At last, we have some good news to shout about where Gulf Rugby is concerned.

We couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas present from the UAE Rugby Federation, Medcom and the Sports Councils.

Up to now we’ve been in Phase 2 of the Return To Play Guidelines, set out by the UAERF. Beginning January 2021, UAE rugby clubs will need to be fully compliant with player registrations and insurance approved by the UAERF in order to begin contact training again. The aim is to phase in contact training by each club, once the above requirements have been met allowing players to be conditioned to take contact by the end of January 2021.

The Rugby Club Consortium (RCC) will be submitting their proposed league structure to UAE Rugby in early January for approval, with the aim of starting competitive rugby in February in a 10-a-side reduced format of the game and running for a period of two to three months.

The RCC will be consulting the Match Officials Association (MOA) beforehand to see how they can accommodate the adaption of the new 10’s rugby format in accordance to World Rugby laws.

Return To Play Phase 3

Return To Play will start in Phase 3 (contact allowed), and all going well, will move into phase 4 once all stipulations and regulations are fully functional and adhered to by all UAE rugby clubs.

The biggest (uncontrollable) obstacle we foresee, would be the new strain of Covid-19 currently making headlines in the UK, influencing the above phased return to playing competitive, full contact rugby in 2021.

Newly appointed Head of the Rugby Club Consortium, Rocco de Bruyn said:

“This a great news and the perfect present for Christmas!

Clubs will be very happy about the RTP and I’m sure the rugby fraternity will be very excited to hear the news. We’ve been 9 months without any games or even proper rugby training.

The RCC working group can’t wait to get everything in place for a smooth as possible rollout to playing rugby in February.

“We’re very grateful to all stakeholders for their input and efforts to get us back on the pitch.”

What Is The Rugby Club Consortium?

The contract between the UAERF and RCC dictates that the Head of the RCC should be someone not currently linked to a Gulf rugby club and with at least 3 years experience of UAE rugby.

Previous Head of the RCC, Simon Lewis (ex-chairman of the Dubai Hurricanes), resigned back in September and shortly after, De Bruyn was approached to take up the position.

He had recently relocated from Al Ain to Dubai after 8 years on the committee at the Al Ain Amblers, and was not officially affiliated to any club. De Bruyn was officially appointed on the 14th October 2020, following approval from the UAERF.

What Have The Rugby Club Consortium Proposed?

Men’s and boy’s Rugby

Format:
10’s rugby (safest and more likely to be passed)

Set Pieces:

• No scrums.
• Lineouts (4-man) at all times – ball must be off the top or brought down and passed.
• No mauls.
• Rucks (attack: 1x ball carrier, 1x support / Defence: 1x tackler, 1x support) a total of 4 bodies at the breakdown, 2x attack, and 2x defence.
• Knock on, forward pass – Free kick (no quick taps, offending team must be allowed to retire 10m).
• Infringements or foul play – Penalty as normal.
• 18-man match day squad.

Substitutes:
Rolling subs, and unlimited substitutions.

Women’s and Girls 7s Rugby

Format:
7’s rugby

Set Pieces:

• No scrums.
• Lineouts (2-women) at all times – ball must be off the top or brought down and passed.
• No mauls.
• Rucks (attack: 1x ball carrier, 1x support / Defence: 1x tackler, 1x support) a total of 4 bodies at the breakdown, 2x attack, and 2x defence.
• Knock on, forward pass – Free kick (no quick taps, offending team must be allowed to retire 10m).
• Infringements or foul play – Penalty as normal.
• 12-Woman match day squad.

Substitutes:
Rolling subs, and unlimited substitutions.