If I had turned up to a rugby match wearing gloves as a youngster in the 80s I would have been carried off to the nearest football pitch, but, since they were popularised by England’s world cup winning team in 2003, they have become widely accepted in the rugby community.
Do rugby players wear gloves?
The vast majority of rugby players do not wear gloves, however it is not illegal. Famous players such as Brian O’Driscoll, Matt Dawson, Steve Thompson and Taine Randall have all worn gloves at some point throughout their careers.
Players may choose to wear gloves if they believe it enhances the grip they have on the ball and they may be especially inclined to wear them in wet conditions. The try scored below by Brian O’Driscoll led him to later tweet that he would have knocked it on and not scored if he had not had his rugby gloves on!
Interestingly though, he stopped wearing them shortly thereafter.
We can’t all play like Brian O’Driscoll but at least we can wear the same gloves as him, these would be my pick:
What are the rules for rugby gloves?
Rugby players are allowed to wear fingerless mitts that do not cover past the outer finger joint, or go further down than the wrist. They must be made of soft material and not be more than 1mm thick, or include any potentially dangerous items such as buttons or zips.
Essentially, this means that you have to buy gloves that are designed and made specifically for rugby players. Gilbert, Optimum and Kooga are the main rugby brands that sell gloves and you should buy from these brands as they are made with the guidelines in mind.
You can find the official rules regarding rugby gloves here which confirms what I have said above and you might also enjoy reading: Equipment Needed For Rugby: 29 Essential Items Costed
Are rugby gloves banned?
Gloves that cover the entire length of the fingers are banned in rugby. However, ‘mitts’ which finish at the last finger joint and are essentially fingerless mitts are not banned.
The confusion is when people refer to ‘fingerless mitts’ as gloves which puts the image of a fully covered hand in people’s head which is not what is actually allowed.
Also read: Are Gumshields Optional?
Why do players not wear gloves anymore?
At the time of writing, it has become quite rare to see rugby players wearing gloves despite their general acceptance. I believe that through experience players have found them to not provide any real enhanced grip or improvement in performance.
In fact, this is backed up by a study from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2012 which reported:
“Gloves are not of significant use when one wants to perform better in rugby, because both hands tested already have a high coefficient of friction.”
– Melbourne Institute of Technology (source)
In other words, the ball is generally held in two hands which is pretty secure so if you can get two hands to a pass, a pick up off the floor or a high ball then gloves are not really going to make any difference it is the two hands that do.
Not everyone agrees though, back in 2002 All Black skipper Taine Randall was quoted as saying:
“It’s personal choice, no team rule. But the fingerless gloves are fantastic, magic. They actually improve in the wet. I’ll use them all the time but some players will only use them in certain conditions.”
Well, the fad didn’t really last much longer, although, he was proven to be right in that fingerless mitts made from silicon or with silicon dimples on the palm were proven to improve grip in the wet.
Another important conclusion to be drawn is that the silicon gloves are performing better in dry conditions and the leather gloves slightly better in the wet.
– Melbourne Institute of Technology
Personally, I don’t even believe this to be true despite what the study says. For instance, at the 2019 rugby world cup in Japan, humidity was around 21%, which ensured players were dripping with sweat and were essentially soaking wet from start to finish of the game.
Despite these wet conditions players still chose not to wear rugby gloves and this is even after rugby gloves had already been accepted as being ‘okay’ to wear by the rugby public a decade ago. It seems to me that they are just not worth the hassle.
I actually believe that having any sort of material on your hand and fingers will inevitably cause a loss of feeling and touch which is necessary to have for those deft off loads, subtle pick ups and the feel of the ball when weighting a long pass.
I think the difference with players wearing rugby gloves in the early 2,000s was perhaps that forwards were not expected to pass and handle like they are today. Famously Leicester Tigers forward.
Recommended reading: 14 History facts Every Rugby Fan Should Know
How do rugby players keep their hands warm?
Rugby players keep their hands warm through continuous movement and physical activity ensuring that blood is pumped to the hands and other extremities to maintain their warmth.
In my experience gloves do nothing to improve the warmth of the hands whilst playing rugby for a variety of reasons. Firstly, gloves become wet through sweat, mud, or rain very frequently during rugby matches which actually draws warmth out of the hand. Add in wind chill and you can be doing more harm than good.
Having said that, children may benefit from wearing rugby gloves and they could even get away with full length gloves that cover the entire length of the fingers in training. These would be my choice, made by a rugby brand and reasonably priced:
Even in matches, if the weather is especially cold then why not ask your child’s coach to make an agreement with the opposition coach that full length gloves are allowed. After all, we want to be encouraging in participation and so long as the gloves aren’t dangerous then Personally I see that as good option.
Obviously, in adult/professional rugby it is still mitts only – no matter how cold! If you’ve got this far, you might also enjoy reading The Rules For Rugby Boots Made Simple.
Rugby Gloves Advice
My general advice to rugby players with cold hands though would be to get more involved. Go and get your hands on the ball, run some more supporting lines, get involved at ruck time and try and get your hands on the ball. Doing this will help keep the blood flowing but also take your mind off your cold hands – a double bonus!
Seriously though, if you do find yourself freezing out on the wing then you can try putting your hands under your armpits and clenching and unclenching them in order to try and generate some warmth.
Overall, it is down to the individual to decide if wearing rugby gloves is for them or not. For some people, the lack of genuine feel for the ball may result in a perceived lack of control where as other people may enjoy the enhanced grip when the ball is in the palm of the glove. Try it them for yourself and see if they are for you or not.
Suggested reading: Are Rugby Shirts Business Casual?
Photo Credits:
Robbie Paul attacks the line for New Zealand in 2002 Rjp13, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
