From a playing perspective, coaches and managers will be communicating with their players as they did before to ensure as much engagement as possible and giving advice on training and fitness. You are allowed to train individually, with those in your household or support bubble or when on your own with one other person from another household. Please continue to use the club grounds to do this if you are able to, whilst observing social distancing and travel rules.

Off the field, we are no longer able to operate our takeaway service for beer & wine sales so the clubhouse will now be completely closed down.

As I have mentioned before, from the conversations I've had, emotions range from tedium to getting a little desperate and as we know we are in this situation for a while to come, it is even more important that we look out for each other. Keep in touch with your friends and teammates, encourage each other to stay engaged with rugby (there is still plenty of rugby on TV) and stay as fit and healthy as you can.

Remember that the club Welfare Team is on hand to help those in need with such things as collecting essential shopping or medicines, plus of course, you may know someone who just needs a call to see how they are. If so, get in touch by emailing mansfieldrugbyinfo@gmail.com

Finally, please take the time to raise a glass on Thursday at 2.15pm to toast absent friends as we say a final farewell to our much loved friend Dylan.

We will be in touch soon as things change; in the meantime, stay safe and well.

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UPDATED 3rd November 2020

Despite the best efforts of the RFU and other grassroots sports lobbying the Government to exempt community level sport from the impending national lockdown, this has failed. Therefore, perhaps as we all expected following the announcement on Saturday, all activity at the club will have to cease from Midnight on Wednesday for the next month.

To find out what we can and cannot do, click this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november

What does this mean for us?

The first thing to note is that exercise is still permitted. This can be with the people you live with, your support bubble or with one other person from another household. As before, you are encouraged to continue to train/exercise (under those conditions) and you can do this on the club grounds should you wish to do so. Club members coming and going at the grounds provides more security for the club when it is unattended.

Please also remember that the welfare team is here to help. If you need anything or know of any club members/friends that may need our help with shopping/collecting meds etc. then email in strict privacy using this dedicated email address: mansfieldrugbyinfo@gmail.com

Finally, you may be aware that part of the RFU planning for the future has seen them request for us to be allowed to play an adapted form of rugby that will involve full contact but omit the use of scrums and mauling. They are close to a decision on this. It's worth noting that this was suggested many weeks ago and dismissed out of hand as 'it isn't rugby is it?'. Whilst that may be true, we are now faced with the prospect of nothing until the end of this current season and who knows what after that, therefore the prospect of this definition of full contact rugby is fast becoming a reality (possibly even from January), so watch out for more info on this.

It just remains for me to say, please take care of yourself and your family and I will be in touch again as we emerge from the lockdown with our plans for going forward.

Best wishes and warmest regards

Andy Foster
Chairman

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Updated 28th October 2020

You will be aware by now that the whole of Nottinghamshire will be placed into Tier 3 of the Government's Covid-19 strategy from Friday 30th October 2020. As a result of this decision there are clear implications for us both on and off the field.

So what does this mean for us?

Re: the Clubhouse - The clubhouse will close with immediate effect.

Re: Training - Tier 3 still allows for participation in organised sport, which means that training can continue as we have been doing, for the time being at least.

Re: Playing outside fixtures - Being allowed to participate in organised sport also allows us to continue playing other clubs using Ready4Rugby and other Touch Rugby pursuits. Although general restrictions in Tier 3 suggest that unnecessary travel should be avoided, until we are told by the RFU not to, we are still allowed to play other clubs at home or away at this present time. So although playing outside fixtures at home or away is not specifically prohibited at the moment, Coaches are free to do so should they wish to continue doing this assuming all controls are in place and they have a current and credible risk assessment from that club. However, caution should be observed at all times and the decision as to whether you play another club or not should be made by each individual team Coach. If you are uncomfortable with playing other clubs either home or away then opt out and stick with inter-club only training/playing.

Please bear in mind that all areas around Covid compliance, RFU guidance and the law have been considered in taking this approach as well as personal safety, protecting player numbers and reducing boredom (from training only) and mental health/well-being derived from participating in sporting activities in what remains a particularly stressful time.

All of this may change and change quickly should the RFU update their approach so please watch out for further announcements.

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Following the Government's decision to place Nottinghamshire in the 'High' risk category we cannot now socialise with anybody outside of our household or support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place. This means we can no longer accommodate sharing tables at the club, even in groups of six. The impact of this is significant when you consider the number of tables and space available to us.

So what does this mean for us?

We have now reconfigured the seating plan inside the clubhouse to allow for single household/bubble use. We have 31 usable tables which can accommodate various numbers from individuals to couples and families in the new configuration. We have the flexibility to ensure that some tables that hold 1 person can be expanded to 2 for couples and others that hold 2 people can expand to 4 for families. We also have a couple of options that will accommodate 5 or 6 in a larger single family/bubble if needed. However, if 31 individuals booked a table then that would clearly fill the clubhouse!

Therefore, it is now even more important to book your table in advance to avoid disappointment. This can be done by emailing MRUFCbookings@gmail.com stating your name and contact details, number in party, whether you would like the clubroom or the lounge and which time slot; from 2pm to 4pm or 4pm to 6pm (you can request a table from 2pm to 6pm but during busy times this may not be possible and a 2 hour slot will be offered).