The good news is that school and amateur rugby has been given the green light to return to training first and foremost to eventually play under strict Covid-19 guidelines.
SARU CEO, Jurie Roux, confirmed this in an open letter this week after a recommendation was made by “the working group of SA Rugby, consisting of members from SA Rugby, Provincial Unions and the South African Schools Rugby Association (SASRA), to the SA Rugby’s Executive Committee who subsequently approved amateur rugby, including school’s rugby, to commence training with immediate effect but under strict conditions.”
This is fantastic for local clubs as well as school players who can now once again continue their rugby journey after almost a year, after the first hard lockdown occurred in SA in March 2020.
There are several protocols that still need to be observed such as applicable health and safety measures (such as sanitizing and the wearing of masks as well as no physical contact between participants during training.
According to Roux the resumption of amateur rugby will follow a 3 phased approach as follows:
- Phase 1: A minimum of 4 weeks of non-contact training. The emphasis during this time will be focused on fitness and strength training.
- Phase 2: Following phase 1 (and if permitted by the relevant authoritative bodies) a minimum of 4 weeks gradual integration of contact training.
- Phase 3: Return to play.
Roux also mentioned that school sport still falls under the Department of Education’s rules and regulations and that each school headmaster will need to give the green light on a school’s participation in rugby during level 3.
“Schools have got their own COVID management committees, and together with the school headmaster will provide the final say on whether the school participates in rugby or not. The ultimate responsible person will be the principal of each school. It remains our collective responsibility to ensure that the players and coaches who participate in the game of rugby do so in an environment that does no harm and mitigates against the risk of unnecessary illness and injury,” stated Roux.
