SARU resolved that due to lockdown regulations and with the infection rates on a downward curve a recommendation was made by the working group of the South African Rugby Union, consisting of members from the South African Rugby Union, provincial unions and the South African Schools Rugby Association (Sasra), to the South African Rugby’s Executive Committee who subsequently approved amateur rugby, including school rugby, to commence training with immediate effect but under strict conditions.
The rugby mother body in the country resolved that amateur rugby return to training and not to play any matches.
Saru says the relevant and applicable health and safety measures will be observed and that there is no physical contact between players during training.
Romijn said they were advised by Saru to do conditioning, but they are not allowed to do any contact training.
“The players are itching to get back on the field. It has been a while since they played a competitive match. We started with conditioning weeks ago but we are not allowed to do contact training. We were advised to follow a structured approach in phases to ensure that the safety of the players is taken into consideration. The phase one details that we should have a minimum of four weeks of non-contact training. The emphasis during this time will be focused on fitness and strength training. Following phase one and if permitted by the relevant authoritative bodies a minimum of four weeks gradual integration of contact training and we can only return to play in phase three,” Romijn said.
