Link to the various proposal above.

Is it just me or is the plan to geographically split all leagues EXCEPT the NCA leagues not madness?

The NCA leagues in this current climate are the first ones that should be split on a geographical basis not the ones omitted.  Plymouth travelling to the far north of England, Redruth and Barnstaple travelling to Southend and Bury St.Edmunds don't sound like a great plan to me.

Yeah, Staffs RFU had it

6 hours x 2 on coach is a long time.

I believe Dominic Cummings has said the playing of games in Durham without any restrictions is absolutely fine if that helps.

Or at the Leicester Mayors girlfriends house.

They can practice lifting in the line-out. 

Don’t want anything that can result in face to face contact for longer than a second or two

Worrying peice on the World Tonight last night from Buxton and others:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000m57q" rel="nofollow - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000m57q

listen from 39 minutes until the end.

No. 

That's looking at 28th November for the first match of a 22 match season. I believe that this is the RFU/Sweeny's new target.

If we move to Stage E on 1st Oct we could move to Stage F 4 weeks after that and resume playing at the beginning of November but, that may need a bit of a push.

I do not see how we can we start the league without at least some pre-season matches.

So for league by 28th Nov we would need competitive XV a side play from 1 Nov.

Which means stage E training before them.

If we got stage E by September 14th - and F by October 1st we could be playing league matches by November 1st - but I am not sure that is likely.

"In line with the above announcement regarding move to Stage D, and with no set date on when we will reach Stage F, we can confirm that there will be no competitive rugby restart in October for adult or age grade rugby unless there is a dramatic improvement in the prevalence of the virus in the community."

https://www.englandrugby.com//dxdam/cf/cf50993e-0906-4485-bf85-3f501c34abe4/02.09.20%20CGU.pdf" rel="nofollow - https://www.englandrugby.com//dxdam/cf/cf50993e-0906-4485-bf85-3f501c34abe4/02.09.20%20CGU.pdf

We have to get to stage E by 1st November, to be able to play again in December. Every week we don't get the Stage E in November pushes restart of full contact competitive games back by the same time frame. So if Stage E isn't here by the 21st November it will be 2021 before we see competitive club rugby. Some Clubs in local lockdown area's are being told to either stay at C or even go back to B.

Crowds can return to watch inter-Club Ready4Rugby and other Touch Rugby now, however, they must follow the Government guidelines on social distancing which means more than 6 in a group ONLY if they are from two households. This could be difficult to manage, but not impossible.

Also I do not believe Englis Civil Servants are any less competent than a Scot, but the leadership seems more distracted.

I think it may take longer than we all imagined to get back to playing?

How that helps I don't know! We are taking up the RFU idea of Pitch Up to Rugby next weekend 12th/13th September and trying to encourage supporters and players to bring new friends. Mainly we are doing this to show the Community that we are open for rugby-linked activity.

DICKON wrote: Think the RFU will be watching Scotland closely - grassroots rugby is back from 31st Oct there.

Let's not get too carried away here. True, the NCA website extract from the interview with Steve Grainger does say Scottish grassroots rugby "is back" from 31 October - but if you listen to the interview, it is not that clear. There is nothing on SRU website (as far as I can see!) to confirm restart on 31 October, other than this as a target date on the SRU roadmap released on 3 July - see https://www.scottishrugby.org/news/return-to-rugby-roadmap" rel="nofollow - https://www.scottishrugby.org/news/return-to-rugby-roadmap

Grainger makes the point that the SRU approach has been to push for dates even though these may have to be pushed back if conditions require; RFU approach is more cautious but progress can be accelerated if conditions permit.

Under the SRU roadmap, stage 4 (same as RFU Stage D - modified contact), which has a target date of August, can not start until the Scottish Government reaches Phase 4 of its routemap, and return to competitive rugby at Stage 6 (same as RFU Stage F) will be some way behind that - but Scottish press reports indicate that Scotland is still in Phase 3 and will not reach Phase 4 until at least 1 October - see https://www.scotsman.com/health/coronavirus/when-phase-4-scotland-date-scottish-government-could-ease-lockdown-restrictions-and-next-review-details-2908941" rel="nofollow - https://www.scotsman.com/health/coronavirus/when-phase-4-scotland-date-scottish-government-could-ease-lockdown-restrictions-and-next-review-details-2908941

This does not support any expectation that competitive grassroots rugby will restart in Scotland any time soon. I would love to be wrong (so please correct me if I have misunderstood) - but I don't think it is helpful of NCA to suggest that Scotland will be back by 31 October, thereby creating false expectations south of the border. Separate posters have referred to Bill Sweeney looking to a November restart for the community game in England but many will regard even that as optimistic.

I too have not seen anything to suggest grassroots rugby will be restarting in Scotland on 31st October. 

 "In light of the new results obtained in the COVID tests on Tuesday, September 1, the medical commission of the NRL has decided to postpone the match of Friday, September 4, which was to oppose the RNR to the US Carcassonne to a later date.

There is a lag between a rise in case numbers and a rise in deaths. People don’t catch the virus and die immediately, but deteriorate over time before passing away. 

The reason we had stupidly high death statistics earlier was because of overzealous/lazy doctors who were just putting corona down as a cause of death without the test results to support it.  The reason why deaths are much lower now is because more people are being tested and they stopped doctors putting corona on death certificates without a valid test result plus we now know about certain steroids that assist with treatment.

That really has nothing to do with club rugby, that will all be about Prem and England set up. I'd not hold out for much hope at getting any windfall down at level 4, mind you, I think you will get the square route of sweet FA at level 2!

Whilst currently deaths of those who are infected lies at 1%.

Apparently what they have discovered is mechanical ventilation might not be the right solution.  https://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/1332330/coronavirus-latest-news-coronavirus-uk-lockdown-uk-cases-ventilators-boris-johnson" rel="nofollow - https://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/1332330/coronavirus-latest-news-coronavirus-uk-lockdown-uk-cases-ventilators-boris-johnson

 

I really feel the same.

Football and Rugby League have played on how they are heart of a community at lower levels. Yet in some places, Bedford the rugby is an important part of the community, and across Cornwall seems a number of prominent clubs in communities there. But the RFU don’t seemed to have banged that drum.

There was a piece on Today a few days ago where RFU and Moseley were making that point. 

Getting coverage in the media is hard - and the RFU has chosen to only talk about England and the 12 chosen clubs for 20 years.

People know about small soccer clubs because they hear the classified results every Saturday.

You could be forgiven for thinking that there are only ever 6 games of Rugby played in England.

Although a Blues person.Judging your profile you follow the biggest club in East Anglia. 15 years ago my late Father was treated at the hospital in Cambridge. Whilst leaving him and mum for a chat, I spent a couple of afternoons at Blood and Sand. Hope a Saturday afternoon there happens again soon.

Seems sensible. 

Telegraph suggesting no league games at all until January 2021 at earliest.

And what of Nat 3 and below?

RFU just released news that outside of Prem, Championship and Womens Prem there is no rugby till 1st Jan earliest.

The term earliest says alot I think, prepare for the worst boys.

I try not to think of it.

Sorry, what relevance has this got when we won't be starting until September 2021 (if we are lucky)? The NCA has no say in the matter.

Your club is new to Level 4. That and Level 3 are the member Clubs of the NCA and have control over their competitions within the RFU framework. NCA Clubs were asked in August what they wanted for this season and rejected, for example, a 45 match season, i.e. 15 this year added to 30 next year. You can only speculate that there will be no rugby before September, I am working on what has actually been said which is that rugby could be played from January.

Ultimately it is the Government who tell the RFU who tell the NCA when games can go ahead. The NCA have to work in this framework, not outside of it.

And ultimately it is Dominic Cummings who tells the Government who tell the RFU who tell the NCA when games can go ahead of course.

Breaking  News. 

All NCA matches behind closed doors in Durham.

Every player to be CoVid19 and sight tested.

Contrary to the scepticism in my earlier post on this thread (4 September), I see that Scottish RU are pressing ahead with full contact training from 5 October and "subject to approval from the Scottish Government" warm-up friendly fixtures from 19 October and full competitive rugby from 31 October. See https://www.scottishrugby.org/clubs-and-schools/return-to-rugby" rel="nofollow - https://www.scottishrugby.org/clubs-and-schools/return-to-rugby

A friend in Scotland has alerted me to the publication of fixtures for the 2020/21 season - see for example https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/kirkcaldy-rfc-take-part-reduced-national-competition-2981045" rel="nofollow - https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/kirkcaldy-rfc-take-part-reduced-national-competition-2981045

It might all come crashing down and there is no reference to spectator protocols - but does seem more than we are being offered south of the border.....

Boris played at Eton and possibly at the other place.

Gordon Brown definitely played at University and lost his eye to a stray stud.

I do not know of any Prime Minister who played top level rugby.

One played first class cricket.

Also naming clubs from the East Anglia area (and Guernsey) south east whilst clubs like Tonbridge and Blackheath being further south and further east are "London West"? I'd probably switch Canterbury and Guernsey and call it "East" and "South East" respectively since otherwise that group'll be a pain for Guernsey getting to games from Gatwick Airport

I think the East and West labels are simply the wrong way round.

The odd thing is that Barnes not in the same group as Rosslyn Park.

Barnes could change at home and walk to the Rock.

But while swapping Esher and Park would make a lot of sense geographically, it would make London "West" very Nat 1 heavy, so I understand why they have done it that way.

I assume they are thinking Guensey can fly to Stansted or Southend.

Aurigny claim to fly to Stansted and if they do then it makes sense.

However, I am not sure they are at the moment.

The Hull clubs are in the North East. They will be driving past Wharfedale on the way.

I suspect the groups were done to get an even distribution. I am sure we can all pick faults - which show no answer is the correct one. 

Just lets hope there is some rugby for them to play!

I don’t know the origin of this structure. It certainly hasn’t reached me from the NCA so I’m not convinced it’s real. Canterbury in London West seems designed to upset Giles Hilton who doesn’t want Canterbury to leave Kent for their matches!

It's pretty obvious that the East and West labels have been mixed up.

Guernsey always fly back the same day while the RFU only pay for flights for visiting teams. If the clubs want a hotel, the club has to pay for that themselves.

It is clear to me that who ever plans these fixture has no clue on logistics. Every time we have played Guernsey the RFU want us there and back in a day , from the depths a Suffolk to Gatwick as Stansted has reduced flights later in the year... Every year we have the same conversation which results in hotel funding but no double bus trip. So one cancels out the other. Bit of a joke really. 

What makes me think it is an RFU plan is the fact it takes more games than a single round-robin, so needed to start earlier. I think it would need to start by January 1st to end before the end of May. Mind you, it could lose two weeks by carrying forward the matches against the other team from your initial group into the quarter-final pools.

It will be a struggle to get match sponsors and lunch tables sponsors for the quarter-final games as you will not know which weeks you will be at home. Assuming we are allowed such things.

It is obviously a complete U turn from the previous position of maintaining the league structure.

It also relies on Guernsey being able to get flights to Stansted - that currently are not happening. Though actually if they can get the airline to add those, why  not try to get it to fly to Southend or Cambridge and save some travel at the far end. I assume the club have looked into chartering the plane and it is far too expensive.

Yes, it has all the hallmarks.