Season start delayed until 21st September

COMMUNITY RUGBY SEASON START

LEAGUE SEASON DELAYED UNTIL 21ST SEPTEMBER

By Bill Hooper, Cornwall RFU.

Cornish clubs have had to wait a little longer than usual for the start of the league season after the RFU delayed the start of competitive community rugby until the week commencing Monday 21st September.

The RFU said the decision was taken with three concerns in mind: player safety on hard pitches, fairness of competition, and certainty for clubs. In its statement it explained that “prolonged dry weather has left many grounds across the country hard and unsuitable for safe full-contact activity.”

What the delay meant

National League Rugby was allowed to permit National League 1 and 2 matches before 21st September, but Regional 1 and all lower men’s leagues had to postpone any earlier fixtures until after that date. Women’s leagues below PWR also had to reschedule fixtures falling before 21st September.

Age-grade competitions moved too, with the U18 Schools Cups starting on 28th September and the U15s on 5th October. Training was able to continue, with modified contact protocols on hard grounds, and friendlies could still go ahead where conditions allowed.

The RFU encouraged clubs to keep players involved through non-contact formats and T1 Rugby in the meantime, adding that “a delayed start to contact fixtures doesn’t mean a delayed start for your club as a whole.”

Guidance for clubs

Cornwall RFU later passed on further RFU guidance to help clubs, referee societies, schools, colleges, universities, coaches, referees and volunteers through the extra weeks. It covers assessing the safety of pitches, returning players to game fitness ahead of the competitive season, age-grade rugby and more. County Boards, schools, colleges and universities are responsible for deciding when non-RFU league and cup competitions start.

Now the wait is over, keep up with every Cornish club’s fixtures and results on our Full Cornish Fixtures & Results page.

Statement and guidance by Bill Hooper, Cornwall RFU. Reproduced with permission from crfu.co.uk and crfu.co.uk.