Colleges

14 Feb 2022 | 5 min |

Over 100 colleges offer both male and female rugby The RFU, in partnership with AoC Sport and England Colleges RFU, provides colleges with accessible competitions for all levels, from participation including regional festivals to performance involving national leagues and championships.

Local clubs throughout England welcome college learners. To find your nearest one, please use the Club Finder.

Colleges playing offer

The benefits that sport and rugby union in particular can have on young people include social connections, confidence, character and physical skills. Rugby helps develop transferable skills within other sports, the classroom and the wider environment.
To help colleges play rugby we have developed playing offers to suit the needs of your learners.

Full details of all our college offers, along with additional supporting resources can be found in the drop down sections below.

Please select from the options below for information relating to T1 Rugby

T1 Rugby

T1 Rugby is our non-contact format of rugby.

It can be played anywhere (you only need a ball to get started), can be mixed gender and is easy to introduce and deliver.

It’s:

easy to adapt and is suitable for any group of players.
It looks and feels more like the game of rugby union, with the same tactical problems and rugby specific skills.
suitable for all shapes and sizes – a key selling point of rugby union.
a great way to introduce people to the contact game if they want or is a game in its own right.

T1 Rugby gets players active and is a great way to make friends, develop social skills and give opportunities to become a leader, or even referee. England Rugby has a suite of physical and online resources as well as access to playing opportunities such as our T1 Rugby series, to help you get started.

T1 Rugby Education Resources

Education Resources

We have a comprehensive package of resources, designed by teachers for teachers, to help anyone—regardless of prior knowledge or experience—to deliver T1 Rugby with confidence. Our resources include:

6-week lesson plans:

Stage 1 plans (suitable for primary, or non-specialist PE staff)
Stage 2 plans
How to introduce and progress T1 Rugby support video
T1 Rugby eLearning - coming soon
Referee tips

School specific support (linked to stage 1 plans):

For more games and activities, check out our @EngRugT1Rugby

Playing T1 Rugby in Education

Playing T1 Rugby

There are lots of ways to play T1 Rugby,: as a “pitch up and play” style event, internal festivals or games against other institutions.

Check with our network of school, college or university partners such as AoC Sport and BUCS to see what’s available.

We have created T1 Rugby MegaFest for Primary Schools. It is a series of small sided, fun and inclusive activities which also includes T1 Rugby.

For Y12/13 pupils, we have the T1 Rugby Series: a series of local events where teams can win the opportunity to play at the Allianz Stadium.

T1 Rugby Series

T1 Rugby Series is a fun, inclusive national programme, open to every school and college in England, to provide opportunity for teams to play at Allianz Stadium.

T1 Rugby Series is the evolution from Touch to Twickenham which introduced 400 schools to non-contact rugby, with 60% of those taking part new to rugby and 50% female participants.

It is player centered, inclusive, and drives participation. It’s the same activity as before; just a slightly different game with slightly different rules.

This season we continue to evolve so every school, regardless of playing experience, can take part.

What do I need to know?

Open to teams at Year 12/13
Parallel events for brand new and for those with previous rugby experience
Eight-a-side teams with a minimum of four girls on the pitch at a time
Local and regional events, leading to the finals day in Worcester, with successful teams progressing to play at Allianz Stadium
Playing to T1 Rugby rules, which will be adapted for brand new teams.

To find out more information on the T1 Rugby Series please view our event manual.

Sign up for Year 12/13 events

Training for delivery of T1 Rugby

Training for teachers and leaders

As it is non-contact, T1 Rugby has fewer rules than the contact format of the game and therefore is easier to deliver. T1 Rugby is also a great way to get Young Leaders involved as coaches, referees or to support events.

For staff

eLearning
CPD for those wanting to coach/teacher or referee. There is more information, including how to book in our course training booklet.

For advice, get in contact with your local club, School Rugby Manager, or college/university partner who will be delighted to help.

For young leaders

The England Rugby Young Leaders Award is designed to be delivered by PE staff to students. It can be taught as a series of 1-hour lessons or as a full day. It is suitable for all students to participate in and is designed to enable all PE teachers, including non-rugby specialists, to deliver.

Please select from the options below for information relating to XRugby

XRugby

XRugby is our modified format of contact rugby.

It is big on enjoyment, a quick game, with fewer players which can be played almost anywhere. It is contact rugby but not as you know it!

It can be played with 5, 7, or 10 players on each team.
It is played across the pitch with rolling substitutions.
The number of players on the pitch determines the rules of that will be played.

Playing XRugby in Education

Playing XRugby

There are lots of ways to play XRugby,: as a “pitch up and play” style event, internal festivals or games against other institutions.

Check with our network of school, college or university partners such as AoC Sport and BUCS to see what’s available.

Training for delivery of XRugby

Training for teachers and leaders

For staff

CPD for those wanting to coach/teacher or referee. There is more information, including how to book in our course training booklet.
Headcase - The RFU’s HEADCASE programme aims to increase understanding and provide information on concussion and other related topics, including how to prevent and manage suspected concussions. It is recognised as one of the UK’s leading concussion awareness and education resources. All Staff delivering XRugby rugby should have completed Headcase concussion module and either England Rugby First contact or equivalent.
England Rugby Secondary Schools Course – This face to face course includes XRugby content.
This non-assessed course is designed for those teaching pupils starting out in contact and non-contact rugby. It will help teachers to progress from non-contact to contact safely, building confidence and competence to teach and referee the contact areas of the game. It is recommended that everyone teaching, coaching, or refereeing contact rugby in a school setting has completed this course.
XRugby – eLearning
For further advice, get in contact with your local club, School Rugby Manager, or college/university partner who will be delighted to help.

For young leaders

Please select from the options below for information relating to full contact rugby

Full contact rugby

Contact rugby

Contact rugby has running, passing and scoring tries like all other formats of rugby and also includes tackles rucks and mauls.

Age Grade Rugby ensures that every player is able to enjoy rugby in a safe environment where they can develop their personal and social skills as well as a wide array of transferable multi-sports skills. This results in their personal development as well as their lifelong involvement in rugby and other sports. Age Grade Rugby is the game for all girls and boys aged 18 and younger in clubs, schools, colleges and within the representative pathway and it incorporates the rules of play, regulation, competition formats and the structure of the season.

Contact rugby is introduced slowly from Under 9s in the age grade game to help young people understand the game while also making sure they learn the proper technique to approaching contact. As players get older, there will be a couple of differences to the game. Most noticeably, the number of people in a team will increase as will the number of laws (rules).
When players are in the age grade game, they stay in their age group until Under 11s. After this, the game switches to single gender from Under 12s to Under 18s.
Under 14s onwards can play 15-a-side, full contact rugby.
There are no mixed gender playing opportunities in contact rugby.

7-a-side contact rugby, also known as rugby sevens, is a fast-paced version of contact rugby where two teams of seven players compete on a standard-sized rugby field.

The game is played with similar rules to 15-a-side rugby, including scrums, lineouts, and penalties.

Playing full contact rugby in Education

Playing full contact rugby

There are lots of ways to play full contact rugby,: as a “pitch up and play” style event, internal festivals or games against other institutions.

Check with our network of school, college or university partners such as AoC Sport and BUCS to see what’s available.

Training for delivery of full contact rugby

Training for teachers and leaders

For staff

CPD for those wanting to coach/teacher or referee. There is more information, including how to book in our course training booklet.
Headcase - The RFU’s HEADCASE programme aims to increase understanding and provide information on concussion and other related topics, including how to prevent and manage suspected concussions. It is recognised as one of the UK’s leading concussion awareness and education resources. All Staff delivering Full contact rugby should have completed Headcase concussion module and ERCA or equivalent.
England Rugby Coaching Award – This face to face course includes Full contact content.
This is a competency-based course. It's designed to provide coaches with the skills and knowledge to coach players of all ages. It includes face-to-face days, Communities of practice, and In-situ based tasks. Everyone teaching, coaching, or refereeing contact rugby in a school setting should have completed this course.
For further advice, get in contact with your local club, School Rugby Manager, or college/university partner who will be delighted to help.

For young leaders

Please select from the options below for useful information linked to delivering rugby in colleges

College Partners

Our 8 partner colleges have been selected based on their regional location and ability to act as flagship colleges, offering support to their local community.

Acting as flagship colleges, through providing best practise, providing high quality player experiences on and off the field and a network for developing colleges, partner colleges will drive club/community partnerships, playing formats and the growth of the girls game.

Congratulations to Hartlepool 6th form, Bishop Burton College, Loughborough College, Hereford College, Henley College, The City of Oxford College, Exeter College and Truro and Penwith College for their advocacy and support of the College game.

College & Rugby Club Links

College & Rugby club links

A club link is an agreement between a college and a local club to work together to develop the very best sport opportunities for young people. Our club link guide provides practical advice on developing a link and working together in the best interests of the player.

England Colleges RFU

The England Colleges Rugby Football Union (ECRFU) is the colleges arm of the RFU with around 100 member colleges.
ECRFU play a key role in the running, support and development of the college game, membership is free and includes the following:

Entry to England International ticket ballots
Access to ECRFU funding and equipment grants - including the new LEARN and PLAY grant, driving teacher education and playing opportunities.
Invitation to ECRFU conferences and events and selected RFU offers
Development support and resources for college rugby programmes
The ECRFU termly College Memo for up-to-date tools and guidance

For further details please contact the ECRFU at ECRFUhonsec@rfu.com

GMS

Game Management System (GMS)

To help us keep you up to date and to best help support you we ask that colleges and teachers register on our Game Management System.

You can find more information about GMS here.

Regulations

For the rules of play for each age group and to find regulation around playing up and down, or combining year groups, please visit Regulation 15 and the Age Grade Codes of Practice.

Rugby Safe

Player safety and welfare is vitally important for everyone involved with rugby union. Rugby Safe is the RFU’s overarching player safety and welfare programme, putting player welfare at the heart of the game.

Find out more about Rugby Safe.

Rugby Tours

A college tour can improve team spirit and identity and provides a rare opportunity for everyone to get to know each other better and to establish friendships at home and abroad which can last a lifetime.
The RFU issues general advice, and specific guidelines for schools and colleges on the tours area, together with checklists and information.

Further Information

Colleges