No Scrums At All – PLease Read

Dear colleagues,

I hope you are all keeping well.

This is a joint message with David Barnes, RFU Head of Discipline. As we have previously discussed age grade and adult rugby at level 3 and below can only be played under adapted laws (No scrum or maul) as shown on the Return to Rugby Community Roadmap – Stage D2

This includes all formats of the game, including 7s and Tens. The England Rugby Community Game Law Variations 2020-21 have been clarified to support this understanding.

We are now seeking your help to ensure that our members comply with the application of the law variations, as unfortunately we are seeing a number of personal interpretations appearing through social media. We appreciate that colleagues could potentially come under pressure from coaches & players to play with ‘passive scrums’ or anything looking like a scrum, however this is not permitted under the Government Guidance.

While we appreciate how frustrating this may be for the rugby community, we also understand the picture that Government and Public Health England (PHE) are currently looking at, with growing concerns around the Indian variant of Covid-19 in England. Thank you for your support and let’s please ensure we and our members play our part to restrict the spread of the virus and to keep our game being played.

Further supporting resources including specific match official ones are available online at: England Rugby – Return to Rugby Resources

If we can offer any advice or support please do not hesitate to make contact via matchofficials@rfu.com or just call.

Take care, kind regards,

           michaelpatz@RFU.com

RFU Match Official Development Manager

Please keep an eye on our official England Rugby or @RFURefs channels for all of the latest information and advice.