No tackles? Rugby could look very different when it returns

Wednesday, 06 May 2020 at 19:00

bySteven Smith

A report from The Telegraph today has revealed that rugby could look very different when it returns at a grassroots level.

According to well-respected rugby scribe Gavin Mairs, the RFU plan is planning to hold back on introducing full contact rugby.

The return of 'rugby activity' would see games take place without, mauls, scrums or even tackles until at least next year

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Rugby union played with social distancing on the pitch? "RFU working on plans for no scrums or tackles and shorter matches in post-lockdown grass-roots plan" via @TelegraphSport telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/20…

5:03 PM · May 6, 2020

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“By rugby activity we are definitely not talking about 15-a-side, full-on contact rugby,” revealed Steve Grainger.

“There are a whole range of activities that you could create without having 16 people in a scrum.

“That is probably the most invasive and intensive form of contact that we are going to have. Or a pile of people in a ruck.

“Those are the things I think that are quite hard to see your way past with the sort of virus that we have had. They seem like they will be the last things to come back.

EDITORS PICKS |

“We are looking at staging posts all the way along that – from a situation where a group of people can start to handle a ball together through to a situation where a group of people can start to challenge another group of people with a ball in their hands.

“I think we will get to a situation with a non-contact or limited contact variant of the game such as RugbyX. The return of contact activity will then engineer when the competitive programme can start.".

Rugby Partners | Who are stars quarantining with?

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The partners of rugby players in the UK are having to spend a lot more time with their other halfs due to the current lockdown.

Here we get to know the people behind the England, Scotland and Wales stars.

1. ANNABEL FIELD (HUW JONES)

Scotland centre Huw Jones is unafraid to show his love for girlfriend Annabel Field, describing the diminutive beauty as 'his everything' in an Instagram post. The couple are thought to have met in Glasgow but spend their time criss-crossing the globe - racking up visits to Monaco, Barcelona and the Bahamas in 2019 alone.

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2. BECKY NORTH (GEORGE NORTH)

Former Olympic cyclist Becky is well and truly a match for her rugby player husband George in the sporting stakes, having won two silver medals in Rio in 2016. The pair are expecting their first child together in the next few weeks.

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3. GILL HOGG (STUART HOGG)

The couple married in 2016 and welcomed son Archie, now four, later that year. They have since had daughter Olivia, two, and one-year-old George. Gill prefers to stay out of the spotlight but her proud husband can't help but gush over her on Instagram, calling her the 'best wife he could have asked for'. The family now live in Exeter, where Hogg plays for the Chiefs.

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4. DR ANWEN JONES (ALUN WYN JONES)

Dr Anwen Jones, wife of Welsh captain Alun Wyn Jones, 34, is a Welsh medium physiology and health lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Like her husband she's incredibly sporty - she's a former 400m hurdler and was Welsh champion from 2000-2007. The couple have two daughters.

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5. ELLIE GRAY (RICHIE GRAY)

Huge 28-year-old Richie Gray towers above all at 6ft 10in but he doesn't leave his wife Ellie n the shade. She is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty queen who represented Scotland in Miss World 2014.

6. GEORGIE LYON (OWEN FARRELL)

The England star, 27, wed Georgina 'Georgie' Lyon, also 27, in 2018 and their first son, a rugby player in the making, Tommy, arrived in March 2019. The couple also have a dog, Ron, but you're unlikely to find either baby or pet on social media, Georgie is happy to let her husband do the talking via his rugby.

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7. BAZ JONES-DAVIES (NIGEL OWENS)

The popular Welsh referee began dating the Primary School Teacher. After attending the World Cup with Owens, they took their relationship to the next level, and now run a farm together.

8. ALYSE MILLER (ANTHONY WATSON)

Bath player Anthony Watson's American girlfriend Miller has a successful career as an events planner and regularly shows off snaps from her jet-setting life on her Instagram account.

9. SOPHIER HARRIES (LIAM WILLIAMS)

She's the model fiancee of Scarlets star Liam Williams and has just been signed up to London model agency Models 1. Harries describes herself as a small town Welsh girl living in London. We think we'll add totally gorgeous to the list.