PREMIER 15S TO MOVE TO STAGE TWO ELITE SPORT FRAMEWORK

Warriors Women welcome the news that the Premier 15s and England Women’s senior team can now progress to stage two in the elite sport framework with the introduction of adapted training regimes to minimise the risk of face-to-face contact.

Worcester Warriors Rugby Club have gone above and beyond in ensuring the safety of its women’s team from the outset and have made weekly testing a requirement for all players, management staff and support staff prior to each training session at Sixways Stadium.

A Spookfish Innovations thermal imaging camera has also been installed in the reception of the High Performance Centre at Sixways, with each player and support staff member temperature checked on entry to the stadium.

Warriors Co-owner Jason Whittingham said: “I think it’s important to understand that whatever guidelines or protocols are put in place by external groups, we have always prided ourselves on going further to ensure both safety and well-being of our players, staff and supporters.

“Our women’s team is fully integrated into our club, and whilst there was no requirement for us to conduct weekly COVID-19 testing of our women’s team and coaches, we felt that it was in the best interests of the girls and the entire Warriors family that we organised for the testing to take place.”

Warriors Women Director of Rugby Jo Yapp said: “It has been a really challenging time, but we are all very pleased to be moving to stage two.

“Everyone at the club has been working really hard to ensure that all players and staff remain safe as that is our priority.”

The elite sport framework sits separately from the community return to play and is a strictly monitored, closed group in a performance environment being managed under the government’s elite performance guidance.

Made up of 10 clubs with around 400 players and 100 staff in total, Premier 15s is the playing pathway for the Red Roses who will be playing international rugby in October and participating in the Rugby World Cup in 2021.

Adapted training regimes will be introduced as part of this elite framework following detailed video analysis of Red Roses and Premier 15s matches from the 2019/20 season to establish player interaction data. The findings showed the accumulation of time within one to two metres proximity is limited, however, by reducing face-to-face exposure it will significantly mitigate any potential transmission risk.

The women’s performance game will reduce face-to-face exposure through prescriptive training and there will be strict distancing protocols for warm-ups, a reduction in time spent on preparing for set pieces as well as regular breaks in training and club and equipment sanitising.

Team meetings will ideally take place virtually and off site to further minimise contact time. Where this is not possible, meetings should take place outdoors.

Detailed session recordings will include video analysis plus a specific return to play training plan which limits contact activity and must be submitted weekly.

In addition, the closely monitored cohort and support staff will be subject to enhanced risk assessments, daily monitoring, temperature checking and strict cleaning and hand hygiene regimes. Players will undertake compulsory education modules and individual medical reviews and be given the choice of opting out of the programme.

Clubs will also be subject to audit of these standards.

It is intended that the new training regime will be used in pre-season training ahead of moving to stage 3 in the Elite performance framework.

The RFU will continue to monitor the infection rates in the community and all government guidance.

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