17-9-2020 At present under Phase D of the Return to Rugby Roadmap - No tours will be authorised by the CB.
Tours & Overnight Stays – Regulation 10 and other things.
There are a number of examples of clubs being sanctioned by the RFU for going on tour without permission from their CB and without appropriate insurances. When clubs decide to ignore the regulations, it leaves the CB and possibly clubs or individuals open to litigation should an injury or incident occur.
Sometimes there is confusion over the definition of a tour.
When is a tour not a tour?
For adults a tour means playing rugby against a team or teams outside the home Union of England (overseas, or Ireland, Scotland and Wales.) England home Union includes the IOW and the Channel Islands.
For Youth tours the same applies for travelling outside of England.
However, with Youth tours, it’s not a question of “Is it a tour?” but rather “Is it Regulated Activity?”– i.e is it overnight between the hours of 2.00am to 6.00am (in England or elsewhere)? This may be defined as a regulated activity in England rather than a tour, but there is a gap in RFU regulations (Reg. 10) addressing regulated activity specifically (whether a “tour” or not) which means there is not specific paperwork available for allow for this. If the answer to the overnight question is “yes”, then Hampshire Rugby strongly recommends that tour rules apply and tour paperwork should therefore be used. This recommendation is made in order that safeguarding standards can be met and to effectively manage the risk of liability. Equally, if your players (adult or youth) are wearing your club’s shirt and representing your club, then once again, we advise tour rules, and approvals/insurances apply.
What to do before Touring or embarking on overnight regulated activity:
Whether the parents are there or not, your club has certain legal obligations – one is to ensure the club has the appropriate paperwork to evidence that it has been compliant in its duty of care.
Firstly, that means approval and appropriate insurance (as explained below.)
Secondly, it means that the CSO from the club/County team needs to have signed the Youth Tour Checklist (number 5 above on this webage) which confirms that the appropriate risk assessment has been completed, in accordance with the RFU Touring with Children Guidance...
Of course, additional compliance is required for Youth Tours, in particular Regulation 21 (Regulated Activity, DBS checks), Regulation 15 (maximum playing times, playing out of season)
https://www.englandrugby.com/dxdam/98/983525f2-c5ca-47c3-b9cb-8748a5b7493d/Regulation%2021.pdf
Responsibilities
On tour, all the touring players are the responsibility of the Tour Staff whether the parents are present or not. If parents are accompanying the tour, this duty of care must be carefully explained to parents. Allowing players under the age of 18 to have access to alcohol or illegal drugs or failing to supervise players’ access to alcohol or illegal drugs is a criminal offence.
PLEASE do not forget – the reason Regulations exist is not to make your life difficult – they exist to not only protect the children in our sport but also to protect ALL the adults (volunteer or paid) as well – to ensure we are all safe within our beloved sport.
Let’s be clear about the expectations: when you want to go on tour (adults) or take young players on tour or overnight trips (‘youth’ means ANY PLAYER under the age of 18) you must obtain approval from the CB, whether your tour/activity is taking place in England or outside of England (“overseas”, including Ireland, Scotland or Wales). Club or County sides, men, women or youth, whoever you are, it applies to you:
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It makes no difference whether home or abroad, you still have to have CB and Club approval to go, and in either case you must be compliant with Regulations.
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So, you need to complete and sign a tour application form (available on the CB website, (http://www.hampshirerugby.com/archive/tours.html) and send it to the CB Executive Officer (not directly to the RFU) (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) for approval:
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You must also ensure you have secured appropriate insurances for the tour – especially if you are taking players under the age of 18, and if you are travelling outside the UK.
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As you can see from the following, player insurance on tour hinges on the approval which is conferred by the RFU via the CB:
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If, during a tour, there was a catastrophic injury (spinal injury, lets say, someone is paralysed or killed after a fall) or a child protection incident and it could be shown that individuals were working outside of their governing body’s regulations then this could be seen as negligence:
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Further Guidance:
http://www.englandrugby.com/mm/Document/Governance/GameSupport/01/30/45/56/Cross_Union_approval_guidelines_clubs_Neutral.pdf
Taking Your School on a Rugby Tour:
The RFU has a dedicated tours area on the website for general advice, checklists and information, and there are specific guidelines for schools.
Please be aware that schools need to have permission to tour overseas. It is necessary to complete a Permission to Tour Form and return to the schools department. This should be completed and returned along with an itinerary, fixture information and insurance details to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Schools should apply for permission to tour a minimum of one month in advance of the tour. Once the form is returned the endorsement of your County School Union (CSU) and the Overseas Union you are visiting will be sought, and a letter granting permission to tour from the ERFSU will be issued.