IRFU confirms transgender women will be banned from female contact rugby competitions

In a statement issued this afternoon, the IRFU said the decision was based on medical evidence and follows world rugby guidance.

This means contact rugby for players in the female category will be limited to those whose sex was recorded as female at birth.

Two registered players in Ireland will be impacted by the rule change and the IRFU said it is working with those affected by “including options to remain active in the game, such as non-contact playing formats, refereeing, coaching, and volunteering”.

Transgender men will continue to compete in the male category if they provide written consent and a risk assessment is carried out.

“The IRFU is keenly aware that this is a sensitive and challenging area for those involved and the wider LGBT+ community and will continue to work with those impacted, providing support to ensure their ongoing involvement with the game,” the statement reads.

“Recent peer reviewed research provides evidence that there are physical differences between those people whose sex was assigned as male and those as female at birth, and advantages in strength, stamina and physique brought about by male puberty are significant and retained even after testosterone suppression.

“The IRFU has spoken to players we are permitted to contact directly and will work with them to support on-going participation in the sport”.

Anne Marie Hughes, Spirit of Rugby Manager, who has worked on policy development in this area, said the IRFU is “committed to inclusivity” and has worked with the players and other groups in the LGBT+ community to explain that this change is based solely on new research related to safety.

“This is a particularly sensitive area, and it is important that respect is shown to all members of our rugby family and the wider community,” she said.

“We continue to stand with the LGBT+ community, and while we accept that today some may feel disappointed in this decision, we want to again underline to them – there is a place for everyone in rugby, and we can all work together.”

It follows a similar decision by the English RFU, which said it was banning the participation of transgender women from competing in female contact games after evidence showed the “advantages in strength, stamina and physique brought about male puberty are significant and retained even after testosterone suppression”.

In its updated policy document, the IRFU said it has “endeavoured to strike the difficult balance between both safety and fairness and inclusion”.

Players are only permitted to play in the women’s category if the sex that was originally recorded at birth was female and hormone treatment has not commenced. A transgender man may continue to play female rugby provided no hormone treatment has commenced.

The previous policy used testosterone low levels as a measure to allow transgender women to participate, but the IRFU said several advances in recent studies confirm that only small reductions in strength and lean body mass with no loss in bone mass are seen after twelve months of testosterone suppression in trans women who undergo typical medical interventions.

The International Rugby League also recently announced that transgender women cannot compete in women’s international rugby league matches, including the World Cup which begins in October.

A spokesperson for Emerald Warriors RFC, Ireland’s first LGBTG+ inclusive rugby team, previously said it was “gravely concerned” about such a change, adding: “There is a risk that the fallout and repercussions of any policy change will accelerate into other sports and transphobia overall.”