Rugby Atlas · Starting rugby
For a new player, or a parent of one
Starting rugby: what you actually need
Most kit lists are written by someone selling you the kit, so everything on them is essential. This one separates what you cannot play without, what your club decides, and what is genuinely optional. Every price is the lowest we have verified on a retailer or maker page, not an estimate.
- Two essentials, about £61
- Everything on this page, about £136
- Prices last checked 2026-09-05
The checklist
Rugby boots differ from football boots mainly in the plate and the stud pattern, and forwards often want an eight-stud soft-ground plate for scrummaging grip.
The one decision that matters is the surface. Soft ground (SG) is for wet winter grass and takes longer metal studs. Firm ground (FG) is for dry or hard pitches. Artificial ground (AG) is for 3G. Buying the wrong plate is the common first mistake, and a club playing on 3G will usually say so.
Cheapest we have verified: Gilbert Sidestep Icon 8S at £53.99. Compare all 53 →
A gum shield and a mouthguard are the same thing. It is the cheapest item on this list and the one most clubs will ask about before contact training starts.
Fit is the whole decision. A boil-and-bite guard is moulded at home in hot water and is the standard club choice. A custom guard is made from a dental impression, costs more, and stays put better. A guard that moves does not protect.
Cheapest we have verified: OPRO Bronze Mouthguard - Black at £6.99. Compare all 18 →
A scrum cap and a headguard are the same item: players say scrum cap, makers and World Rugby say headguard. It is designed to prevent cuts, abrasions and cauliflower ear.
It is not concussion protection, and no maker we track claims it is. World Rugby Regulation 12 governs the padding a headguard may use, and we show that status only where the maker or a stockist states it in words we could read.
Cheapest we have verified: Canterbury Core Headguard at £28.95. Compare all 18 →
Shoulder pads and body armour are thin padded vests worn under the shirt.
Regulation 12 caps how thick and how dense the padding may be, and a referee can refuse padding that does not comply. Very few makers state that compliance in writing, which is worth knowing before you buy on the strength of the marketing.
Cheapest we have verified: Body Armour Tech Vest at £34.99. Compare all 18 →
A club supplies match and training balls, so this is only for practising at home.
Size is by age: size 3 for the youngest, size 4 in the middle years, size 5 from roughly under-15 and above. Sizes are what makers state, so check your age group with the club.
Cheapest we have verified: Canterbury Thrillseeker Play Rugby Ball (Black/Red) at £10.99. Compare all 32 →
What your club decides, and we do not
Whether a mouthguard is required before contact, what studs are allowed on the pitch you play on, and which age group takes which ball size are all the club's call, and they vary. We publish what makers and retailers state about their products. We do not publish a rulebook we have not read, so on anything that starts "is it compulsory", ask the club. Every club page here carries a contact route for exactly that.
One thing worth being straight about: 8 of the 18 scrum caps we track state World Rugby Regulation 12 compliance in words we could read on a page, and 1 of the 18 shoulder pads do. A blank means the maker did not say, not that an item fails the standard.
Find a club first
None of this matters until there is somewhere to play. We track 1178 UK rugby clubs with their grounds, contact details and, where the club publishes them, training nights and age groups. The location check runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.