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• Discussing the return to sport for professional sport leagues in the context of COVID-19: the Rugby Europe experience
  António Miguel Cruz-Ferreira, Luis Mendia, Agathe Montocchio, Philippe Tuccelli and Florent Marty
  Published on: 9 April 2021

• Published on: 9 April 2021

  Discussing the return to sport for professional sport leagues in the context of COVID-19: the Rugby Europe experience

  • António Miguel Cruz-Ferreira, Chairman of the Player Welfare Sub-Committee Rugby Europe
  • Other Contributors:
    • Luis Mendia, Medical Education Manager
    • Agathe Montocchio, Competitions Coordinator
    • Philippe Tuccelli, Director of Competitions
    • Florent Marty, CEO

  Dear Editor and authors,
  As we have been actively involved in the return to play process in European rugby at international level, it was with great pleasure that we have read the article “Return to sport for North American professional sport leagues in the context of COVID-19” by DiFiori et al.1
  We acknowledge, as the authors do, that an individualized approach must take place for each league and sport, but it is also true that all protocols must be broad and inclusive, going beyond testing and obtaining the active engagement of all agents.
  Rugby Europe is the European governing body of Rugby union and its top senior male and female competitions have just resumed in February 2021 and all over Europe, after a stoppage of 11 months, supported by a robust “Return To Play Protocol”2. This protocol was developed by the Rugby Europe Player Welfare steering group, during the summer and autumn of 2020, and considers different sanitary and testing aspects, most of which are also presented by DiFiori et al.1 in their paper.
  Testing is, of course, an important part of Rugby Europe RTP protocol, but it also includes a large number of sanitary and hygiene measures to be implemented by the match organization and each team. Regarding the SARS-COV2 testing, all players and staff have to be submitted to a RT-PCR test <72 hours before the match of before the travel to the host country, as well as to an antigen test <24h before the match.2 So far, 2179 SARS-CO...

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  Dear Editor and authors,
  As we have been actively involved in the return to play process in European rugby at international level, it was with great pleasure that we have read the article “Return to sport for North American professional sport leagues in the context of COVID-19” by DiFiori et al.1
  We acknowledge, as the authors do, that an individualized approach must take place for each league and sport, but it is also true that all protocols must be broad and inclusive, going beyond testing and obtaining the active engagement of all agents.
  Rugby Europe is the European governing body of Rugby union and its top senior male and female competitions have just resumed in February 2021 and all over Europe, after a stoppage of 11 months, supported by a robust “Return To Play Protocol”2. This protocol was developed by the Rugby Europe Player Welfare steering group, during the summer and autumn of 2020, and considers different sanitary and testing aspects, most of which are also presented by DiFiori et al.1 in their paper.
  Testing is, of course, an important part of Rugby Europe RTP protocol, but it also includes a large number of sanitary and hygiene measures to be implemented by the match organization and each team. Regarding the SARS-COV2 testing, all players and staff have to be submitted to a RT-PCR test <72 hours before the match of before the travel to the host country, as well as to an antigen test <24h before the match.2 So far, 2179 SARS-COV2 tests were performed in our competitions (1090 RT-PCR and 1089 Antigen tests) and only one RT-PCR test was positive (positive rate of 0.1%). Most importantly, however, is that despite the identification of this case, none of the players and staff in close contact with him tested positive in the 4 weeks that followed and, more, none of the games were cancelled or postponed.
  This not only highlights the low risk of contagion even in contact sports already reported by Jones et al.3, but also the strength of sanitary protocols, as described by DiFiori et al.. When other high-risk activities (e.g. socializing, meals, or others) are mitigated using these protocols, the possibility of tracing and managing the risk of contagion increases.
  Therefore, we consider to be paramount that all governing bodies design and implement customized return to play protocols that are able to accommodate the specificities of each reality and sport, as suggested by DiFiori et al.1. Likewise, it is crucial that all agents understand the need to follow all the hygiene and sanitary recommendations, as it will enable the demonstration of the strength of these protocols and allow the safe return to sport during the context of COVID-19.

  References:
  1- DiFiori JP, Green G, Meeuwisse W, et al. Br J Sports Med 2021;55:417–421. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2020-103227
  2- World Rugby Player welfare. Rugby Europe: Return to Play Protocol. Link: https://playerwelfare.worldrugby.org/?documentid=224 [Accessed 04.04.2021]
  3- Jones B, Phillips G, Kemp S, et alSARS-CoV-2 transmission during rugby league matches: do players become infected after participating with SARS-CoV-2 positive players?British Journal of Sports Medicine Published Online First: 11 February 2021. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2020-103714

  Competing interests: none
  Acknowledgements: to Besik Chaduneli, José Carlos Saló, Ekaterina Sidorenko and Alin Popescu, CMOs of the Unions involved in the Rugby Europe Championship 2021, as well as to Rugby Nederland.

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  Conflict of Interest:
  None declared.

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