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New Rugby Guidelines Limit Players to 30 Full Games in a Season or 6 Consecutive Game Weeks

World Rugby’s Executive Board has agreed new player load guidelines to cover the elite men’s and women’s game around the world. The new guidelines have been recommended to World Rugby by a project group of leading experts representing players, unions, regions and competitions around the globe.

The guidelines are supported by scientific evidence or in the absence of existing studies, expert opinion.  The guidelines take a precautionary approach to player load in all circumstances in line with existing World Rugby policies and guidelines on player welfare.   The guidelines will act as a backstop where no local agreement around player load currently exist.

The new guidelines state that players should:

  • Play no more than 30 games in a single season or six consecutive match weeks
  • Have a dedicated 5 week off season break
  • Be entitled to minimum rest periods should they be selected for international fixtures of at least 1 week.
  • Across a year, have 12 weeks of non-contact time
  • Communicate thoroughly between Club & Country

Player welfare is at the heart of everything that rugby does and World Rugby had made agreement of these new guidelines a condition of approval for the new Nations Championship which can now begin in the summer of 2026.

Chairman of World Rugby Dr Brett Robinson added “These guidelines are the result of much intense negotiation over many years, I’d like to congratulate all involved on achieving this agreement.  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.”

The full membership of the Player Load Project Group is:

  • Juian 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 and John Dobson (Club coaches)
  • Mark Harrington, Eanna Falvey, Lindsay Starling, Kevin Bouwer (World Rugby)
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