Coronavirus (Covid-19) update
This week’s RFU headlines include:
- Monday 29 March – Return to Rugby update
- Steve Grainger takes grassroots players questions with Fill Your Boots
- School of Hard Knocks – only a couple of spaces left
- Mental Wellbeing
- International Women’s Day
- Share your stories
RFU HEADLINES
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Return to Rugby Update
| We hope that you’re all as excited as we are about last Friday’s announcement of our planned #ReturnToRugby from the end of the month. It’s been great to see many clubs and Constituent Bodies using that hashtag across their social media channels. Please feel free to do the same and post photos of players getting ready for rugby at home – fully kitted out in club kits, in the kitchen perhaps, or putting boots on in the garden? As promised, we will share detailed stage D guidance later this week, which will include equipment that can be used and advice you can follow for a gradual return to contact rugby. Our Club Support Centre FAQs and Return to Rugby page below will continue to be updated as further guidance is published by government, for example relating to facilities such as changing rooms and clubhouses. It is likely that clubhouse re-opening will follow government’s national guidance for the hospitality industry. However, we hope to receive changing room guidance over the next couple of weeks. Until Monday 29 March, unless you are an age grade player taking part in organised school or college rugby activity, we remain at Stage A on the Return to Rugby Roadmap. This means individuals are only allowed to exercise alone, or with one other from another household. A shareable Return to Rugby Roadmap can be found here. |
Steve Grainger takes grassroots players’ questions
| This week, we spoke to Fill Your Boots to answer questions from grassroots players around our return to rugby on Monday 29 March. Watch the video below as host Sean Phelan puts questions from the community game to RFU Rugby Development Director Steve Grainger. |
School of Hard Knocks – Back in the Game
There are only a couple of places left on the School of Hard Knocks course, which supports individuals in the rugby community who are currently out of work to get Back in the Game. Register now to avoid missing out.
Requirements
• Be free the week of Monday 22 March.
• Available between 9.30am to 12pm each day.
• Have internet connection via laptop, tablet or mobile phone.
This free course is open to all members of the rugby community connected to a club – players, coaches, match officials, volunteers and parents.
Webinars and on-demand videos
We have our previous Coaching, Refereeing, and Club webinars on-demand alongside those below that are coming up.
Introducing the Mental Wellbeing for Players webinar – Thursday 18 March – 7pm – Keeping The Rugby Community Healthy
We welcome rugby players of all ages to a healthy discussion about mental wellbeing, creating kinder cultures and the importance of looking out for each other. Guest speaker, David Beeney, who has years of experience talking about (and not talking about) mental health is joined by former England Rugby captain Dylan Hartley. We put player welfare at the heart of the game to keep the community healthy, with help from our trusted healthcare partner Simplyhealth.
Register today
Webinar: Using Social Media to engage players – Thursday 25 March 7pm
This webinar will cover how you can use social media to effectively engage with your players and reach more people. It will be hosted by RFU Social Media Manager Joe Ogden who will look at each platform and provide some top tips on how to use your social media channels.
Register today
International Women’s Day
We celebrated International Women’s Day earlier this week in a variety of ways, from the #ChooseToChallenge campaign, to recognising the incredible achievements of women within the rugby community.
Here, we catch up with Karen Almond, the first England rugby captain to lift a XVs Rugby World Cup. Read her inspirational story below and learn more about some of the pioneers of women’s rugby.
Share your ideas
We continue to highlight the wonderful activities of our clubs and their teams on our England Rugby channels. Please share your stories and videos with ChrisDodd@rfu.com or PatriciaMowbray@rfu.com and within the county to BerkshireRFU@gmail.com and we will be sure to share across our channels, #berkshirerugby #staysafe
