Hackney RFC has started making preparations for a return to action on 29 March after the relaxation of government Covid-19 protocols.
The club has been unable to play in any capacity since early December and everyone involved is keen to get as many people as possible playing again.
Rugby, given its contact-based nature, has a longer route out of lockdown than many other sports. The RFU released its six-stage roadmap for the sport to return earlier this month, and Hackney RFC intends to follow this to the letter.
The first stage, which begins on 29 March, is to relaunch the new ‘Ready 4 Rugby’ game, which limits contact and still develops both attacking and defensive skills. Full contact rugby, including scrums and mauls, returns whenever step three of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown is reached.
Clubs across the country have had to wait for the RFU’s decision before planning their own comebacks.
Hackney RFC club captain Veronica Malaszewski said: “It has definitely been frustrating at times having to wait, but also it’s understandable because the government releases something that’s affecting everyone and then they’re trying to figure out how that applies to rugby.”
One of the biggest challenges Hackney RFC faces is how best to accommodate different people with varying degrees of confidence in coming back to the sport. Malaszewski said: “As a club, we are trying to understand what people are comfortable with. We’re sending out a survey to all of our players to see how each individual feels.”
There has been a concern within the club regarding the effect that having no rugby could have on the mental health of many players. As a result, it has been a priority of the committee to ensure all players have available resources.
Malaszewski told Hackney Post: “We just keep reaching out – in weekly emails we included mental health resources – and we just hope that if someone needs anything, they will reach out.”
She continued: “It’s so difficult in London because lots of people are living in house shares, or maybe on their own, and almost certainly without a lot of space. People can’t just come to training and blow off steam, so you have to put more effort into dealing with it all.”
The future looks bright for Hackney RFC, who saw increased participation levels throughout last summer until the season before it was cancelled.
Malaszewski said: “Usually, you get a lot of fair-weather players who turn up in the summer that don’t last, but I have to say, we had a load of new people join in the summer who kept coming back despite inconsistent training and the weather. It’s impossible to know what it will look like when we come back but I’m hoping that everyone is as excited as me.”
