Coach's Guide to RFU Age Grade Rugby Under 13-Under 18 2026/27

At every age from Under 13 to Under 18 (World Rugby Under 19 variations):

• scrums can't be pushed more than 1.5 metres;
• scrum numbers must be balanced;
• a scrum that wheels more than 45 degrees is reset, with the throw to the team that had possession.

Safety rules (Under 13 and Under 14 Rules of Play)

• Engagement sequence is "Crouch", "Bind", then "Set" once the front rows are ready. Front rows must not charge.
• Props stay parallel to the touchline with head and shoulders no lower than hips and no downward pressure.
• If a scrum collapses, the whistle goes immediately. A player persistently collapsing or binding illegally, or whose lack of technique or strength is a danger, must leave the scrum or be replaced.
• Backs stay 5 metres behind the scrum until the ball is out.

Uncontested scrums: if a team can't field suitably trained and competent players in every scrum position (unavailable, injured or sent off with no trained replacement), the referee must order uncontested scrums. From Under 16, players playing up two age grades can't play front row in contested 15-a-side scrums, and 17-year-olds in adult rugby can't play front row in contested scrums.

Lineouts

Kicking

Opponents must be 10 metres back at free kicks and penalties from Under 13 upwards.

Tackle height (all age grades, Under 13 to Under 18, boys and girls)

• The tackler must grip and hold the ball carrier below the base of the sternum (the tummy or belly and below). Tackles must use the arms.
• The ball carrier must not go into contact with their shoulders below their hips, dip late and low, or put their head into the opponent's head space.
• Only the ball carrier can be tackled, and support players must not run either side of and close to the ball carrier to shield them.

Sanctions: at Under 13, contact above the base of the sternum is a free kick; at Under 15 to Under 18 the tackle-height variation is sanctioned with a penalty. Dangerous tackles can also be carded as foul play under the Laws.

Hand-offs: at Under 13 the ball carrier must not fend or hand off above the armpits.

Squeezeball is banned at every age from Under 13 to Under 18. Players must not use it, and coaches must not teach or encourage it. (Squeezeball is when the ball carrier goes to ground head first, usually parallel to the touchline, and pushes the ball back between their legs.) Under 13 and Under 14 sanction it with a free kick.

Under 13 and Under 14 also give a free kick when a player voluntarily falls on or over players on the ground with the ball, to keep players on their feet at rucks and mauls.

Sin bin (temporary suspension) in age grade rugby

These replace the 10 minutes in World Rugby Law. A second yellow card in the same match is a sending off. A red card means the player takes no further part, can't be replaced, and can't play again until a disciplinary panel has heard the case.

Substitutions and replacements (Under 13 to Under 18)

• Rolling substitutions are allowed: substituted players can come back on at any time.
• Substitutions only happen when the ball is dead and with the referee's permission.
• From Under 15, there's no limit on the number of replacements, even if the teams have different numbers, unless a competition's own regulations say otherwise.

Time a player spends in the sin bin still counts towards their Half Game Rule minimum.

Playing time limits (RFU Regulation 15.12)

• An extra 15 minutes a day is allowed for the RFU's Activate injury-prevention programme.
• No player may play more than 35 matches a season.
• No extra time (other than injury stoppage time) and no place-kicking contests to settle a tie.

When a match must be stopped

• Under 13: if one team leads by more than 6 tries.
• Under 14 to Under 18 (including the girls' Under 14/13 band): if one team leads by more than 50 points.

Coaches can agree to carry on in another format, but extra time and results aren't officially recorded.

Half Game Rule (Regulation 15.13)

Every player in the match-day squad must play at least half of the available playing time (e.g. 35 minutes of a 70-minute match), including in sevens and festivals, where all of the day's matches are added together.

• Stoppages and time after the half expires don't count.
• Time off the pitch counts towards a player's half only for a temporary injury (up to 10 minutes) or a yellow card.
• The rule doesn't apply if the player is permanently removed for injury, risk of injury, a red card or at the referee's request, or the match is abandoned or shortened.

The RFU Competitive Menu (Regulation 15) sets the formats allowed:

• Leagues and published league tables are only allowed from Under 15 (boys) and the Under 16/15 and Under 18/17 girls' bands. Waterfall results are recorded but not published as a table.
• All tours, tournaments, festivals, cups and leagues need your Constituent Body's permission and must fit the Age Grade Playing Calendar.
• 2026/27 season: Saturday 5 September 2026 to Monday 3 May 2027.
• RFU national competitions (such as the Schools Cups, National U18 Clubs Cup, ACE leagues and National U16/U18 Girls Cups) have their own regulations and take priority over any fixture clash. Clusters can't enter national competitions, except the National U16 and U18 Girls Cups.

Playing out of age grade (POOAG) is the exception under RFU Regulation 15 and must be approved before the player plays.

Boys (single age grades)

Girls play in two-year bands (Under 14/13, Under 16/15, Under 18/17) and can't play up outside their band; Under 18/17 players can move into adult rugby at 17.

Playing down (any age) is only for limited, exceptional cases: the player is in a younger school year than their birth year, or their safety may be compromised by small stature or a developmental or behavioural issue. The approval lasts the whole season in every setting. Playing down two age grades also needs the RFU Legal & Governance Director's written approval.

Process

1. The club, school or college completes the standard RFU risk assessment.
2. Submit the online POOAG form; allow up to 10 days.
3. Approvals: in clubs, a parent, the club Age Grade Chair and the Constituent Body; in schools, a parent and the headteacher; in colleges, a parent, the principal and England Colleges RFU.
4. Tell the opposition at least 24 hours before the match (they can't block the player).

From Under 16 in schools and colleges, those approving must be told the player may face Under 19s who are playing down.

Under RFU Regulation 15.7, a player can train and play contact rugby with adults from their 17th birthday, provided:

• they don't play or train in the front row of a contested scrum until they turn 18;
• the club complies with the RFU Safeguarding Policy and Regulation 21 and has an appointed Safeguarding Officer;
• the club has been approved by its Constituent Body to play 17-year-olds in adult rugby that season (this must be in place before any individual application);
• the player has been assessed as capable of playing with adults, and the individual application (made through GMS) is approved by the Constituent Body. Approval lasts until their 18th birthday.

England Academy, Prem and Girls Player Development Group and England U18 players apply to the RFU's Executive Director of Performance Rugby instead.

Competitions closed to Under 18 age grade players:

• Constituent Body adult representative rugby, including the County Championships. Under 18s can't play in the U20s County Championship in any circumstances, even if they've turned 18.
• Men's Prem Rugby League and Cup, Champ Rugby, and Premiership Women's Rugby and its cup, unless there are exceptional circumstances and the required RFU (and, for academy players, club and PREM Rugby) approvals are given.

RFU Regulation 9 and the HEADCASE guidance (aligned with the UK Concussion Guidelines for Grassroots Sport) apply to all age grade matches and training. Recognise and remove: "If in doubt, sit them out."

On the day

• Remove any player with even one sign or symptom of concussion immediately and permanently. They must not return to rugby that day, however quickly they seem to recover.
• They should be assessed by an onsite healthcare professional or through NHS 111 within 24 hours.
• Red flags (loss of consciousness, deteriorating consciousness, seizure, repeated vomiting, severe or increasing headache, severe neck pain, new weakness, numbness or double vision) need urgent assessment at A&E, calling 999 if necessary. If a neck injury is suspected, only trained healthcare professionals should move the player.
• Coaches, team-mates, officials and parents who suspect concussion must do their best to get the player off safely and quickly.
• Head Injury Assessment (HIA) temporary replacements only apply in specified elite competitions such as the U18 Prem Rugby Academy League, not in club or school age grade rugby.

Return to play (GRAS, 6 stages)

Every suspected concussion goes through the full programme, even if symptoms clear quickly, and the priority is returning to normal life and school before rugby. Anyone still symptomatic after 28 days should see their GP.

DBS (RFU Regulation 21, 2026/27) - mandatory

Anyone aged 16 or over who works or volunteers with children in rugby union in England must:

• apply for a DBS certificate processed through the RFU Safeguarding Team within 4 weeks of starting;
• until cleared, coach only under active supervision of an RFU DBS-cleared adult who stays within sight and earshot;
• renew within 3 years, or stay on the DBS Update Service and consent to annual status checks.

If your certificate returns any information, you must stop working with children, even supervised, until the RFU clears you.

Coaching standards (RFU Age Grade Codes of Practice, Code 7)

The RFU recommends that contact rugby is only introduced and refereed by coaches and referees who have reached standard practice.

No. RFU Regulation 15 says adults must not join in any aspect of contact training with age grade players. That includes:

• holding contact shields or tackle bags;
• demonstrating tackling or any contact technique (rucks, mauls, scrums, lineouts);
• playing in semi-contact or opposed practices.

This applies at every age grade up to and including Under 18. The only route for an age grade player to train in contact with adults is the separate process for 17-year-olds approved to play adult rugby (and, with RFU approval, certain academy and player development group players).