The International Rugby League said it would prohibit transgender women from playing in women’s international rugby matches.
The England-based International Rugby League governs the 13-a-side game established in 1908 and played mainly in northern England, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.
Rugby union, the original, primarily 15-a-side game governed by the Dublin, Ireland-based World Rugby, does not allow transgender women to play in women's competition. International rugby union guidelines state the reason being: “Because of the size, force- and power-producing advantages conferred by testosterone during puberty and adolescence, and the resultant player welfare risks this creates.”FINA, the international swimming federation, adopted a new “gender inclusion policy” on Sunday that only permits swimmers who transitioned before age 12 to compete in women’s events.
FINA also proposed an “open competition category" in international swimming and said it was setting up a working group to spend the next six months investigating the most effective way of establishing it.The International Cycling Union last week updated its eligibility rules for transgender athletes with stricter limits that will force riders to wait longer before they can compete by increasing the transition period on low testosterone levels to two years rather than one.