Sport

World Rugby clamps down on over-playing of leading players

International Rugby

Mike Greenaway|Published

World Rugby’s new player welfare guidelines cap seasons at 30 games and mandate rest periods to safeguard athlete health. Pictured here, the Springboks and Sharks player Even Etzebeth. Photo: AFP

Image: AFP

No rugby player will play more than 30 games a year going forward after World Rugby announced clear guidelines aimed at reducing player fatigue and injury.

The issue of too much rugby has plagued the game for some time, notably in South Africa, where rugby is played for 52 weeks of the year because of the country’s unique position of featuring in the northern hemisphere at provincial level, but in the southern hemisphere at international level.

In South Africa, coaches and their unions have largely been making it up as they go along, although SA Rugby has been decreeing mandatory rest periods for their contracted Springboks.

Now there are no more grey areas after the world governing body accepted the recommendations made by a project group of leading experts representing players, unions, regions, and competitions around the globe.

The new rules limit players to 30 full games in a season. They also cannot play more than six consecutive games. Players are now entitled to a rest period of at least one week after international selection, and at least five weeks off each season. Each year, a player must have at least 12 weeks of non-contact time.

In a statement released on Wednesday, chairman of World Rugby, Dr Brett Robinson, said: “These guidelines are the result of much intense negotiation over many years.

"As with all World Rugby policies, these guidelines are informed by the latest science and expert opinion. Our hope, over time, is that unions and competitions reach local agreements to best serve the individual circumstances of players.

"In the meantime, these guidelines provide a solid backstop. As we grow our sport, players can be sure that they are being well supported by their clubs, unions, and at the very top of the game by World Rugby.”

Player Load Project Group

  • Julian Piscone (FFR) – Chair

  • Conrad Smith, Sharon Flahive, Rachel Burford, Danielle Salmon (IRPA)

  • Ross Tucker, Steve Mellalieu, Des Ryan (Independent)

  • Julie Paterson (Six Nations)

  • Matt Cross (Prem Rugby)

  • Sylvain Blanchard (LNR)

  • Lesley McKenzie, Nick Gill, Andy Edwards, Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Kevin Rouet (Union coaches/High Performance Managers)

  • Johan van Graan, Stuart Lancaster, John Dobson (Club coaches)

  • Mark Harrington, Eanna Falvey, Lindsay Starling, Kevin Bouwer (World Rugby)

Related Topics:

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