot Opportunities for England Matches We want to let clubs know that for each England Test at Allianz Stadium, we have a very limited number of community mascots. Join the CRISP Project – Help Shape the Future of Player Welfare The Community Rugby Injury Surveillance and Prevention (CRISP) Project is now open for team registrations for the 2025-26 season. Support available for your club! Find details and registration information for our upcoming webinars and support here. |
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3. FOR AWARENESS Deborah Griffin appointed as RFU’s first female President For the first time in its history, the Rugby Football Union has a female President, with Deborah Griffin beginning her term on 1 August. Deborah has long been a trailblazer in rugby and you can find out more about her story in this piece. Can you UP YOUR GAME for the RFU Injured Players Foundation? Have you considered hosting your own fundraising match to support the Injured Players Foundation? Impact ’25 Year 3 Report We’re three years into Impact ’25, our legacy programme driving real change for women and girls in rugby. Check out the detail behind what we’ve achieved 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
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GET READY FOR THE RUGBY WORLD CUP With 23 days until the Women’s Rugby World Cup, this RWC Edition of the Community Game Update will help you find out what’s going on and how you can get your club involved. RugbyFest – Register Now Find out more about RugbyFest weekend and how your club can get involved in this section! Rugby World Cup Resources We are delighted to be able to share exciting new resources and opportunities for clubs to use to help them make the most of the tournament. Check out this section to download assets for your Girls’ Activity Days, RugbyFest events or Watch Parties. Join the Red Roses Yarn Art Community Initiative Support the Red Roses and get involved in our Yarn Art Campaign, launched by England stars Abby Dow and Tatyana Heard. Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025: Pitch Banner Volunteers Needed Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 are searching for enthusiastic volunteers who love rugby, atmosphere and community to help us bring the energy to the pitch by participating in the Pre-Match Banner Reveal on the centre of the pitch. VIEW MORE > |
RFU Coaching Courses in Cornwall
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Book via GMS.
Successful Coaching Conference
On July 12th, Cornwall RFU hosted its annual high-performance Coaching Conference at Truro School. This immersive half-day event, from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM, was designed to prepare coaches for the upcoming season. Coaches from across the county attended the conference.
Jon Bates from Coaching Centred facilitated the event, and Allan, Gavin and Jo from the Cornish Pirates coaching team delivered the practical activity. Additionally, the former Director of Rugby for the Cornish Pirates, Ian Davis, provided valuable insights into communication and the session design.

The conference included sessions focused on:
– **Team Mindset, Strategy & Turnover Gains**: Coaches explored how to convert possession shifts into tangible advantages in the game.
– **Phase Defence Insights**: Emphasis was placed on adapting defensive principles based on pitch location and the dynamics surrounding the ruck.
– **Session Design for Decision-Making**: Interactive discussions aimed to refine techniques for session progression that enhance players’ decision-making capabilities.
These sessions were structured to translate directly into improved training designs and effective game-day strategies.
The event fostered peer-to-peer learning and reinforced the importance of continuous improvement through collaboration.
Stay tuned for further game development activities.

RFU Community Game Update – July
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1. ACTION REQUIRED Getting Ready for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Find out how to make the most of the upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup through Girls’ Activity Days, RugbyFest events, Yarn Art and more in this section! Important Update on League Promotion & Relegation changes for the 2025 Season With longer-term changes to competition formats requiring more discussion and club consultation, we have fast-tracked a change to National and Regional Men’s leagues to begin the process of modernising our competitions. Learn about the changes in this piece. RFU Leagues Travel Funding Support for the 2025/26 Season We’ve increased the Travel Funding Support by £200K this season. The travel funding policy for teams playing in the 2025/26 RFU Leagues will remain the same as last season for offshore travel, with a slight change for onshore travel. Community Cup Changes for Counties 1 & Below We’re introducing a new format for next season, giving clubs a cup fixture early in the campaign. All clubs will be automatically entered, with the option to opt out by August 8th. Player Registration is Open! Adult players can now renew their registrations and parents or guardians can renew their child or dependent to ensure they’re ready to hit the ground running when the season kicks off. Age Grade Updates Check out the latest Age Grade updates here, from Match Load and Recovery Guidance, to the Summer Activity Framework for July and August. READ ONLINE > |
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2. ACTION IF OF INTEREST Calling All Coaches! The 2025/26 season coach training programme is here! With over 800 courses and 15,000 places available for booking it’s time to secure your place on the course you need. Join the CRISP Project – Help Shape the Future of Player Welfare The Community Rugby Injury Surveillance and Prevention (CRISP) Project is now open for team registrations for the 2025-26 season. RFU Virtual Safeguarding Conference 2025 – Last Call for Registrations! The RFU Virtual Safeguarding Conference is taking place on 12th July 2025 for CB safeguarding managers and club safeguarding officers, but also open to committee members, coaches, referees, and all volunteers involved in our sport. Support available for your club! Find details and registration information for our upcoming webinars and support here. |
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3. FOR AWARENESS What do you know about the RFU Injured Players Foundation? Complete this five-minute survey to help the IPF understand levels of awareness of the charity amongst the community and you could win an England Rugby signed shirt. First Aid Training – Key Updates for 2025-26 Following a recent review of the Emergency First Aid in Rugby Union (EFARU) course, England Rugby will no longer deliver face-to-face first aid training. To support clubs, comprehensive guidance is now available on the Pitch Side First Aid & Immediate Care webpage. GMS-Howden Risk Assessment Tool Integration The Howden Risk Assessment Tool is a bespoke platform that includes a number of risk assessments templates. This includes the first aid risk assessment template that can be utilized for the annual risk assessment. Club Safeguarding Audit 2025 – Now LIVE! The deadline for submission this year is 24th October 2025 and no further edits or submissions will be allowed after this date. Gender Participation Policy Review When the Gender Participation Policy was approved in August 2022, the RFU committed to reviewing it regularly based on new evidence and feedback from the community. Read about some updates 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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Two stalwarts of Cornish rugby honoured at CRFU AGM
The AGM of the CRFU was held at Camborne RFC on Wednesday 25th June.
CRFU President Andy Reed welcomed everybody to the meeting.
A minute’s silence was observed to remember those who have sadly passed away during the past year.
At the conclusion of the formal part of the meeting Andy thanked everyone for their hard work over the past 12 months.
He then went on to make presentations to two stalwarts of Cornish rugby.
Alan Milliner, Alan has completed 10 years as our rep on the RFU Council and will step down from the role at the end of July.
For his service in this role and countless others, including Wooden Spoon Cornwall, Alan was made a Life Member of the CRFU.

The second award, that of Honorary Vice President of the CRFU was made to Stuart Hood, Stuart has been involved with the CRFU for 19 years, notably as Team Manager for Cornwall Clubs XV.
Stuart also received a county shirt presented by the Chair of Representative Rugby Kevin Thomas.

Also at the meeting were representatives from Trelawny’s Army, Phil and Marina Trevarton, they are pictured with our three Under 20 players who have been selected for the South West for the upcoming divisional fixtures. The players are Dan Bennett, Ayden Earnshaw and Rhys Bowery. TASC, alongside the CRFU are generously assisting our Under 20’s with travel expenses to attend the South West trials, training and matches.

Beware of thieves
We have had reports of thieves operating in Cornwall targetting sports clubs notably grounds equipement, mowers etc.
Make sure your security is up to scratch and good locks etc on all doors etc.
Barry Ninnes – R.I.P.
It is with great sadness that we have to day learned of the passing of Barry Ninnes.
Barry played for St. Ives & Coventry, whilst at county level he represented both Cornwall & Warwickshire. In 1971 he played for England against Wales in Cardiff for his one cap.
1969 saw Barry part of the Cornwall side that lost the county final to Lancashire at Redruth 11-9.
In all Barry played 24 times for Cornwall between 1967-74.
We send our condolences to Barry’s family and friends at this sad time.
Below is a tribute from St. Ives RFC.
Tribute to Barry Ninnes – A St Ives Rugby Legend
It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Barry Ninnes, the last St Ives player to represent England. Barry passed away last week, leaving behind a proud legacy and a lasting impact on our club and the wider rugby community.
Barry began his rugby journey at St Ives RFC, where his talent, passion, and determination quickly set him apart. His remarkable ability on the field earned him a move to Coventry and, most notably, the honour of wearing the England shirt – a true testament to his skill and dedication.
He remains a source of immense pride for everyone associated with St Ives RFC. To this day, he is remembered not just for his achievements, but for the character and sportsmanship he brought to the game.
Our thoughts are with Barry’s family, friends, and all those who had the privilege of knowing him. He will always be part of the St Ives rugby family.
Rest in peace, Barry.
Payment of players return due by 30th June
A reminder to clubs concerned that this return needs to be completed by the end of this month.
https://help.rfu.com/support/solutions/articles/103000275565-how-to-complete-payment-of-players
Age Grade Summer Activity Guidelines
