Rugby Union Match Day Planning Guide

It's Saturday morning, two hours before your first XV kicks off. The groundsperson hasn't arrived. Nobody has checked whether the pitch markings survived last night's rain. The posts are up but the padding isn't on them - it's in the kit room, still damp from last week because nobody hung it out to dry. The opposition has called to ask where the car park is. Your bar manager is on holiday and forgot to tell anyone.

Every one of these problems was avoidable. Not with more volunteers or a bigger budget, but with a planning process that starts on Monday, not Saturday.

The week-before timeline

Monday

• Confirm the fixture. Check your league or county website for any changes, postponements, or venue swaps. Confirm kick-off time for all teams playing - firsts, seconds, colts.
• Referee confirmation. Your referee society appointment should be confirmed. If it isn't, chase it through your constituent body. An unconfirmed referee on Thursday becomes a scramble on Saturday.
• Pitch condition check. Walk the pitch or ask your groundsperson. After heavy rain, look for waterlogging in the usual low spots. For a contact sport, pitch condition is a genuine safety issue - a frozen or waterlogged pitch means cancelled scrums and potential injuries. The RFU's guidance on pitch safety is clear: if in doubt, call it off.

Wednesday

• Volunteer roster finalised. You need more volunteers than most sports because rugby match days include significant post-match hospitality. Your minimum: ground setup (two), kitchen and catering (two to three), bar (one to two), match day coordinator (one), pack-down (two). Names confirmed, times agreed.
• Catering confirmed. Post-match food for both teams is a rugby tradition that takes genuine planning. Whether it's a hot meal, a buffet, or sandwiches, someone needs to have bought the food, planned the menu, and confirmed they'll be there to prepare it.
• Communications sent. Volunteers get their reminders. Parents get kick-off times. The opposition secretary gets parking instructions, changing room arrangements, and any ground-specific information.

Thursday

• Second pitch inspection if weather has been bad. For rugby, this matters more than for many sports - a scrum on a waterlogged patch is dangerous, and a frozen surface turns every tackle into a risk. Make the call early if possible.
• Kit and equipment check. Match balls, post padding, flags, first aid kit, kicking tees, water carriers. Check everything on Thursday so you have Friday to replace anything missing.
• Bar stock check. If you run a clubhouse bar, make sure stock is adequate for post-match. Rugby clubs depend on bar revenue more than most - a sold-out bar on a home fixture is lost income and poor hospitality.

Friday

• Final confirmations. Match day coordinator confirms the volunteer roster is complete. Any gaps get filled today.
• Weather review. Saturday forecast checked. If conditions are marginal, agree a time and process for the morning inspection.
• Catering prep. Anything that can be prepared in advance - chopping, marinating, baking - gets done tonight. Saturday morning is too late to start from scratch.

Match day timeline

Three hours before kick-off

This is earlier than most sports, and deliberately so. Rugby pitches take longer to set up, and the post-match hospitality needs preparation time.

• Ground crew arrives. Unlock everything. Check changing rooms - both teams plus the referee. Heating on, hot water running, showers working.
• Pitch setup. Post pads secured (this is not optional - unpadded posts are a safety issue and breach RFU regulations). Flags in position. Pitch markings visible.
• Walk the pitch. Clear any hazards - glass, stones, standing water in dangerous areas.
• Catering team arrives and begins food preparation.

Two hours before kick-off

• Bar opens for pre-match. Float in the till, stock accessible, glasses clean.
• Tea and coffee available in the clubhouse.
• Defibrillator in a visible, accessible location. Not locked away.
• Signage up - fixture details, sponsor boards, welcome signs.

One hour before kick-off

• Greet the opposition. Show them to their changing room, point them to the bar, let them know the post-match arrangements. A visiting team that feels welcomed sets the tone for the whole afternoon.
• Greet the match officials. Changing room, hot drink, match fee. Treat them well - the referee society talks, and your club's reputation precedes you.
• Match day coordinator briefs volunteers. Who is where, who has the first aid kit, where the emergency action plan is posted.

Thirty minutes before kick-off

• Team sheets exchanged. Any registration queries resolved.
• PA announcement if you have one - welcome the visitors, mention sponsors, remind spectators of the club's code of conduct.
• Final check: post pads secure, flags in place, water bottles filled and on the bench.

During the match

• Keep the bar and tea open through halftime. Spectators on a cold December afternoon need a reason to stay.
• First aid officer remains pitch-side and visible, not covering another role.
• Record attendance - a headcount is fine. You need this for your constituent body reporting, grant applications, and facility negotiations.
• Photograph the fixture. One or two match action shots and a team photo for your website and social media.

Post-match

Rugby's post-match tradition is one of the sport's great strengths. Plan for it properly.

• Food served within thirty minutes of the final whistle. Players are hungry, cold, and won't wait long. If the food is late, people leave.
• Bar stays open for a minimum of two hours post-match. This is where your bar revenue comes from and where the social culture of your club lives.
• Speeches and presentations. Man of the match for both sides, any milestone appearances. Keep it brief - five minutes maximum. Long speeches empty a room faster than a fire alarm.
• Encourage mixing. The tradition of home and away players sharing a meal and a drink together is what separates rugby culture from many other sports. Foster it.

Pack-down

• Take down post pads, flags, and any temporary signage. Store post pads where they can dry - damp pads left in a bag develop mould and become unusable.
• Check changing rooms for left-behind kit. Collect lost property.
• Kitchen clean-down. Wash up, dispose of food waste, clean surfaces.
• Bar cashed up and stock reconciled.
• Lock everything. Final walk-round.
• Report maintenance issues - a quick message to the committee or grounds team.

Pitch safety for a contact sport

Pitch condition matters more in rugby than in most sports because of the contact element. A muddy pitch is normal. A waterlogged pitch with standing water in the scrum areas is dangerous. A frozen pitch is dangerous.

Your inspection checklist:

• Standing water. If water pools when you press your boot into the turf, the ground is waterlogged. Walk the scrum and ruck areas specifically - these are where players' heads are closest to the ground.
• Frost and ice. Test at 8am. If the surface is hard, it's unsafe for a contact sport. A pitch that thaws by noon may be playable by 2:30pm - but that requires a second inspection and a clear decision-making process.
• Debris and hazards. Glass, stones, metal objects. Dog fouling. Damage from vehicles that have crossed the pitch.
• Goal posts. Secure, padded, and not leaning. Loose posts in a line-out or around the try line are a serious injury risk.

The RFU's pitch safety guidance places responsibility on the home club. If a player is injured on a pitch that should have been called off, your club carries that liability.

Post-match catering: planning the food

This is the part that catches clubs out most often. The post-match meal is expected in rugby at every level, from colts to veterans, and it requires genuine planning.

Options by budget:

• Full hot meal. Chilli, curry, pie and mash, lasagne. Feeds thirty to forty people (both squads plus officials and committee). Requires a kitchen with oven and hob, a cook arriving three hours early, and a budget of £80–£120 per fixture.
• Buffet. Sandwiches, sausage rolls, crisps, fruit. Simpler to prepare, cheaper, and can be done with minimal kitchen facilities. Budget £40–£60.
• Chip shop run. Some clubs collect a pre-order and have someone pick up fish and chips. Low effort, universally popular, roughly £5–£6 per head.

Whichever option you choose, plan it on Wednesday, shop on Thursday or Friday, and have the cook or organiser confirmed by name. "We'll sort something out on the day" is how you end up with forty hungry players and a plate of stale crisps.

Volunteer roster structure

A sustainable match day needs fifteen to twenty volunteers in your rotation pool, each doing roughly one in four home fixtures. Here's the role breakdown:

| Role | People needed | Arrival time | |---|---|---| | Ground setup and pitch check | 2 | 3 hours before kick-off | | Kitchen and catering | 2–3 | 3 hours before kick-off | | Bar | 1–2 | 2 hours before kick-off | | Match day coordinator | 1 | 2 hours before kick-off | | Referee and visitor welcome | 1 | 1 hour before kick-off | | First aid | 1 | 30 minutes before kick-off | | Pack-down and clean-up | 2 | Stays after match |

The catering volunteers have the longest shift - potentially five or six hours from setup to clean-down. Rotate this role carefully. Nobody should be doing it every fortnight.

How TidyHQ helps with rugby match day planning

Rugby's match day is more complex than most sports because of the hospitality component. Managing a volunteer roster of twenty people across ten to fifteen home fixtures, with catering coordination on top of the standard setup duties, is a genuine administrative burden.

TidyHQ's event management lets you create each home fixture with specific volunteer roles attached. Volunteers sign up, receive reminders, and confirm - so by Wednesday you can see exactly who's covered and where the gaps are, without sending fifteen individual messages.

For clubs managing RFU affiliation, DBS records, and membership renewals alongside match day operations, having one place for everything means less time on administration and more time on the things that make Saturday worth turning up for.

FAQs

How far in advance should post-match catering be planned?

The menu and responsible person should be confirmed by Wednesday for a Saturday fixture. Shopping should happen by Friday. The cook needs to arrive at least three hours before kick-off for a hot meal. If you're doing a buffet, prep can start later, but ingredients should still be bought by Friday.

What do we do if the pitch is frozen on the morning of a match?

Have a named person inspect by 8am. If the surface is hard, it's unsafe for rugby. Communicate the decision to the opposition, match officials, and your league immediately. If conditions are borderline, agree a time for a second inspection - but err on the side of player safety. A postponed match is a nuisance. A neck injury from a tackle on frozen ground is a catastrophe.

How do we handle multiple teams playing on the same day?

Stagger your fixtures and your volunteer shifts. If the colts play at 11am and the firsts at 2:30pm, you need a morning crew and an afternoon crew - not the same people for eight hours. The match day coordinator oversees the full day, but each fixture has its own setup and pack-down responsibility.

References

• Rugby Football Union (RFU) - National governing body for rugby union in England, including club support and pitch safety guidance
• RFU Club Support - Resources for club committees covering governance, safeguarding, and operational guidance
• Club Matters - Sport England's free support programme for community sports clubs
• Rugby Football Foundation - Grants and loans for grassroots rugby union clubs
• Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) - HMRC guidance on CASC registration and tax reliefs for eligible clubs