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During an England training session, Ellis Genge (centre), Max Malins and Luke Cowan–Dickie in December
Rugby union will reduce contact training to protect players' welfare and prevent injuries.
After research that showed that training is the most common way for injuries to occur, World Rugby has decided to limit full-contact training at 15 minutes per week.
Six hundred players from 18 competitions were interviewed, as well as strength and conditioning specialists and coaches.
World Rugby boss Alan Gilpin stated that this reflects the World Rugby's ambition to improve welfare for all players.
Joe Schmidt, World Rugby's director of high performance and rugby, and ex-Ireland head coach, said: "Training has played an increasingly important role in injury prevention and performance.
"While full-contact training is less common than most people think, we hope that coaches and players will be more informed by having a central set to guide them on key considerations when making contact during training."
While training methods vary between teams and competitions however, players feedback indicated that they were being trained for an average of 21 minutes per Week of full-contact training. However, it is possible that some players could train up to 140 minutes per week.
After being diagnosed with early-onset dementia, a group of ex-players are taking legal action against the governing body. They have also led calls for reducing physical activity away from match-days.
World Rugby hopes to limit "controlled contact" training to 40 minutes per week. Set-piece training will be limited to 30 minutes.
World Rugby does not require the use of these guidelines. Stuart Lancaster, the Leinster senior coach, acted as consultant throughout the process and pointed out the benefits a lower training load can bring to performance.
Lancaster stated that coaches have a responsibility for making the game as safe and secure as possible for their players. "Optimising training is a key component in reaching that goal for coaches." To ensure that players are healthy, fit and ready for match day, it is crucial that we don't overload our contact loads throughout the week.
The governing body will review and monitor the implementation of the guidance to determine its impact on injury rates. World Rugby figures suggest that limits on training loads may soon be required and teams will be obliged to adhere to the guidelines to participate in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
"It would be our intention to certainly write it into terms of participation for future Rugby World Cups," stated Mark Harrington (World Rugby director of technical service).
"It's a guideline, but it is not a rigid one for the moment. But I believe that it will grow in time."
