Coach's Guide to BokSmart Rugby Safety Programme All Ages 2026

Under SA Rugby's BokSmart regulations:

• Coaches, assistant coaches, the referee and assistant referees, and anyone in a coaching role who will enter the playing enclosure, must show proof of BokSmart certification to the host's match manager or secretary.
• Coaches must also show proof to the referee at least 15 minutes before kick-off. A coach who is certified but can't show proof may not be on or next to the playing area, and must produce the licence on the first working day after the match. If a coach is not certified at all, the match is abandoned.
• The referee may not allow anyone other than players and qualified medical staff onto the playing area unless they show BokSmart certification.

After the match (within 72 hours)

• The referee submits the official referee's report to the province or SA Rugby. It records the full names, contact numbers and BokSmart codes (e.g. BS-0000001) of the referee and assistant referees.
• The host's match manager or secretary files a signed, dated report on the BokSmart status of the coaches and everyone else who entered the playing area, and keeps it for auditing.

Under SA Rugby's BokSmart regulations:

On the day

• Referee or assistant referee not certified, or unable to show proof: the match is abandoned, unless a certified referee of the right level can step in.
• Coach not certified: the match is abandoned.
• Coach certified but without proof: the match goes ahead, but the coach may not be on or next to the playing area. They must show their licence to the host on the first working day after the match.

Minimum sanctions (on top of the judicial and disciplinary regulations)

• A referee or assistant referee who officiates without certification: 3-match suspension, which lasts until they are certified.
• A coach or assistant coach whose team plays while they are not certified: 3-match suspension, which lasts until they are certified.
• A referee who lets an uncertified assistant referee officiate, starts a match without the coaches' proof, or lets an uncertified person onto the playing area: 3-match suspension.
• A host province, club or school that lets the match go ahead with uncertified officials or coaches loses the match. The visiting team gets the maximum log points, or the trophy.

The Safe Six is a set of six injury-prevention exercises that BokSmart asks schools and clubs to use with all age groups from U13 upwards. They target the knee, hamstrings, lower limb, ankle and shoulder, and need no equipment:

1. "Six"-metre shuttle run: hip, ankle and knee stability
2. "Six"-point lunge: hip, pelvis, knee and ankle strength and stability
3. Butt-Smart "Six": glutes, lower back, hamstrings and core
4. "Six"-on-a-side push-up and twist: shoulder, spinal control and core
5. "Six"-Bok lunge: hip, pelvis, knee and ankle strength and stability
6. "Six" dynamic reaches: balance and control from shoulder to ankle

How to use it (BokSmart guideline)

• Do the circuit twice per session, resting 30 seconds between sets.
• Do it at least three times a week, in addition to normal training.
• It takes 15 to 20 minutes and can be built into the warm-up.
• If you do it on its own, warm up first with a minute or two of light jogging.

BokSmart's Safety in the Playing Environment document sets "Green" minimum standards for normal school, club and community matches, including sevens at those levels:

Personnel

• One or two people trained in emergency field-side care (a trained first aider or paramedic) per match or field in use.
• All coaches and referees must be BokSmart certified.
• Any on-site emergency medical services must be able to take a life-threatening head or neck injury to hospital without delay, and should run a spinal motion restriction drill before the games start.

Sideline equipment

• Spinal board and harness
• Cervical collars and head blocks
• BokSmart Concussion Guide
• SCAT tool and first aid bag (not required in certain under-resourced communities)

Emergency action plan

• The home team management prepares the plan and presents it to the referee before the match.
• The referee confirms that the safety requirements and emergency plan are in place before allowing the match to start.
• Ideally, the plan should give access to a spinal unit within 4 hours, and to other advanced trauma care within an hour.

Interprovincial matches, SARU youth weeks, the Varsity Cup and schoolboy festivals need the stricter "Gold" standard.

Under SA Rugby's Protocol for Medical Personnel Entering the Field of Play:

• Qualified medical staff need the referee's permission. It can be given before the match (for example in the change room) or by the referee stopping play and calling them on. If it wasn't given beforehand, they must arrange it with the referee before kick-off, and the referee should not unreasonably refuse.
• If they go on while play continues, they must not interfere with play or put themselves or players at risk. They must keep watching where play is going.
• The referee stops play if it comes within about 10 metres of medical staff treating an injured player. The assistant referees should warn the referee if he or she is unsighted.

BokSmart's Serious Injury Protocol applies to any potentially serious or catastrophic injury at a club or school match or practice:

1. The responsible person, or the emergency medical services (EMS) provider, must call the BokSmart Spineline on 0800 678 678 immediately and log the event with ER24.
2. They must also complete the Serious Injury Report form and send it to SA Rugby's Serious Injury Case Manager (SICM) within 48 hours.

The SICM follows up on the case. Where needed and possible, they visit the player, monitor the care they receive, and link the player and family to the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players' Fund. The SICM also completes a follow-up questionnaire with the player's family and the provincial union.

The BokSmart Spineline (0800 678 678) is a toll-free emergency helpline for serious concussion, head, neck and spine injuries at a rugby match or practice. It is run with the national emergency provider ER24, which gives advice, does a telephone screen, and arranges road transport to the nearest suitable medical facility.

• It covers road transport when there is not enough capacity to transport the player at the match or practice.
• Players without medical aid: road transport is free, but only if the 0800 678 678 number was called directly.
• Players with medical aid are billed at standard tariffs.
• If you call ER24 or another provider directly, the free service does not apply.
• Hospital, doctor and specialist costs are not covered by SA Rugby, BokSmart, the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players' Fund or ER24.

SA Rugby's Concussion Regulations (updated December 2025):

1. Recognise and Remove: a player with a suspected or confirmed concussion leaves training or the match immediately and may not return that day.
2. Watch for red flags that need urgent referral to a medical facility: worsening headache, increasing drowsiness or confusion, not recognising people or places, repeated vomiting, seizures or slurred speech, enlargement of one or both pupils, severe neck pain, or weakness or numbness in the limbs.
3. 24 to 48 hours of physical and cognitive rest, then light activity.
4. At least 2 weeks with no contact rugby, then a graduated return to play (GRTP).
5. Earliest return to a match: 21 days after the injury. With an SA Rugby or World Rugby recognised Advanced Care Concussion Doctor, it may be earlier, but never before 14 days.

Who may do what in South Africa

A coach or referee cannot clear a player.

The Blue Card is SA Rugby's concussion card for all amateur rugby in South Africa.

• The referee, or medical staff, shows it when a player is concussed or there is a strong suspicion of concussion. The player must leave the field immediately and may not return in that match. This is "Recognise and Remove".
• It is the first step of concussion management. The player must then follow the concussion management and graduated return-to-play process before returning to full-contact training or a match.
• The event should be recorded on the Blue Card Concussion Incident Report at bluecard.footprintapp.net.
• In amateur rugby, a suspected concussion is treated the same as a confirmed one.