Vees Safeguarding. Newsletter

Verulamians Rugby Safeguarding

August 2023 – Pre-season newsletter

Firstly, I would like to welcome you all back to the club for the 2023/24 season and what a year it could be. We start our season on Sunday 3rd September with a 9.30am start for our minis (U6 to U12’s) and then Juniors from 11.30am. We then have the start of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France on Friday September 8th, and the clubhouse will be open for some selected games – please keep your eyes open for messages sent via social media and web page for dates and times.

This newsletter is being sent to all club members young and old as we do have some very important messages to convey this season about the new Tackle Height guidelines and spectator and player behaviour. We are a Community Club and we pride ourselves on being an inclusive club that serves the whole community. This is the most important aspect of our values and differentiates us from others. We need to live these values and particularly on match days.

Implementing the new tackle height guidance

You will be aware that this law variation was a significant cause of disquiet among the rugby community when it was first announced and as a result of it not being effectively communicated without guidance. No doubt there will still be some players and coaches that will take a line that this variation is not in the spirit / taking the fun out of the game, even though most people should be aware of the huge risks to the sport and to players of serious injury from head-to-head contact.

This guidance is already being implemented in the Senior training and all coaches in the M & J section are aware of the changes and many have attended workshops or talks with referees advising us of how they will interpret the guidelines.

It is also likely that many spectators will feel that some decisions / sanctions made by referees will not be properly understood and this may elicit an angry response towards match officials.

Basically, this is going to take some time to embed properly and there will be a period of changing hearts and minds. Please bear with us it is a change for the safety of your child and mistakes will be made by many, but abuse of match officials will not be tolerated. Remember we are all amateur volunteers looking to enjoy our Saturday and Sunday participating in a sport we all love.

Please find below the link to the RFU’s brand new 

Tackle height (englandrugby.com)

These webpages have a huge array of guidance and resources to help everyone understand what the new tackle height means for your teams, including some very useful posters, quizzes and detailed application guidance. We need parents, spectators and coaches to be positive role models, helping to reinforce good cultures about safe play, and ultimately challenging any abusive behaviour towards match officials when contentious decisions are made. 

New signage and information are visible in and around the clubhouse please take some time to read these when getting your coffee or sausage roll or view them on our website. 

Spectator Behaviour - Active Bystander

This is the new approach adopted by the RFU to building positive cultures among spectators and to help stamp out poor touchline behaviour. There has been a large increase in incidents reported to us and the RFU about poor touchline behaviour and, worryingly, where that behaviour has been racist, homophobic or misogynistic. The effect of not challenging or passively acquiescing to such behaviour is a collective acceptance of that behaviour. This results in what is known as a ‘closed culture’ where it becomes the norm to mock or ridicule and, ultimately, cause harm. As well as individual harms, the costs to the game are huge – no one wants to participate in a sport that allows poor behaviour to prevail. 

The main reason given by players and parents for leaving a club or rugby as a sport is touchline behaviour.

Please see below our Good Behaviour Policy (Can be found in the clubhouse and website)

• All Club members (and any children that they may have who play in the Club’s youth sections) must respect and take care of Club property and the property of other Club members or children who play in the youth sections. When playing against non-Club teams, touring with the Club or representing the Club in any way a similar regard must be paid to the property of other clubs/teams, other premises and other people.

• All Club members (and any children that they may have who play in the Club’s youth sections) must have respect for the Laws of the game of rugby, all the Club’s coaches, all other coaches of teams the Club plays and all persons refereeing games involving Club teams.

Parents of youth players are expected to be particularly vigilant in this respect and actively encourage youth players to behave likewise. All Club members (and

any children that they may have who play in the Club’s youth sections) are reminded that the good name of the Club is vital to the Club’s wellbeing and are required not to bring the Club’s name into disrepute by words or deeds.

If any Club member (and any child that they may have who plays in one of the Club’s youth’s sections) does not comply with the Club’s Good Behaviour Policy sanctions will be applied to that individual by the Club’s disciplinary committee. The ultimate sanction will be withdrawal or refusal of Club membership.

HERTS RFU Disciplinary Committee Statement:

“Due to the marked rise in cases of Disrespect, Verbal and Physical abuse of match officials Hertfordshire Rugby Football Union has decided to reserve the right to apply a deterrent sanction (Regulation 19.11.13b) for those guilty of those offences.  As the number of such cases continues at an alarming level, the deterrent sanction will come into in force from the start of the 2023/24 season and shall be: ”any person found guilty of disrespecting or abusing a referee can expect to have his or her sanction increased as the disciplinary panel sees fit above and beyond the current sanctions table set out in the RFU Regulation 19. This applies to all involved in rugby union within Hertfordshire including players, coaches and spectators”.

Further deterrent sanctions will also apply to incidents involving Young Match Officials and for adults sanctioned under 5.12, who are involved with age-grade teams.

This is an official notification to your club and it is now your club’s responsibility to disseminate this to all players, coaches, spectators, age grade and women’s sections.  Ignorance of the ruling will not stop the additional sanctions being applied by a Hertfordshire disciplinary panel.”

We have as a committee reviewed and revised many Disciplinary and Safeguarding procedures and policies which can be viewed online on our website and on our new noticeboard in the clubhouse.

I hope this season brings you plenty of enjoyment for you and your child. Look forward to meeting you all again in September and help us to continue being a very warm family orientated club for all.

Paul McGoohan - Club Safeguarding Officer

On behalf of the Disciplinary & Safeguarding Committee