Scrums will not return in 2021, says RFL

Scrums will not be re-introduced into the domestic game in 2021, the Rugby Football League has announced.

Scrums were suspended from the restart of the 2020 season last August after officials took advice from medical and scientific experts on ways to combat the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

They remained suspended at the start of the 2021 season but it was hoped they would be re-introduced later in the year and certainly in time for the World Cup.

However, the World Cup has been postponed for 12 months and the RFL’s law committee believes scrums should remain suspended “in the interest of player health and wellbeing and in the interest of competition integrity”.

Although Government regulations around close contacts and isolation were eased from Monday, this applies only to those who are fully vaccinated.

The RFL says scrums remain in the international laws and it is committed to their return in 2022 provided conditions allow.