PHL rugby eyes restart as soon as quarantine level eases

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

The Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) is hoping to get back to training once the quarantine level in the National Capital Region is eased.

Known for its full-contact physicality, rugby is still prohibited in all quarantine levels but the Rugby Football Union is planning to propose a return to training and conditioning of players.

PRFU Secretary-general Ada Milby and CEO Jake Letts already submitted “back to training” proposals to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

“We’ve modified it to fit those safety guidelines, but we unfortunately haven’t had any response yet,” Milby said in a webinar hosted by the POC.

To satisfy the protocols set by the IATF after Metro Manila slid back to General Community Quarantine (GCQ), the PH Rugby Union will only be allowing non-contact conditioning drills in their proposed restart.

“We will have our own ball, we won’t have any contact with each other, we won’t even pass. Each phase of the progression is making sure we get all the different hygiene things in place, body temp, contact tracing, all that stuff,” Milby added.

The PH rugby squad initiated the request for the resumption of their practices after different countries already restarted under strict health conditions.

“We might not be able to resume community rugby or club training immediately but if we can at least get our Volcanoes – men’s and women’s – back to training, then that helps a lot in the preparation for not only the 2021 SEA Games but also 2022 Asian Games,” Milby explained.