World Rugby, the global union for the sport, published a new series of guidelines on Friday 9 October preventing transgender women competing at the highest levels of the game on the basis it is a ‘safety risk’ to other players. Dr Araba Chintoh, who headed the review of the guidelines, stands by the decision, saying: “We set out to determine whether it would be possible to maintain inclusion in contact rugby based on the available research and evidence and rugby’s unique context of combining strength, power, speed and endurance in a physical, collision environment.”They continued “as we progressed through a comprehensive and inclusive review, it became clear there are compelling evidenced safety considerations which we simply cannot.