The next
meeting of RFU Council is on Friday 12th April 2019. Community Game
Board continues to meet on a regular basis. The next formal meeting is on
Thursday, 7th March
Take a Bow, Yorkshire !! – Well done to all who attended the
England Women v France Women at Doncaster…… you’re World Beaters !! This was a record crowd for a paid
international with 4,674 tickets sold.
The French often get 19/20,000 spectators at matches but this is mainly
due to lots of tickets which are given away to school parties etc. The crowd at
Doncaster certainly played their part as England ran out 41-26 winners. France have, traditionally, been one of the
toughest opponents in the Women’s 6 Nations but were really put to the sword
with an outstanding display from the Red Roses.
Is it too early to start thinking about a Grand Slam ?
CGB Business Planning – As all will be aware RFU Budgets are
currently under scrutiny and both Professional Game Board and Community Game
Board have been working hard in attempting to provide workable budgets for next
season. In total some £6.8m needed to be trimmed from the budget. This has led
to some very hard decisions being made on behalf of both Game Boards. Work is
still on-going but will need to be finalised by April when budgets will be
presented to the RFU Board. Final details will be announced when they are
known.
New CEO !! – you will have seen in the Press that
the RFU have recently announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive
Officer to succeed Steve Brown. Bill
Sweeney is currently CEO of the British Olympics Association and proved to be
an outstanding candidate for the RFU role. In addition to his involvement with
the BOA he has a keen interest in rugby and has a background in sportswear. Currently, the RFU are in negotiations
regarding release from his current role. Nigel Melville will continue as
Interim CEO until Bill makes his move.
At the same
time it has been announced that Joanna Manning-Cooper will be leaving her role
as Director of Digital, Marketing and Communication around Easter to take up a
new post at Sky. We wish her well.
RFU Council – the last meeting of Council was on
Friday, 8th February in the East Stand at Twickenham. Brief
highlights were :
·
The half game
rule was formally adopted as an RFU Regulation from September 2019
·
Council had a
(long) presentation on current Finances. Despite what you may have heard in the
Press the RFU is still a very sound organisation financially. However, revenues
are causing some concerns and, under the leadership of CFO Sue Day, expenditure
needs to be tightly controlled and all aspects of the organisation have been
asked to reduce budget (see above). The final budget will be announced at the
April Council Meeting. Council was also
informed that broadcast rights are due for renewal for both 6 Nations and
Autumn Internationals. This was going to be a difficult process.
·
A transgender
policy was formally adopted by Council
·
Appointments –
Both Dominic Proctor and Jonathan Webb were re-appointed to the positions of
Independent Non-Executive Director and World Rugby Representative respectively. Both appointments were for a term of 3 years.
Council Recognition & Rewards
Review Group – under the
Chairmanship of Malcolm Caird (Surrey) this group has met over the past months
to consider what rewards and recognition should be given to Council
Members. This has been prompted by
budgetary constraints but also a need to consider what is right and proper for
an organisation in the 21st Century. It also co-incides with a
review of 6 Nations protocols such as the provision of a Committee Dinner the
evening before a match, pre and post-match hospitality etc. As part of their
work the group has also outlined the roles and responsibilities of a Council
Member.
The group still has further work to conclude and will bring formal
proposals to the June Council Meeting but, in general, it will recommend :
·
Grouping of
sub-committee meetings, working groups etc. around international fixtures to
reduce travel burdens
·
Greater use of
technology (e.g. conference calls/video conferencing) again, to reduce travel
burdens
·
Reduction in
the number of Council Members who can attend away internationals and
surrounding functions.
·
Specific,
mandated attendance at games other than men’s senior internationals (e.g. U20s,
Women’s internationals)
Council Code of Conduct – following the removal of privileges from
certain individuals Council has established a group to draw up a Code of
Conduct for Council Members, Past-Presidents and Priveleged Members. This group is under the Chairmanship of Paul
Murphy (Past-President) and will report to the April Council Meeting.
Tyrell’s XVs/Women’s Premiership – the Women’s Performance Management
Group put forward a number of proposals for year 4 (currently we are in year 3
of the competitions)of the Women’s Premiership. Foremost amongst these was the
requirement that promotion be based on a combination of performance and audit
and that the opportunity for promotion be on a tri-annual basis This was
rejected by Council and the WPMG will
now re-convene to reconsider the position.
Nominations Committee – Council approved the recommendation
of the Committee that Nigel Gillingham (Gloucestershire) be appointed as Junior
Vice President for 01/08/2019. They have also been working on criteria for
Priveleged Membership. This is a recognition of exceptional service to the
Union and carries with it certain rights (e.g. the opportunity to attend home
internationals). Detailed recommendations will be forthcoming including the
change of title to Distinguished Member and time limits (10 years) on privileges.
Activities in February
(Jim Chapman)
Date
|
|
01
|
Ireland Women vs England Women (Donnybrook Stadium)
|
02
|
Meeting with Board Directors (Westbury Hotel,
Dublin)
Community Game Board (Westbury Hotel, Dublin)
Ireland vs England (Aviva Stadium)
|
04
|
YRFU Committee (County Office)
|
05
|
North DOC (Skipton RUFC)
|
07
|
North Leagues Working Group (Twickenham)
Interview with RFU Nominations Panel (Twickenham)
|
08
|
RFU Council (Twickenham)
|
10
|
England Women v France (Doncaster RFC)
|
14
|
Competitions Development Sub-Committee (Twickenham)
|
23
|
Community Game Board (Hilton Hotel, Cardiff)
Wales v England (Cardiff)
|
Activities in February
(Ted Atkinson)
Date
|
|
07
|
Meeting with CEO
|
08
|
RFU Council (Twickenham)
|
10
|
England v France (Twickenham)
|
23
|
Wales v England (Cardiff)
|
Ted Atkinson & Jim Chapman
February 2019
