What is contact training and match load?
Following the best practice contact training and playing/match load guidelines will reduce injury risk while maintaining and improving performance. Rugby players experience contacts and head impacts in training and matches. It is a combination of the contact players are exposed to in these settings (and in other sports) that makes up their overall contact training and match load. In matches, players are exposed to full contact events that are unpredictable, frequent and often high intensity in nature. In contrast, contact in training can and should be carefully managed. Doing enough contact training at the right intensity and volume to prepare players for performance and develop technical skills should be balanced against too much excessive contact, which leads to a greater risk of injury. Training injuries caused by contact and the accumulation of too much contact can be minimised through good planning and skilled delivery of contact training activities. Careful management of training and match load is essential for performance and injury prevention. Performance and injury prevention cannot be delivered independently of one another, since squads that retain higher proportions of healthy, uninjured players for longer, are known to perform better. Contact training and match load management is thus both an injury prevention strategy and performance optimisation strategy.
Coaches and teachers of players who play and train in multiple environments are encouraged to share individual training and playing schedules, in order to appropriately manage playing and training load. This will deliver reduced injury risk and greater performance.
- Play no more than 30 matches per season
- Have at least 72 hours recovery time between matches
- Play no more than 120 match minutes per week
- Have no more than 15 maximum high intensity contact training minutes per week
- Have no more than 30 medium intensity contact training minutes per week
1. Match load: Age Grade players often play matches for both their club and school/college and in some cases, they may also be part of a performance pathway programme.
2. Recovery time between matches: When school/college matches take place midweek and on Saturdays and club rugby on Sundays it limits a player’s recovery time.
3. Contact training load: Contact training involves the higher intensity phases of a training session, often leading to increased fatigue and a greater risk of exposure to head impacts.
4. Playing position: No two playing positions are the same, each has its own unique demands and skills and these influence both match and training load.
5. Other sports/activities: Playing other sports should be encouraged but must be considered as part of a player’s overall match load and (contact) training load
The management of training and playing load is important to both performance and injury-prevention, and irrespective of level or age, teams who keep their players fit, healthy, and uninjured for longer tend to perform better. These guidelines aim to provide principles and a framework to help coaches and teachers plan and design training sessions and schedule game time that most effectively manages contact load for individual players. Coaches and teachers of players who play and train in multiple environments are encouraged to share training and playing schedules with each other so that a players’ overall playing and training load can be appropriately managed. It is important to recognise that whilst maximum contact load is applicable to all levels, what this looks look in practice will be considerably different depending on training time, match profiles, experience and injury history for the players.
It is important that players, parents, teachers and coaches consider the total number of matches played across the season. Ideally a player should play no more than 30 matches and only one match per week. Due to the more physical nature of the game at U13-U18 compared with a younger age group and the changes brought about by puberty playing matches/taking part in full contract training on consecutive days increases the chances of players sustaining injury. Players should aim to recover for a minimum of 72 hours after playing a full match. If this is not possible, we recommend no more than 120 total minutes playing time if playing on consecutive days and reductions to medium and high intensity contact training.
Planning and managing training programmes is a key task that coaches and teachers must consider. The objective should be to enhance and maximise performance through a balance of skill acquisition, individual, unit and team preparation whilst also reducing fatigue, risk of injury and exposure to head impact events.
Although research* shows that injury risk per hour is lower in training than in matches, the amount of time spent training means that 30-40% of injuries still occur during training. Training also contributes to 30-50% of a player’s overall head impact exposure. Since the training environment is highly controllable, coaches and teachers can have a significant effect on reducing injury risk by their management of training, and one way to achieve this is through lowering the cumulative contact load as much as possible. By way of example in the Age Grade game, boys may be exposed to rugby in different environments. This requires careful planning and management and dialogue between coaches, teachers, players and parents. In the girls’ game, some players may have had relatively limited exposure to contact, meaning a tailored approach based on their technical ability may be needed.
Ideally, the aim is to identify and implement the lowest "dose" of contact training to deliver the necessary performance capability.
When planning the optimal “dose” coaches and teachers should recognise that contact load is one component of overall physical load. Coaches should always be thinking about how contact skills can be practiced using modified/non-contact activities and the use of training equipment i.e., contact shields.
Coaches and teachers should note that the requirements for the management of the pre-season contact load are likely to differ player by player. The need to ensure that any contact is graduated and periodised, this is particularly important in the preseason where workloads tend to be heavier, and players are returning from an offseason period.
*Match and training injury risk in semi-professional rugby union: A four-year study
Use the checklist below to help plan and deliver training sessions with an appropriate contact load.
- Are players recovered from matches or training prior to the upcoming session*?
- What is the specific goal or purpose of the contact in the session?
- What is the progression of activities to ensure players are well prepared for the contact session?
- What is the expected intensity of the session?
- How long will players spend practicing contact?
- Are all players 'fit for contact'? If not, what are the modifications.
- Who will supervise the contact sessions and monitor time and intensity?
- Who will ensure players are completing Activate as part of the training session?
*Coaches and teachers of Age Grade players must consider if players are involved in other sports or playing rugby in other settings e.g. school/college.
- Match load
- Age Grade players often play matches for both their club and school/college. In some instances, they may also be a part of a performance pathway programme.
- Recovery time between matches
- School/college matches will take place midweek and club matches on weekends. This limits a players' recovery time.
- Contact training load
- Contact training involves high intensity phases, often leading to increased fatigue and a greater risk of exposure to head impacts.
- Playing position
- Each playing position differs, each influence both the training and match load.
- Other sports/activities
- Playing other sports should be encouraged but must be considered as part of a player's overall match and contact training load.
These guidelines aim to provide principles and a framework to help coaches plan and design training sessions and schedule game time that most effectively manages contact load for players.
Coaches of players who play and train in multiple environments are encouraged to share training and playing schedules with each other so that a players’ overall playing and training load can be appropriately managed. It is important to recognise that whilst maximum contact load is applicable to all levels, what this looks like in practice will be considerably different depending on training time, match profiles, experience and injury history for the players.
The RFU recommends that coaches should use the contact intensity scale when planning and delivery sessions to U13-U18 players.
Controlled contact (between 3-6 on the contact intensity scale)
- Players are restrained in terms of speed and force.
- Shields and pads are used to avoid body on body impact.
- Focus on technical execution at a range of reduced speeds, using reduced size and distances between players.
- Includes all practices involving pick-and-go, tackle, ruck, scrum, lineout, maul, kick off and contesting high kicks - but at a reduced intensity and/or using shields, pads or crash mats.
- Controlled set piece training includes scrums using scrummaging machines or low/zero contact small group set piece practices where intensity is below 6 on the contact scale.
Full contact (between 7-10 on the contact intensity scale)
- Match intensity.
- Attack v defence.
- Body contact occurs without the use of shields/pads.
- No or very few restrictions on the speed of players into contact.
- Contact to ground.
- Includes all practices involving pick-and-go, tackle, ruck, scrum, lineout, maul, kick off and contesting high kicks - but without shields, pads or crash mats.
- Live set piece training does not include scrums using scrummaging machines, set-ups or low/zero contact small group set piece practices where intensity is lower than 3 on the contact intensity scale.
- Where possible, coaches and teachers should prioritise strategies to reduce contact load during set piece training. This may be achieved by including smaller numbers (building up from 3 vs 3 to 8 vs 8), and regulating force application (e.g., scrum training).
- The intensity and unpredictability of contact should be managed to prevent live set piece training from becoming excessively fatiguing or high risk for forwards.
- Coaches and teachers must be mindful of which players among the forwards are exposed to the highest set piece loads and plan accordingly.
- Good practice:
- The volume and intensity of full/controlled set piece training must be planned as part of the overall session, some positions have additional demands, i.e. scrum engagements on a machine would place a greater load on the front row compared to the back row.
Coaches and teachers should take into account some additional considerations when planning contact sessions, including:
- Players age/maturity
- Players' age should be taken into consideration when planning contact sessions. Younger players may be more inexperienced and older players may have longer recovery time, these players may require a reduction in intensity.
- Injuries
- Players coming back from or with a history of certain injuries may require adaptation of training load.
- Playing time
- Players who have had no or minimal playing /training time in previous weeks may be required to increase contact loads above what has been advised in these guidelines, however it is advised to take a conservative approach in these situations. Conversely, players who have been exposed to high contact loads in recent matches and training may require reduced contact load to allow for sufficient recovery.
- Women and Girls' rugby
- It is recognised that further research is required in the women and girls’ game in relation to contact load. The RFU is involved in a number of related research projects. Whilst the game continues to grow, the age of girls who play rugby and the level of rugby conditioning they have been exposed to must be considered when planning training and match programmes. Please visit the Female Health & Wellbeing page for further information.
The FITT principle is coaching tool that can be used by coaches and teachers to help them manage contact training load and reduce the risk of injury, while still providing an opportunity for players to develop. It provides a simple method for designing, monitoring and measuring progress and contact load within training sessions.
It’s crucial that coaches and teachers consider the four elements to help them understand and manage contact load within individual training sessions, as part of the training week and as part of a long-term training block and seasonal training programme.
- Frequency
- Be mindful of what activity players have been doing
- Factor in game time to overall activity per week
- What other activities/sports have players undertaken
- Intensity
- Progressive re-introduction to contact and game play
- Reduce intensity through game constraints
- Consider game formats
- Type
- Start with general sessions
- Progress to specific position/game scenarios
- Progress to game play
- Time
- Gradually increase ball in play within sessions
- Consider how many game involvements players have
- High intensity work in short blocks
The contact training, match load and recovery guidance is NOT REGULATION. The guidelines are there to provide principles and a framework to help coaches and teachers plan and design training sessions and schedule game time for players that most effectively manages their contact load.
Can players play on consecutive days?
Ideally players playing a full game of 15-a-side contact rugby should aim to recover for a minimum of 72 hours after playing a full match. If this is not possible, we recommend no more than 120 total minutes playing time if playing on consecutive days.
If players can play on consecutive days, why do you recommend 72 hours between matches?
We recognise that many age grade players will play on consecutive days if they play for club and school. But we also know that recovery time plays an important role in performance and helps to reduce the risk of injury/fatigue.
Does 72 hours recovery between matches mean no training/playing in relation to other sports?
No, we recognise this wouldn’t be possible or practical. The guidance relates to rugby union only, if a child takes part in other sports that is a choice for them/their parent. But we should recognise that any physical activity might add to a player's load.
Does the recommended 30 match limit include seven tournaments/festivals, tours and representative rugby?
Yes, remember the aim is to maximise performance. A way of doing this is to reduce fatigue and minimise the risk of injury.
Are players in U15-U18 age grades still permitted to play a maximum of 90 minutes per day if taking part in a festival?
Yes, this takes into account the rest and recovery periods between matches that are normally part of a festival/tournament.
Who is responsible for monitoring match limits and recovery time?
Coaches, teachers, parents and the player all have a role to play. Sharing of training/playing schedules and regular conversations will ultimately support the player.
Does the guidance cover all age grades?
Yes, but due to changes brought about by puberty and the more physical nature of the game at U13-U18 we believe it is important for coaches, teachers, parents and players to consider this guidance.
