Prem clubs agree to limit contact in training in major breakthrough for RPA

All players are currently given mandatory rest periods during the off-season. For example, England players who tour with the national side in the summer are then given five weeks mandatory rest before starting pre-season with their clubs, and then another five weeks before playing a match.

However when surveyed by the RPA, 36% of players said they were doing contact training in their first week of pre-season. This would mean an international player could conceivably be involved in contact training for as many as 47 weeks a year.

Under the new guidelines, which will be in place for the 2026/27 season, players will now experience a graduated return to contact, with no contact at all in week one and no full contact until the fourth week of their return. Clubs who fail to adhere to the new regulations could face a fine or a disciplinary case.

England’s most-capped men’s player Ben Youngs presented a BBC documentary exploring the issue of safety in rugby, and he believes regulation of training is a big move forward.

“Monitoring and limiting the amount of collisions and contact done within a training week is really, really important. That is the next step for elite rugby,” Youngs told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

Those involved in the agreement believe these changes to contact training will place the Prem at the forefront of player welfare as a league.

“Prem Rugby’s vision of becoming the best league in the world can only be achieved by ensuring our players are given world-leading support off the pitch,” said Phil Winstanley, rugby director at Prem Rugby.

“Working together with the RPA and our clubs, we will continue to raise standards off the pitch so our players can perform to the highest level on the field of play.”

While these regulations apply to the men’s Prem, similar guidelines are also likely to be implemented across Premiership Women’s Rugby.