Scottish Rugby launches ‘lifesaving’ First Responder course for the grassroots game

Following on from the launch of Scottish Rugby’s Player Welfare Action Plan for the domestic game, a new First Responder course has been created and is now available for the rugby community to undertake.

The online course has been designed by Scottish Rugby’s Welfare Manager, Dr Karen Barclay and Scottish Rugby’s wider medical team and aims to help people understand basic principles in delivering assistance in the event of a serious injury or illness until more skilled help arrives, which Dr Barclay describes as ‘lifesaving skills’.

“Whilst the course does not replace first aid training, it aims to help bystanders within the grassroots game recognise when an immediate response is required to keep a player safe”, said Dr Barclay.

 “Whilst incidents such as cardiac arrest or neck injuries are mercifully rare in our game, they do occur, and it is vital that bystanders have the skills to be able to provide support until skilled help arrives. These skills and practices can and do save lives.”

There are seven modules within the course including neck and spinal care, significant limb injuries and cardiac arrest.

Clubs are now invited to register their interest to the Club & Community Net Zero Fund, created in partnership with Scottish Gas.

The £2m fund has been created to support rugby communities across Scotland reduce their energy bills and carbon footprint, and allows clubs to receive free tailored energy efficiency advice and access grants from the fund to help pay for improvements.

For more information on the fund, FAQs and a link to register your interest, click on the link to the webpage below.

Throughout the Rugby World Cup, Scottish Rugby has a number of opportunities for you to take your first steps towards becoming a match official.

Linking in with live screenings of the Scotland Men v Tonga RWC match, four courses are planned on Sunday 24 September 1-4pm.

At Scottish Gas Murrayfield on Saturday 30 September, there is an opportunity to complete the Introduction to Match Officiating course before attending the Scotland Women v Spain autumn test match at Hive Stadium (with a complimentary ticket), with female only and open courses planned.

There are many reasons to take up match officiating; remaining involved in the sport after playing, choosing to enhance your knowledge of the laws or progressing through the career pathway to achieve your goal in officiating. No matter what the reason, officiating is a rewarding, exciting, and enjoyable way to stay involved in rugby.

To get involved, click on the link below to access SCRUMS and select ‘browse courses’.

Tackle Height Law Trials – Bitesize Module

Game Development have created a short module for club volunteers, parents, spectators and players, that covers the new Tackle Height Law Trials.

This includes a quiz that allows people to see how the laws will be refereed. This module can be found on the Tackle Height Hub on the Scottish Rugby website. Click on the link below and scroll down to access the module.

Tackle Workshops for Coaches

Over the course of September and October Rugby Development are running several workshops around the country that have been designed to provide tips and ideas on how to coach the tackle this season

These practical workshops focus on providing understanding around the physical competency required to lower the tackle height, as well as technical and tactical key factors for the first and assist tacklers.

Caledonia Midlands

Dunfermline RFC – 25 September (7-8.15pm)

Caledonia North (more dates to be added)
Highland RFC – 2 October (6-7pm)

Glasgow North

Dalziel RFC – 13 September (6.30-7.45pm)

Ravenscraig – 4 October (7-8.15pm)

The workshops can be found on the Tackle Height Hub.

Please note, Coaches and Match Officials need to complete the RugbyRight version of this module which can be found on their SCRUMS profile – please note ALL Coaches and Match Officials must complete RugbyRight for 2023/24.