THE 2020-21 competitive season for domestic clubs and schools in Scotland has been cancelled due to the ongoing challenges presented by Covid-19. It had been hoped that the grassroots game could be back up and running from lockdown by the end of January, but that target has now been pushed back until the end of what would normally be the regular season, Spring 2021.
It is still hoped that local friendly fixtures can be arranged in the months ahead at a time when it is safe to do so, and FOSROC Super6 teams will continue to work towards the possibility of playing a full programme of fixtures, with the aim of starting at the end of March 2021, should government guidelines allow.
“Scottish Rugby’s Board has today (Wednesday) supported a recommendation by the Scottish Rugby Council to close 2020-21 competitive fixtures at all levels of the club and school game due to the national impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent public health guidelines now in place,” said a statement from Murrayfield.
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“In recent weeks, the prevalence of Covid-19 in Scotland has continued to remain high, and now 20 local authority areas – impacting four million people – are living under level three or level four of the Scottish government’s five-tier system.
“With the current public health guidelines in place, full contact training and non-competitive (friendly) matches cannot be resumed, resulting in the vast majority of players being unable to fully and safely prepare for competitive matches in the new year as previously intended.
“The current government regulations also continue to limit the ability of clubs to journey to games as travel restrictions at various levels are in place across the country, including some areas where this is limited to essential purposes only.”
Scottish Rugby President, Ian Barr, said it was a tough decision to make – but the right one. “After much careful ongoing consideration by the Scottish Rugby Council, who received a detailed briefing by colleagues in Rugby Development and updates from Scottish Rugby’s Threat Management Group, on the impact of current government restrictions, we took the difficult decision as a Council to recommend closing the 2020-21 domestic season, which the Board then fully supported,” he explained.
“We know many clubs and schools were looking forward to resuming competitive matches in the new year, but Covid-19 remains an active threat and we must act responsibly, putting the safety of our players, volunteers and their local communities first.
“We understand the decision will be disappointing, however it is important that we make the right choices to contribute to helping lower the infection rates and support public health guidelines, which can hopefully enable us to return to rugby fully at the right time.”
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A club communication from Murrayfield also touched on how this cancellation of the season will impact club funding, without going into specific detail.
“Over the coming months the Rugby Development Department at Scottish Rugby remains committed to providing clubs and schools with practical and financial support.
“The Supporting Clubs Investment Programme, which was created in response to Covid-19, sees important changes to elements of its criteria, due to the closure of the competitive season, namely participation funding and player improvement funding, which were previously listed as conditional upon fulfilment of fixtures.
“These elements will now be replaced by a top-up payment, similar to the amount which a club may have earned from the original Supporting Clubs Investment Scheme had the revised competitions for this season gone ahead.”
Scottish Rugby’s Director of Rugby Development Sheila Begbie promised that every effort will be made to ensure that no club is left behind.
“We will continue to communicate any changes to the Return to Rugby Levels Framework through our weekly Club Communications email, the Club Support page on our website, and we will host webinars to update the club community where appropriate,” she said.
“Our focus is resolute on supporting our clubs. On a practical level, we are developing a new digital tool to enable clubs to canvas for friendly fixtures when it is safe to do so and in-line with the Scottish government guidance and regulations.
“We hope that the practical and financial support on offer will reassure clubs and schools of our dedication to guide them through what continues to be a difficult time.”
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Bill perhaps you need to read the latest Scottish Rugby guidance? That suggests but doesn’t confirm that we will have to be in level zero level for rugby matches to recommence
Good leadership from Ian Barr, fronting up a difficult decision which most clubs were expecting at some point, and providing clarity. Hopefully we can get some friendlies of some form in the spring, even if that is games of touch against teams in our council areas.
In the detail not sure about how the virus can tell the difference between semi or part-time pro S6, and semi or part-time or amateur Premiership/amateur the rest, or what most fixture secretaries will do with an App given the typical age profile. Matters for another day I guess.
Alternately, clubs in the North East and the Highlands could go ahead and organise games now.
Sensible decision and an excellent opportunity to turn rugby into a Summer sport.
Friday night games, barbecue atmosphere, bring the family.
Sort of inevitable and it helps to make the decision quickly.
Hopefully we can get some games going in the spring.
School rugby would have stood a better chance if the SRU hadn’t chosen age groupings that mix years together.
U13/U14/etc by 1st September mixes two school year groups and adds to the issues.
Why S1/S2/etc isn’t used (roughly 1st January) no one has ever explained.
I am surprised U14 (S2 and S3 mix) is even allowed to train as schools are trying to keep each year group as separate as possible.
Feel sorry for all those involved in school’s rugby – first the SRU butcher the school year to form weird age bandings, then Covid adds to the issues.
Probly the best thing to do to try and keep everyone safe and get rid of this thing quicker to get back to some kind of normality