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How rugby is shaping up for its return to action despite Covid-19
England’s top rugby clubs have been given the go-ahead to resume training under certain conditions during Covid-19. Here, the PA news agency looks in detail at how the sport is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
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Who can now train?
England’s Premiership and Championship clubs have been handed provisional approval to begin non-contact training from the Premiership Rugby professional game board. Clubs must educate all players and support staff to ensure they can make an informed decision on whether to restart training.
English rugby clubs must also appoint a Covid-19 manager and a medical lead, set out hygiene standards for training facilities, provide appropriate personal protective equipment and conduct daily screening, including temperature checks. Stage one protocols allow for individuals or small groups to train in the same facility, while adhering to social distancing rules. No timescale has been set for a return to contact training or games.
What club competitions plan to restart?
The domestic season in England below the Gallagher Premiership was ended by the Rugby Football Union in March while Scottish and Welsh domestic competitions were all cancelled. No date has been set for a resumption of the Premiership.
The Guinness PRO14 is provisionally scheduled to return on August 22-23 with two meetings between Irish provinces at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, but plans for the completion of the season are complicated by the fact the tournament is played in Scotland, Wales, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Italy and South Africa.
The European rugby body is committed to finishing the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, which are both at the quarter-final stage, with provisional finals dates pencilled in for October 16-17. Talks are also continuing on a revamped format for next season’s competitions.
What about the international scene?
There are four Guinness Six Nations games outstanding involving all of the teams. All summer tours, including England’s trip to Japan, were cancelled.
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There remains doubt over the inter-hemisphere November Test series but it is hoped international rugby will take place later in the year, including a truncated version of the Rugby Championship featuring Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa.
World Rugby also called time on its Under-20 Championship, which was scheduled in Italy this summer, while the postponement of the Olympics affected sevens tournaments.
Is any rugby union starting soon?
The southern hemisphere’s Super Rugby is due to begin in New Zealand on June 13. Australia is scheduled to follow in July with South Africa looking at plans for a domestic rugby tournament when government Covid-19 restrictions allow.
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What is the financial impact?
Rugby Australia this week axed 47 of 147 full-time posts plus 30 casual workers and contractors. Professional players, coaches and staff across the home nations have taken pay cuts and some have been furloughed. The already precarious USA Rugby filed for bankruptcy.
There are major concerns over the impact of internationals being postponed later in the year. RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney stated that the English union stood to lose £122million if there were no matches at Twickenham in 2020 and predicted a six-year process “to get rugby back fully on its feet”.
How can the game adapt to the ‘new normal’?
The sport faces heightened challenges in implementing social distancing and World Rugby has suggested a number of optional law changes during the crisis. The aim is to limit scrum contact and time, lower the tackle height and speed up ball distribution from rucks and mauls.
The trials provide limits to scrum options with no scrum resets, limits for players joining rucks and mauls, time to play the ball at the base of scrums and rucks reduced from five to three seconds and only one movement permitted for a maul. However, the RFU has declared it will create its own guidelines for clubs.
Comments on RugbyPass
Should've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to comments