Overview

• Players face a ceiling of 30 matches per season with no more than six consecutive match weeks before rest.
• Mandatory recovery includes a five-week off-season, at least one week off after international duty, and 12 weeks each year without contact training.
• The guidelines act as a safeguard in markets lacking local player-load agreements, framed on scientific evidence and expert opinion.
• A multi-stakeholder Player Load Project Group shaped the package, while IRPA and leading leagues publicly endorsed it as a player-welfare advance.
• Implementation now shifts to unions, competitions and clubs, with coaches in South Africa highlighting the need for tight coordination across crowded domestic and Test calendars.