ROAD MAP FOR UNION RETURN
RFU cautious over rushing back but plan structural changes for 2021-22
THE Rugby Football Union announced its national road map to support a return to community rugby activity but remained adamant it must be “cautious” at every stage as work begins ahead of the 2020-21 season.
The governing body also revealed that more than 6,000 people had completed its survey regarding future competition structure as it seeks to make the game more sustainable and appealing in the future.
With that in mind, it has this week launched a series of nine online consultation webinars which will run throughout June.
Clubs and players from across the country, and at different levels of the game, will be presented with findings from the Adult Competition Future Structure Group, a direction of travel and different options of what the season will look like.
Proposals, which include reducing league sizes and introducing league break weekends, will be communicated for further consultation with the wider game this summer ahead of any RFU Council decision on October 2.
They will not be implemented, however, until the 2021/22 season. A more pressing matter, of course, is how 2020/21 will look given the impact of coronavirus threatens the competitions’ usual start date of early September.
With all clubs across the country – there are 94 in the Yorkshire RFU alone – out of action since the sport was shutdown in midMarch, everyone is waiting to see when they can start getting back to any semblance of normality especially given the crippling financial effects of the pandemic.
Although the RFU acknowledge all their next steps will be determined by medical and government advice, they can now at least give clubs, players, coaches, staff and fans an idea of how things will progress.
The road map consists of six stages from Stage A relating to individual training with one other person, through to Stage F when there can be a return to competitive matches against other teams.
Rugby union is currently at Stage B following the government’s announcement of 28 May.
Here, six individuals from different households may now meet up and engage in individual training. The two metre social distancing rule still applies and if a coach is involved they are part of the group of six.
Equipment sharing – including balls – should be kept to a minimum and strong hand hygiene practice should be in place before and after. A move to Stage C would begin to see larger groups being able to train together, such as forwards or backs or age grade groupings and would likely involve more interactive activity.
The RFU anticipates this will still be subject to some social distancing measures and would likely reflect a need to limit the total amount of close or face-to-face contact between individuals.
A move to stage D is likely to be triggered by a more significant relaxation of social distancing measures and when the risk element of typical rugby training activities that involve close and face-to-face contact and the typical physical contact of rugby training is deemed acceptable.
Stage E allows for preparation for return to play and to matches but there will be a minimum of four weeks spent in this stage before any progression to Stage F to allow players to get match-fit.
RFU chief executive officer Bill Sweeney said: “When considering the roadmap, we were aware some clubs wanted to get back quicker than others as a major concern of clubs is to retain their players and preserve their revenue streams. We also recognise other sports may return quicker in England and that rugby may return quicker in other countries.
“However, we will stay focused on what is right for rugby in England. We need to be cautious and will therefore only move from one stage to another when guidance and advice says it is safe to do so.”
The RFU accepts there could be a truncated 20-21 season if the campaign does not get underway on time while, if so, it is also working on alternative activities for mini and junior players on Sundays plus potential temporary game law amendments to enable some activity to happen.
On the survey, Sweeney added: “We can see from participation trends and data that players are playing less fixtures each season and choosing to do so for a number of lifestyle reasons.
“Demands on players’ time through changing socio-economic factors is not the same as it was 20 years ago. Our current playing offer puts pressure on players and clubs to fulfil fixtures, undermining the sustainability of the game. We now have the opportunity to establish a competition structure across the game to serve the interests of all of our players and clubs and underpin our game for the future.”