Rugby clubs nationwide are celebrating a return to the sport after lockdown and the RFU have launched their ‘Pitch Up For Rugby’ initiative as we await the return of the community game.

There’s nowhere quite like a rugby club for a warm welcome and that’s where we want you to celebrate on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September.

As well as festivities off the pitch, there’ll be as much action on the it, including the new, non-contact Ready4Rugby format and O2 Touch.

Each club will decide on its own kind of welcome off the pitch and, while following government guidelines, will be sure to make everyone feel at home.

There will be beer and bubbles, barbecues, hot dogs and burgers. Most of all, there will be miles of smiles as rugby returns, this Pitch Up for Rugby weekend beginning an extended period of pitching in and returning to their place at the heart of their communities across the land.

Said RFU Rugby Development Director, Steve Grainger: “Clubs everywhere have helped those who needed it most during the coronavirus pandemic.  They have shopped, cooked, fundraised for the NHS and charities in need, helped food banks and delivered prescriptions to those isolating.  Now it’s great to see them back with what they do best, welcoming everyone to enjoy rugby.

“While clubs will all be closely following government Covid-19 guidelines, in this new normal what won’t have changed is the fun and fellowship to be found in every rugby club.  So we hope that everyone will Pitch Up for the weekend, whether they’ve played before, think they might give rugby a try, or just want to enjoy the many benefits of being part of the rugby family.”

Article from englandrugby.com