News

Devon RFU acknowledges the RFU’s statement regarding the delayed start to the 2026/27 competitive community rugby season, in response to the exceptionally dry conditions and resulting concerns around hard playing surfaces.

Competitive Rugby in Devon

Devon RFU will follow the RFU’s approach for all competitions under our jurisdiction.

As a result, no competitive rugby will take place before 21 September 2026, including:

• Age-grade competitive fixtures
• Paul Harris League fixtures (formerly the Merit Table)
• Devon RFU cup competitions

All competitive age-grade rugby will commence at the beginning of October. This provides additional time for age-grade teams to prepare for the season, and we would not anticipate a need for friendly fixtures before the beginning of September.

Training and Contact Activity

Clubs can continue to train and prepare for the season. However, coaches and clubs should take particular care when planning contact activity while pitches remain exceptionally hard.

Where necessary, training should be adapted to reduce the risks associated with hard ground conditions. Clubs should refer to the RFU’s Activate and RugbySafe guidance when planning activity and preparing players for their return to competitive rugby.

Pre-Season Friendlies

Friendly fixtures may still take place, but the decision to play rests first and foremost with the participating clubs.

Before any friendly fixture – whether age-grade, senior men’s or women’s rugby – clubs must assess the condition of the playing surface, the associated risks and play using rules appropriate to the conditions.

Both teams must be satisfied that conditions are appropriate for the fixture to go ahead. If either club considers the conditions unsuitable, the fixture should not be played.

Where both clubs have agreed that the fixture can proceed, the Referee retains the authority to decide that the game should not take place if they have safety concerns.

Clubs should therefore communicate with one another in advance of any planned friendly and continue to assess conditions on the day of the fixture.

Player Welfare Comes First

We appreciate that clubs and players are keen to begin their preparations for the new season. However, the current conditions require everyone to take a sensible and player-centred approach.

We encourage clubs to use the additional preparation period positively, gradually building players towards competitive rugby while adapting activity where necessary to reflect local ground conditions.

Further information and guidance is available through:

• RFU statement: Statement on start of competitive community rugby season | Rugby Football Union
• RFU Activate: Guidance to support player preparation and injury prevention: Activate | Rugby Football Union
• RugbySafe: RFU player welfare and safety guidance: RugbySafe | Rugby Football Union

We will continue to share any further information or guidance received from the RFU with Devon clubs.