The next
meeting of RFU Council is on Friday 14th June, 2019 this will be
followed by the RFU AGM. Both meetings will be at Cowdray Hall which is in
Cavendish Square in London. Community
Game Board next meets in May (8th/9th) part of this will
be a joint CGB with counterparts from Ireland, Scotland & Wales
RFU Council – met on Friday, April 12th
at Twickenham and turned into a very long meeting. A lot of meeting time was
taken up with internal Council business but highlights were :
·
Francis Baron – as previously reported Council took
the unprecedented step of removing Mr Baron’s Privileged Membership following
his report which questioned RFU Finances. This matter keeps rumbling on with
threats of legal action still pending. Part of the discussion centred around
the verbatim transcript which is taken at every Council Meeting. A small group
will examine whether this should remain.
·
Council Survey – a survey had been carried out
regarding Council business and the time spent by Council Members (who are all
volunteers and receive no payments from the RFU other than reimbursement of
expenses). Most council Members spend between 26 and 50 days per. year carrying
out their functions and, in the current economic climate, a considerable debate
examined how Council could become more efficient and, at the same time, reduce
its expenditure. A Working Group will be established to examine some of the
matters brought up in the debate (e.g. better use of technology, moving
Council/Sub-Committee meetings away from Twickenham etc.)
·
Finance – continues to be central to RFU
matters and all clubs will have, by now, received notification of reductions in
budgets for the 2019-20 season. Both Ted and Jim are happy to discuss why these
reductions have been made but basically RFU Finances are dependent on four
things :
·
Broadcast
Rights – the subject of re-negotiation and much discussion around global
agreements
·
Tickets – the
main source of income for the RFU
·
Entertainment –
with the opening of the East Stand the RFU needs to maximise the hospitality
enjoyed by many prior to international (and other) matches
·
Sponsorship –
and area under increasing strain with Companies reluctant to enter into long
term agreements and also looking to streamline current agreements.
All of this has
meant that budgets have returned to levels they were at 5 years ago, with the
Community Budget set at around £28.5m for the coming season.
Both Council
and CGB will continue to monitor budgets closely ( Jim Chapman, who sits on CGB
estimates that they have spent in excess of 36 hours this year talking and
examining budgets) with an aim to maximising the effect of budget on the
Community Game.
·
Rewards and Recognition Working Group – has met frequently throughout the
year with an initial brief to look at how Council Members are rewarded and
recognised for the contribution they make to the workings of the RFU. This became slightly subverted during the
course of the year and began to look at the costs associated, in particular,
with attendance at International Fixtures. A large number of motions were
placed before Council which, for instance, means that only 1/3 of Council can
attend away fixtures during the 6 Nations. Again, if anyone requires full
details Ted or Jim can discuss these.
·
Tyrell’s Premiership 15s – the first four year cycle, during
which no promotion or relegations has taken place, comes to and end next season
and Council received a presentation from the Women’s Performance Management
Group regarding the possibilities for clubs at the end of the 2019/20 season. The views of Council will be factored in to
firm proposals that will come back to Council in June for decision.
·
Nominations – presented its report to Council and
proposed :
President – Peter Wheeler
Senior Vice President - HHJ Jeff Blackett (Co-Opted)
Junior Vice President – Nigel Gillingham (Gloucestershire)
Immediate Past President – Chris Kelly (Schools)
Additionally, Wing Commander Peter Whiting (RAF)
was nominated as a Board Member for three years commencing in August 2019
·
Council Code of Conduct – a Working Group under the
Chairmanship of ex-President Paul Murphy reported back to Council on work they
had done to establish a Code of Conduct for Council Members. This was adopted
by Council by a substantial majority. The Code of Conduct will, soon, be
available from the RFU website.
·
Women’s Six Nations – Nicky Ponsford and Simon Middleton
presented to Council on the recent, very successful 6 Nations. The focus now
moves to building on that success next season and preparations for the 2021 World
Cup in New Zealand.
·
Community Rugby – Steve Grainger reported on the latest
Sport England, Active People Survey.
This is a telephone survey that asks people about their “involvement” in
sport. Once again, the survey has seen a decline in the number of people
involved in team sports. Only ourselves and Basketball have been designated as
“no change”, all other sports are designated as “in decline”. The emphasis is still on what may be described
as “individual activity” (i.e. gym attendance/walking/cycling) rather than
involvement with team sports.
·
Governance – the main item was changes to
Regulation to allow the “Game On” initiative to be launched. “Game On” (of
which more to come) is an attempt to allow games to be played “outside” or with
reduced regulation (mainly at 2nd XV level and below). It has been
successfully trialled in both Wales and Ireland and will be introduced in
England in preparation for next season.
More details about “Game On” will follow.
Payment of Players – a reminder that Payment of Players
Declarations need to be completed and submitted via the RFU website prior to 30th
June. This applies to ALL clubs at level 3 (National 1) and below
regardless whether players receive payments or material benefits. Full details
of how to complete and submit the declaration are available on the RFU website
and clubs have already been given details in the Community Game Update (March
2019) which is sent to every club. Failure to complete the Declaration could
result in losing RFU Benefits (e.g. Travel Payments, RFF Loans etc). If you
have any questions regarding the Declaration you should, in the first instance,
contact your local RDO
Activities in April
(Jim Chapman)
|
Date
|
|
|
04
|
Competitions Development Sub-Committee (Twickenham)
|
|
11
|
Presentation on World Rugby Global League and
Television Rights Strategy (Twickenham)
|
|
12
|
RFU Council (Twickenham)
|
|
16
|
YRFU Competitions Sub-Committee (County Office)
|
|
17
|
Yorkshire Cup Final – Sheffield v Sandal (Morley
RFC)
|
|
27
|
Yorkshire Silver Trophy final – Yarnbury v Wetherby
(Ripon RUFC)
|
Activities in April
(Ted Atkinson)
|
Date
|
|
|
01
|
YRFU Committee (Acklam RUFC)
|
|
03
|
Area 6 Forum (Headlam Hall, Darlington)
|
|
10
|
East Yorkshire District S-C (Beverley RUFC)
|
|
11
|
Presentation on World Rugby Global League and
Television Rights Strategy (Twickenham)
|
|
12
|
RFU Council (Twickenham)
|
|
13
|
Presenting NCA Cup (Hull Ionians)
|
|
14
|
England Students v France Universities (Chester
RUFC)
|
|
17
|
Player Development Sub-Committee
|
|
18
|
Meeting with Dean Ryan (RFU, Head of International
Player Development)
|
|
27
|
Presenting Nationla Div 2 North Trophy to Hull
Ionians (Sheffield Tigers RUFC)
|
Ted Atkinson & Jim Chapman
April 2019
