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Player Welfare Guidelines

World Rugby Player Welfare Guidelines

Medical and non-medical guidelines that outline best practice in player welfare.

Use the menu to navigate through World Rugby's medical and non-medical guidelines outlining best practice in player welfare.

World Rugby take the following steps with developing player welfare guidelines:

  1. Identify welfare risks to players.
  2. Investigate ways to reduce these risks.
  3. Develop and approve best practice.
  4. Share best practice guidelines.

Best practice guidelines cover numerous medical and non-medical topics, which World Rugby continue to review, update, and expand when new knowledge comes to light.

Guidelines are available to help Unions share best practice with stakeholders, and Unions may adapt the advice in the guidelines to meet their needs.

Player Welfare News
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Shape of the Game

Shape of the Game 2025 reinforces collaborative approach to sustaining rugby’s long-term vitality

World Rugby’s Shape of the Game 2025 conference has reinforced its commitment to the core principles that sustain the sport’s vitality on the field, emphasising a bold vision for its future. With transformative men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups in England this year and Australia in 2027 on the horizon, setting the stage for game changing men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups in the USA in 2031 and 2033. Rugby is focused on ensuring long-term growth and success on and off the field.
Read now on World Rugby
Wed 5 March, 2025
· 2 min read
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Player Welfare

World Rugby Player Welfare Symposium hears how new data could form the basis of updated contact training load guidelines

World Rugby’s 2023 Player Welfare Symposium has heard how the international federation is planning on using new data to start to re-examine rugby’s contact training load guidelines. A World Rugby funded study involving elite players in England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa using both smart mouthguards and saliva biomarker technology is being used for the first time to look closely at forces on the head which do not directly lead to concussions.
Read now on World Rugby
Wed 24 May, 2023
· 2 min read
PLAYER WELFARE NEWS
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Return to play after a concussion in elite rugby
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      Tue 21 June, 2022
      Return to play after a concussion in elite rugby