How are children prepared before tackling starts at U9?

SA Rugby requires the Rugby Contact Programme (updated February 2026), six structured training sessions that teach the movement skills needed for safe contact:

• falling and landing safely
• rolling and body control
• wrestling and grappling in a controlled way
• bracing for and absorbing contact
• balance, posture and body alignment

The programme is:

• introduced in the second half of the U8 season, and
• run again as a 3 to 6 week U9 pre-season readiness block before tackle rugby begins.

Before delivering it, coaches and teachers must have completed the BokSmart Rugby Safety Programme and the Tackle Height Education module.