SPECIAL FEATURE: Rugby clubs coping with Covid-19 - Northampton Old Scouts

While other sports managed to return to action before again being put on hold for the current second lockdown, aside from organised training sessions, rugby has been in hibernation since early March due to the amount of close physical contact there is in the game.

It is nine months since teams were able to play any competitive fixtures, and clubs have thankfully been able to keep things ticking over thanks to grants from the Government and Sport England, as well as some RFU funding.

But it has still been a very difficult and concerning time, and there is still no date set in stone for when teams can start playing again.

So how has the pandemic, the subsequent lockdowns and lack of competitive rugby affected the area’s clubs?

Prior to Thursday's news of the Government will be providing a substantial and welcome bailout to the sport, sports editor JEREMY CASEY contacted clubs to find out how they have been coping, what they are doing to keep things ticking over, and their hopes for the next few months and the long-term future...

We continue the series with NORTHAMPTON OLD SCOUTS

OLD SCOUTS say they are in decent financial shape despite the severe inconvenience of coronavirus.

But the biggest fear for the Rushmere Road club is that players, young and old, may simply drift away from the sport and the club, if they can’t get back to some sort of competitive action soon.

The news that the league season has been cancelled for 2020/21 came as no great surprise, but Scouts believe it is imperative that some kind of meaningful rugby is introduced as soon as possible.

Even if it means playing around with the long-standing the rules of the sport.

The major issue for rugby is the fact that nobody knows when they will be able to play again, and Scouts president Keith Shurville says that has to be rectified as quickly as possible.

“Players drifting away is the biggest worry, and it’s not just the kids it’s the adults as well,” said Shurville.

“There are some guys at the club that I haven’t seen since the start of lockdown in March, albeit they are older members.

"But some of the younger ones in their mid-20s have come back for a month to train, but have then disappeared again because there is no end goal.

“Some of these guys are really competitive characters and they need a target, and they may start to try other things because we just have no idea when we will be allowed to play rugby again.”

The current lockdown is due to end on December 2, and Shurville is hoping rugby clubs will be allowed to at least return to training as they were before.

But he accepts even if that is the case, it might not be enough for some players.

“Before this lockdown we had followed the RFU protocols and were training in groups of six, which was a bit of a pain, and the lads got on with that,” he said.

“But then it just gets boring, because there is nothing to meet up on a Saturday for, no chance to work up a bit of a sweat, to enjoy a few beers and have a chat with your mates.

“It is a difficult time, but the recent news of a possible vaccine is something that could help and allow us to get playing rugby again.

“The RFU are also looking into adapting the rules of the game so we could perhaps play without scrums or mauls, and although I can’t really see that taking off, we would just like to play something to be competitive.

“The problem is the game is for people of all sizes, and if you do away with scrums and mauls you aren’t going to get too many who would normally play in the front five or whatever wanting to run around too much.

“As it stands I don’t know how it would look or work, but I do think we would be keen to just get playing again.”

On the finances front, the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to the club’s annual sausage and cider festival among other things, but Shurville is still upbeat.

“There were a lot of things we had planned in the summer where we hoped to raise money to keep the club ticking over, but we did get a grant out of the Government via the council,” he said.

“We also got a grant from Sport England so they have basically kept us going, and at this moment we are not desperate for anything. But if it continues then who knows?

“It is just a matter of ticking over, and according to the treasurer things are okay.”