As the governing body for the sport, Scottish Rugby deems that player safety is paramount while ensuring the game remains fun and enjoyable for all involved.

The Are You Ready to Play Rugby?  campaign was launched by Scottish Rugby at the start of 2009 to ensure that a consistent approach to player safety is adopted across Scotland by all coaches, teachers, referees and volunteers.

In early February 2009, a consultation paper was circulated to clubs, schools and other stakeholders and regional presentations were held to invite feedback on the proposals. Nearly 300 people attended the presentations in locations ranging from Inverness to Melrose and Oban to Tranent;  50 written responses were received.

Scotish Rugby would also like to thank the SCOT group of orthopaedic consultants who have contributed significantly to the process.

This feedback was invaluable in developing these policy changes which will further reduce the risk of serious injuries in rugby. It is critical that these policies are adopted throughout the rugby community, with immediate effect, to ensure the future of our sport.

The policy changes are split into the following sections: - please click on each area for further details:

Age banding

Age grade law variations

Minimum standards for coaching and refereeing

Injury and game management

About IRB RugbyReady

Downloads and links

Frequently asked questions

To hear more about Are You Ready to Play Rugby?  from Scottish Rugby’s Head of Community Rugby, please play the clip below:

Your Scottish Rugby contact for Are You Ready to Play Rugby?  is:
Ange Bridges at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it