Age Grade Regulation 15 – What’s changing

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Regulation 15 Review during the last 9 months. With over 600 survey responses and many conversations with clubs, schools, colleges and partner organisations, the community game has been integral to the changes which the RFU Council have approved. 

The approved changes fall into two categories – those coming in for 2026/7 and those that will be introduced in 2027/8. 

Changes coming in 2026/27 

These are the priority changes for next season. There was strong agreement across the game for these, and they can be put in place straight away. They include: 

Playing Out of Age Grade (POOAG) – A standard risk assessment will apply to all POOAG applications, along with a 10-day approval window to reduce the burden on administrators. 

Girls’ rugby at Under 11/12 – A new dual girls’ Under 11/12 age band is being introduced to help clubs retain more young female players who want to play girls-only rugby at that age. Mixed rugby at Under 11s will remain, giving clubs and girls greater flexibility and choice. 

Schools’ 7s – A defined spring term window for schools’ 7s combined with avoiding tournaments taking place on Sundays will help to strike a better balance between school and club rugby. 

Simplified Language – Significant work is being undertaken to simplify the language used in the regulation, making it more accessible and easier to follow. 

A full picture of the changes will be in the new-look Regulation 15, which we will publish in July, alongside some helpful guidance and resources. 

Changes coming in 2027/28 

This smaller set of changes have also been agreed but won’t come in until 2027/8, to allow more time to put things in place to support their introduction. You’ll hear more about these over the next year, once we have the playing season underway. 

Areas for further engagement 

During the age grade regulation review, a few topics sparked significant debate and a range of different views. Rather than rush, we will be running additional engagement with the game over the next 6-9 months to discuss these further before we put any firm recommendations forward for a decision.  

We’re looking forward to the new regulations that make age grade rugby safer, clearer and simpler for everyone involved and to engaging further with people from across the community game. 

Keep an eye on the RFU Regulations(opens in a new tab) and Age Grade Rugby(opens in a new tab) pages for updates.