How to start a rugby club in England

1. Talk to your Constituent Body first

The RFU works through 28 geographic and 7 non-geographic Constituent Bodies, the county unions. They run safeguarding, discipline, competitions and match approvals locally, and they are who you affiliate through. Email the county secretary before you do anything else. They will tell you what the county subscription is, when it falls due (usually September to December), and which merit table or reserve league a new side can enter.

You will need to show them a constitution (use the RFU model), a committee, a bank account and a Club Safeguarding Officer. The club starts as a non-voting member and earns a vote after a season paid up, twelve adult XV matches or league play, and accounts filed with the county.

2. What affiliation buys

Howden combined liability insurance, league and cup entry, courses, support from a Rugby Development Officer, and for voting clubs an allocation of international tickets. It also gets you onto GMS, the RFU’s Game Management System: registration, membership, affiliation, fixtures, the electronic match card and results. Every player registers there each season from 1 July; parents register children; the club approves and assigns squads.

3. The ground

A full-size pitch is roughly 100 by 70 metres plus in-goal areas, with posts. New clubs usually start on a council or school pitch with portable posts, or share with an established club on the days they are away. Ask the county about the Rugby Football Foundation, which has made about 1,000 Groundmatch grants and offers interest-free loans up to £100,000 for Level 4 and below, and about Sport England’s Movement Fund (£300 to £15,000).

Before your first match you need a first-aid risk assessment lodged with the RFU and Howden, a medical emergency action plan for the venue, and an AED on site.

4. The people the RFU requires

• Club Safeguarding Officer, trained, before any age-grade rugby.
• RugbySafe Lead, who owns player welfare, concussion and first aid.
• Level 3 first aiders with the Headcase concussion module, at every match.
• Match Card Administrator, because the Electronic Match Card is mandatory in every RFU league, community cup and national age-grade cup.
• The usual Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Fixtures Secretary and Membership Secretary. Rugby clubs also tend to have a President, a Director of Rugby once there are two senior sides, and a Team Admin per age group.

5. Age grade: Regulation 15

Age is taken at midnight on 31 August and fixed for the season. Bands run U6 (school Year 1) to U18; mixed to U11, single-sex from U12; girls play dual bands (U13/14, U15/16, U17/18, with a new U11/12 from 2026/27).

• U5/6: no matches. U7–8: non-contact. Contact from U9.
• Maximum play per day rises from 50 minutes at U7–8 to 90 at U15 and above.
• Half Game rule: every squad player gets at least half the available time in every age-grade format.
• Playing up one or two grades needs a club recommendation and an annual per-player consent form. Playing down locks the player there all season.
• 17-year-olds in adult rugby need approval and a completed club safeguarding audit, and no front row until 18.

The eighteen-question safeguarding audit is mandatory for any club with age grade and falls due in late October. Enhanced DBS for everyone in regulated activity.

6. The season

1 July GMS opens for the new season and players roll up a band. 1 August regulations go live. First weekend of September competition starts (2026/27 runs 5 September to 17 May). Late October safeguarding audit. Early February transfer deadline for Regional and below. April–May play-offs and cup finals. June–July AGM and fee-setting.

The men’s pyramid has ten levels; a grassroots 1st XV sits between Level 5 (Regional 1) and Level 10 (Counties 4). A new club usually starts in a county merit table and applies for a league place once it has a season of fulfilled fixtures. Second XVs play merit tables and reserve leagues. Minis play festivals, not leagues.

7. Subs

Rugby union clubs mostly charge an annual sub with a family cap. Real 2024–26 examples: senior £175 to £355, women £80 to £150, mini and youth £95 to £382 including a parent membership, family cap around £750. Income beyond subs is sponsorship (sold per team and per role), the bar, match-day food, a lottery and summer events. Budget the first-aid and AED costs in year one; they are not optional.

8. Your first season, in order

1. Constitution, committee, bank account, Club Safeguarding Officer trained.
2. Letter to the Constituent Body; county subscription paid; GMS access.
3. Pitch and posts secured; first-aid risk assessment lodged; AED.
4. Players registered on GMS from 1 July; DBS checks for coaches.
5. Pre-season friendlies in August; merit table or festival entry confirmed with the county.
6. Website up with the safeguarding officer clearly identifiable, training times and how to join. The RFU audit checks this.
7. First competitive match, first weekend of September. Match card filed.

What the second season looks like, and the deadlines that carry fines, are in how to run a grassroots sports club.