Referee's Guide to RFU Community Rugby Adult (18+) 2026/27

The law: in English community rugby, tackles must be made below the base of the sternum (the belly or below). The RFU says that since 1 July 2023, any match played between Community, Championship or PWR level clubs must use this Domestic Law Variation (DLV) tackle height. The RFU's coaching message to players is "target the belly or target the thighs".

How it sits in the 2026 Laws:

• Law 14.1: tacklers must tackle below the relevant high tackle sanction line, which is the shoulder line in elite rugby and the waist or base of the sternum in community rugby (England uses the base of the sternum).
• Law 14.5a: tacklers must tackle below the relevant sanction line. Sanction: penalty.
• Law 9.13 (dangerous tackling, foul play): tackling or attempting to tackle above the sanction line while either player is in open field play, or any tackle that leads to head contact, is dangerous tackling. Sanction: penalty, and as foul play you must also decide whether to caution, yellow card or send off.

What the RFU says: any tackle above the base of the sternum may be liable for sanction. Tacklers must still use their arms, and only the ball carrier can be tackled.

The same height (below the base of the sternum) applies throughout RFU age grade rugby from Under 9 to Under 18, written into the Rules of Play.

The community tackle height law puts duties on the ball carrier as well as the tackler.

• World Rugby Law 14.1 (2026): the ball carrier has a responsibility to enter the tackle safely.
• RFU community game guidance: to minimise the risk of head-to-head contact, a ball carrier must not lower their body height or dip down just before contact with an opponent. The RFU calls this "late and low", and it may be sanctioned.
• In RFU age grade rugby the same principle is written into the Rules of Play: the ball carrier must not go into contact with shoulders below hips, dip late and low, or put their head into the opponent's head space.
• The World Rugby "Game On" community variation, which match organisers may adopt, sanctions a ball carrier in open play who significantly lowers their height before making dangerous contact with a penalty.

Under World Rugby Law 9 (2026), a player who commits foul play must be cautioned, shown a yellow card or sent off.

• A yellow card means the player is cautioned and suspended for 10 minutes of playing time in the sin bin.
• For repeated team infringements, you can give the team a general caution; if the offence is repeated, the guilty player gets a yellow card.
• If a player who has already been yellow-carded commits another yellow-card offence, they must be sent off (red card), and play restarts with a penalty.
• If a front-row player is sin-binned and the team can't continue with contested scrums, uncontested scrums are ordered with 8 players a side.

Age grade matches use shorter sin bins under RFU Regulation 15: 5 minutes at Under 13 and Under 14, 6 minutes at Under 15, and 7 minutes at Under 16 to Under 18.

Recording yellow cards: RFU "totting-up" of yellow cards towards a suspension only applies at Men's National 2 and above and Premiership Women's Rugby, not at Constituent Body level.

No. In the 2026 World Rugby Laws, the 20-minute red card (where a sent-off player can be replaced after 20 minutes of playing time, except for intentional or highly dangerous acts) is marked "Elite rugby only".

In English community rugby (Law 9.29-9.30):

• A player shown a red card takes no further part in the match and can't be replaced, so the team plays a player short for the rest of the game.
• A second yellow-card offence in the same match is a sending off, and play restarts with a penalty.

After the match (RFU Regulation 19):

• Send the red card report to the CB Disciplinary Secretary and your Referee Society by 9am on the second day after the match (Men's Regional 1 and below, Women's Championship 1 and below).
• The player can't play until their case has been heard by a disciplinary panel, and any suspension applies to all forms of the game, anywhere.
• At the hearing, if the player disputes that the act warranted a red card, the burden is on the player to show the referee was wrong.

Under World Rugby Law 3 (2026):

• Scrums become uncontested if either team can't field a suitably trained front row, or if the referee orders it.
• Each team must tell you before the match which players (starters and replacements) can play front row, and in which positions. Only those players may play front row in a contested scrum, and only in their nominated positions.
• It's each team's responsibility to make sure its front-row players and replacements are suitably trained and experienced.
• When a front-row player leaves the field (injury, yellow card or red card), ask at the next scrum whether the team can continue with contested scrums. If they say they can't, order uncontested scrums. If the player returns or another front-rower comes on, contested scrums can resume.
• Uncontested scrums caused by a sending off, yellow card or injury must still be played with 8 players a side.
• Another player may only play in the front row when no replacement front-row player is available.
• A match organiser can set conditions for a game to start with uncontested scrums, and can decide that a player whose departure caused uncontested scrums can't be replaced.

In an uncontested scrum, the team throwing in wins the ball: there's no pushing and no contest for possession.

RFU Regulation 9 applies Recognise and Remove in all community adult and age grade matches: "If in doubt, sit them out."

• Any player showing one or more signs or symptoms of concussion must be removed from the field immediately and permanently, and must not return to play that day. There is no HIA or temporary replacement for head injuries in community rugby.
• Match officials, like coaches, team-mates and team managers, must do their best to make sure a player with suspected concussion is removed as quickly and safely as possible.
• Signs to look for include: loss of consciousness, lying motionless or slow to get up, unsteady on feet, dazed or blank look, slow to respond, confusion about play, clutching the head, an impact seizure, tonic posturing, or vomiting.
• If a neck injury is suspected, the player should only be moved by healthcare professionals with appropriate training.
• Red flags (loss of consciousness, worsening drowsiness or confusion, seizure, repeated vomiting, severe neck pain, new weakness or double vision) need urgent medical assessment onsite or at A&E, using a 999 ambulance if needed.

The player should then be assessed by an onsite healthcare professional or via NHS 111 within 24 hours, and must complete the HEADCASE Graduated Return to Activity and Sport programme: no return to play before Day 21.

Any injury that leads to an overnight hospital admission must also be reported to the RFU through its injury reporting system (Regulation 9.9); this is a duty on the club and those arranging the match.

Blood injuries (Law 3.25)

• A player with a blood injury leaves the field and may be temporarily replaced.
• They return as soon as the bleeding is controlled or covered.
• If they can't return within 15 minutes (actual time) of leaving the playing area, the replacement becomes permanent.
• A player must not keep playing in kit contaminated with blood (Law 4); bloodstained clothing is the only reason a player may leave the pitch to change.

Head injuries: in community rugby there is no Head Injury Assessment (HIA) temporary replacement. Any player with signs or symptoms of concussion is removed permanently (RFU Regulation 9); HIA protocols only apply in specified elite competitions (Prem, Champ Rugby, Premiership Women's Rugby and the U18 Academy League).

Rolling replacements: under Law 3.34 a match organiser may allow rolling tactical replacements at defined levels, so whether they apply depends on the competition you're refereeing. Without them, a tactically replaced player can only come back on to replace an injured front-row player, a player with a blood or head injury, or a player injured by foul play.

Sent-off players may not be replaced in community rugby.

Players' clothing must comply with World Rugby Law 4 and Regulation 12.

Not allowed: jewellery, gloves, shorts or leggings with sewn-in padding, anything sharp or abrasive, anything with buckles, clips, rings, hinges, zips, screws, bolts or rigid projections, communication devices, and anything contaminated with blood.

Allowed: supports, shin guards, ankle supports under socks (non-metal if rigid), fingerless mitts, approved shoulder or chest pads, mouthguards, headgear, tape, cotton-blend leggings under shorts and socks, safe headscarves, player-monitoring devices, and studs that meet Regulation 12.

Studs: check none are missing, all are tight, and none are sharp or burred. Edges must be rounded (radius at least 1mm); the standard conical stud is at least 10mm across at the tip. There is no allowance for age or boot size.

Glasses and goggles (RFU Regulation 9): glasses are allowed only in non-contact rugby. In contact rugby, sports goggles are allowed only if dispensed by a GOC-registered optician or optometrist who has confirmed in writing that they are needed, don't significantly restrict vision, are safe for contact sport, and that the player can't wear contact lenses.

Your powers (Law 4.5-4.7):

• You can decide at any time that an item is dangerous or illegal; the player can't take part until it's removed or made harmless.
• If you told a player at the inspection that an item is banned and they're later found wearing it on the pitch, they're sent off for misconduct.
• Players can't leave the pitch to change clothing unless it's bloodstained.

Under RFU Regulation 19 (effective 1 August 2026):

Constituent Body matches (Men's Regional 1 and below, Women's Championship 1 and below)

• Send the completed red card report as soon as practicable and no later than 9am on the second day after the match to:
  • the Disciplinary Secretary of the Constituent Body the player's club belongs to, and
  • your Referee Society.
• Example: a Saturday match by 9am Monday; a Sunday match by 9am Tuesday (earlier is preferred).
• If you acted on an assistant referee's report, the AR must add their own written account to the report.
• The player's club must separately report the red card to its CB Disciplinary Secretary within the same timeframe (player name, date of birth, RFU ID and referee's name).

RFU matches (Men's National 2 and above, and Premiership Women's Rugby)

• Weekend matches (Friday to Sunday): by 9am Monday. Weekday matches: by 9am the morning after.

Abuse of a match official must be reported on the RFU Match Official Abuse form within the same deadlines, whether or not a red card was shown.

Red and yellow card report forms (separate adult and age grade versions) and RFU report-writing guidance are on the England Rugby Referee Resources forms page. A player shown a red card can't play until their case has been heard by a disciplinary panel.