MIDDLESEX NOTES ON THE RFU COUNCIL MEETING Held at Twickenham Stadium 20 th April 2018 The meeting was chaired by the President, John Spencer. 1. CHIEF EXECUTIVE S REPORT Stephen Brown - Chief Executive Officer 1.1 East Stand Development Work is progressing on the East Stand and the facilities will be ready in time for the 2018 Autumn Internationals. 1.2 Stakeholder Engagement a. Meetings continue with key stakeholders within and beyond the game. Andy Cosslett and Steve Brown recently met the Sports Minister, who was very positive about the RFU, particularly in relation to its governance and diversity & inclusion agenda. b. The Union continues to support the comprehensive review of the strategy, governance and leadership of the Six Nations, which was undertaken by Ian Ritchie. 1.3 Executive Team a. Sue Day started as Chief Financial Officer on 26 th March 2018. b. In addition to continuing operational priories, the current focus of the Executive Team is on business planning for 2018/19. A significant piece of work is being undertaken to ensure the organisation is focussing on the work areas that add maximum value to the Union s strategic priorities. 2. PROFESSIONAL RUGBY Nigel Melville - Professional Rugby Director 2.1 6 Nations a. The performance of the England team in the 2018 Six Nations and the fifth placed finish was disappointing. b. Both the Women s and the Men s Under 20s finished second in their respective Six Nations competitions. 2.2 Sevens a. Both the Men s and the Women s Sevens squads won bronze medals at the recent Commonwealth Games. b. Sara Cox (one of the RFU professional referees) refereed the final of the Women s Sevens competition. c. Scotland, Wales and England met to discuss Team GB s programme for 2020, the qualification process will be led by the highest placed team on the HSBC World Sevens Series in 2017/18. This is likely to be England (Men and Women). If the GB team does not qualify through a top 4 finish in 2018/19 season, Team GB will then attempt to qualify Team GB through a Rugby Europe qualifying tournament 2.3 RFU Medical Services Following a comprehensive review of our medical support across the RFU, Dr Simon Kemp was appointed Medical Services Director, Simon will report to the Professional Rugby Director but oversee Medical Services across the whole organisation. Page 1 of 11
2.4 London Sevens (HSBC World Sevens Series) The Union has tendered to host the London Sevens for a further 4 years, negotiations are now underway with World Rugby regarding commercial terms before signing the Host Union Agreement. World Rugby have changed the commercial model to allow them to invest in the development of a second-tier tournament, women s series and increased participation fees at the expense of the host venues. 2.5 Global/Domestic Season RPA, PRL, the Championship Clubs and RFU continue to meet and discuss the Global/Domestic season structure. This is a complex issue, but all parties are committed to a solution that works for all parties, domestic/international, performance/commercial and player welfare. The PGB will present the final position to Council in June. 3. RUGBY DEVELOPMENT Steve Grainger - Rugby Development Director 3.1 Player Data a. Work continues on player tracking (player engagement) and this forms the core of partner discussions that are ongoing with IBM. b. Net growth in adult male teams at U14 and above is currently at 223 (52 adult, 51 U17/18 and 110 at U14-U16). Female net growth is at 74 (30 adult and 44 U15 and U18). 3.2 Strategic Plan Priorities a. Artificial Grass Pitches (AGP) i. 10 Rugby Turf AGP are fully operational. Work Continues on phase 3 projects to secure planning permissions, negotiate leases and complete pitch designs. ii. iii. Two Rugby Share sites are now operational. Following the withdrawal of Soccer Sixes as the commercial operator a new partnership has been agreed and signed with Play Football. b. Community Sevens offer i. Following the formal adoption of XRugby laws by World Rugby, implementation plans are progressing well for the commencement of activity at AGP sites and in Universities. ii. Dates and venues are confirmed for this season s SecureTrading 24/7s series. Over 40 qualifiers will take place from April to June with regional finals in June/July at Ealing, Plymouth, Birmingham and Leeds & the national final in Bath. c. Engaging new communities d e i. Women and girls numbers have now exceeded 30,000. This was announced on International Women s Day and received good coverage. ii. iii. Work on a disability action plan progresses and as part of this a symposium took place on 16 th March 2018 at Coventry, ahead of the Red Roses/U20 matches vs Ireland. The RFU supported the Sporting Equals British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards in March 2018. Age grade to Adult Transition Six university clusters have now appointed dedicated staff and 7,200 students and graduates contacted through a new University Leavers mechanism. World Rugby Project 15s The World Rugby Rugby Committee approved the recommendations (see Appendix 1) of the Project 15s Working Group (on which the RFU was represented by Steve Grainger) aimed at strengthening the community fifteen-a-side game. f. Injured Players Foundation (IPF) i. The IPF Board of Trustees met in February when they approved an updated risk management policy in line with the RFU approach and discussed the new GDPR and actions required to ensure compliance ahead of the May 2018 deadline. ii. A Large grant application was submitted to Try for Change funding; a decision is expected shortly. Page 2 of 11
g. Other Work i. Attendances at training courses (coaching, refereeing, medical and safeguarding) are strong YTD with over 20,000. Good use of technology also continues to be made with 14 Gamechangers released attracting an average view of 65,000 and a second Facebook live session featuring National Academy Coaches. ii. iii. iv. 11 CB age grade playing calendars have been approved to date, significantly ahead of this time last season. There are currently 433 O2 Touch centres with numbers standing at 22,500 registered players. Entries for this year s Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer of the Year Awards closed on 25 th February 2018 with over 1,600 nominations made. v. 27 facility projects are in development with 17 having been awarded grants of 781k to date towards a total project value of 3.25m. 4. DIGITAL, MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS (DMC) REPORT Joanna Manning-Cooper - Digital, Marketing and Communications Director 4.1 Both Six Nations matches were sold out, work is now underway on ticket marketing campaign for the Quilter Cup (v Barbarians) and the London Sevens. 4.2 The advertising agency tender process will begin shortly to select a lead agency for all RFU marketing work, including the community game campaigns. 4.3 Sales and marketing support for England Rugby Hospitality is now a priority. 4.4 The Sports Presentation review is underway, to tell the Game of Our Lives story at Twickenham on every match day. 4.5 Post tournament consumer research will be carried out to identify areas where spectator experience can be improved. 4.6 Social and digital channels continue to grow, especially video reach via Facebook Live. 4.7 More Live Streaming is planned to showcase the climax of the Tyrells Premier 15s season, and the Championship. 4.8 The New Media facility has been opened in the East Stand. 4.9 The Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance Project (PRISP) was published shortly after the Six Nations. 4.10 Full media support has been provided to Senior Men s and Women s teams, and men and women s U20s and Sevens teams competing in the Commonwealth Games. 5. COMMERCIAL REPORT Simon Massie-Taylor - Commercial Director 5.1 Sponsorship a. The new business pipeline is still solid with advanced conversations taking place in several business sectors categories. b. Positive renewal conversations are continuing with several sponsors. 5.2 Concerts The Rolling Stones concert on 19 th June 2018 has been announced. Alongside the two Eminem concerts (14 th & 15 th July 2018), this is the first time since 2007 that the stadium has hosted three concerts. The stadium is now firmly on the map as a major music venue. 5.3 World Rugby Museum The new World Rugby museum (relocated from the East Stand to the South-West corner) was launched on 2 nd February 2018. Since the reopening the museum had the highest number of visitors on record in February visitors. 5.4 Stadium a. An upgrade to the Spirit of Rugby has now been completed resulting in increased capacity. b. The Extended Perimeter project works (extending the perimeter to that used for the 2015 Rugby World Cup) will commence shortly with completion due by September 2018. Page 3 of 11
6. INTERNATIONAL REPORT Steve Brown - Chief Executive Officer 6.1 Rugby World Cup a. Steve Brown has been appointed a director of Rugby World Cup Limited. b. World Rugby is conducting a review of the process used to select the 2023 Rugby World Cup host to ascertain how the process can improve in the future. 6.2 World Rugby Rugby Committee a. The World Rugby Rugby Committee has discussed (1) the qualification process for the 2020 Olympics and (2) the hosting model for the 2021 Women s Rugby World Cup. b. Expressions of interests to host the Women s Rugby World Cup are being invited in May 2018, application information will be issued at the end of June with a deadline to return by the end of July. Evaluation of the bids will be completed by the end of September 2018 and a report will go to the Rugby World Cup Limited Board in October 2018. 6.3 Rugby Europe a. The Rugby Europe Sevens Committee is considering the format of the European Olympic qualification tournament and is in discussion with World Rugby on the issue. b. In addition, there have been stories in the press concerning the integrity of the Rugby World Cup qualification match played between Belgium and Spain. This is because the officiating team was Romanian and the fact that Spain lost the match meant Romania qualified for the Rugby World Cup. World Rugby and Rugby Europe are conducting investigations/reviews. 6.4 Six Nations The main issue for the Six Nations continues to be their Strategy and Governance Review. 6.5 European Professional Cup Rugby (EPCR) EPCR is considering moving away from the Champions League model (multiple sponsors at the same level) to having a title sponsor with other sponsors at a lower tier. 6.6 British & Irish Lions At the British & Irish Lions Board meeting in January the main two issues on the agenda were the implications of the Six Nations Strategy and Governance Review on the running of the Lions and the re-negotiation of the touring deal with SANZAAR. 7. FINANCE UPDATE Sue Day - Chief Financial Officer 7.1 The February financial results are in line with the budget. 7.2 Q3 figures (March 2018) are not yet available but will be impacted by the fifth-place finish in the Six Nations. 7.3 Borrowings remain on budget and within facility limits. 8. RATIFICATION OF THE WORLD RUGBY REPRESENTATIVE Dominic Proctor - Chairman of the Board Nominations Committee 8.1 Following World Rugby s decision that Unions with more votes than representatives could appoint another representative, provided that the representative was female, the Board Nominations Committee identified a suitable candidate and made a recommendation to the Board. 8.2 The unanimous recommendation was that DEBORAH GRIFFIN (currently the Women & Girls Representative on Council) be appointed and this was approved by the Board on 28 th March 2018. 8.3 Council RATIFIED this decision and recommends that the Members do likewise at the 2018 AGM. 8.4 Deborah Griffin will now stand down as Women and Girls Representative and a new Women & Girls Representative will be sought. 9. SIX NATIONS REPRESENTATIVE Dominic Proctor Chairman of the Board Nominations Committee Following the resignation of Jonathan Webb as one of the two RFU s Six Nations Representative, the Board Nominations Committee has undertaken the search for a replacement and unanimously recommended to the Board that JASON LEONARD be appointed. This appointment was approved by the Board on 28 th March 2018. Page 4 of 11
10. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING CALLING NOTICE 10.1 The meeting APPROVED the Calling Notice for the 2018 Annual General Meeting. 10.2 The Annual General Meeting will be held at Cowdray Hall, Cavendish Square, London on Friday 8 th June 2018 at 5.00pm. 10.3 The Calling Notice will be distributed by email, but those Clubs that wish to receive hard copy will be able to request to do so. This will have significant time and cost savings for the Union. 11. RUGBY FOOTBALL REFEREES UNION CONSTITUTION The meeting APPROVED the constitution of the Rugby Football Referees Union. 12. CHAIRMAN S REPORT Andy Cosslett - Chairman of the Board 12.1 Professional Game Board a. Under the Professional Game Agreement (PGA), Jeff Blackett s term as PGB Chairman ends this summer. A new Chairman will be selected by the PGB following a recommendation from the PGB Nominations Committee. b. As Jeff Blackett will no longer be PGB Chairman he will be standing down from the PGB and thus the RFU Board. c. A new PGB representative on the RFU Board is being sought. 12.2 Diversity & Inclusion Working Group The D&I Working Group and started work and progress is being made. 12.3 CB Roadshows The CB Roadshows are currently being planned. The Non-Executive Directors have indicated that they plan to attend as many as possible. 12.4 Premier Rugby Limited (PRL) PRL has appointed Ian Ritchie as its Chairman. 13. COMMUNITY GAME BOARD REPORT Rob Briers - Chairman of the Community Game Board 13.1 Business Planning Work continues Business Planning. Detailed work has been undertaken on programme projections over a 5-year period and this shows good headroom in the latter years, particularly in the Rugby Growth and Education areas. 13.2 Council member/cb engagement a. Rob Briers and Steve Grainger informally met Council members around both the Scotland and Ireland Six Nations games. A total of 33 members attended across the two meetings and a useful exchange of ideas/issues took place. b. Based on discussions at the above meetings an update on CGB/Rugby Development work streams/priorities will be regularly circulated to Council members. c. Dates and locations have been set and communicated for the annual summer round of CB engagement dinners. These will be held through May and June 2018. 13.3 Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs) A presentation will be made to the June Council meeting on the AGP project. 14. NATIONAL RUGBY SURVEY (NRS) Steve Grainger - Rugby Development Director 14.1 The NRS is was started in 2016 and is now carried out twice a year. 14.2 NRS2 was carried out in the Autumn of 2017 and NRS3 is currently being carried out. 14.3 The aim is to have a minimum of 10k respondents for each survey. Over 20k responded to NRS2. 14.4 The NRS provides vital information as to the health of the game and the attitude and priorities of its key stakeholders in the Community game, which will be used to determine strategies to address issues and reinforce strengths. 14.5 Ireland, Scotland & Wales are also using the NRS and comparator sessions are planned. Page 5 of 11
15. PLAYER DEVELOPMENT UPDATE David Ewing - Chairman of the Player Development Sub Committee 15.1 Council was given an insight into, and an update on, the work of the Player Development Sub Committee. 15.2 Player Development is a sub-committee of the CGB 15.3 Player Development is currently focussing on three main areas: a. Developing the Player Pathway ~ Having a clear progression from Club to CB into Centres of Excellence and England programmes. b. Women & Girls Pathway ~ Creating a pathway through CBs to the Tyrells 15s teams. c. Aspirational Pathway ~ England Counties Under 18s ~ England Counties Under 20s ~ England Counties ~ England Students 16. COMPETITION DEVELOPMENT UPDATE Jim Chapman - Chairman of the Competition Sub Committee 16.1 Council was given an insight into, and an update on, the work of the Competition Development Sub Committee. 16.2 Competition Development is a sub-committee of the CGB. 16.3 The aim of competition development is to advise the CGB as to optimal competition structures and playing opportunities in the men & women s game at Level 3 and below. 16.4 Current work includes: a. Women s playing offer b. Lower XV competitions c. Deregulation d. County Championship e. Off-shore travel f. RFU Cups 17. TICKETING STRATEGY & PRICING Simon Massie-Taylor - Commercial Director 17.1 Simon Massie-Taylor presented the proposed ticketing strategy and prices for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, which have been approved by the International Ticketing Sub Committee. 17.2 Council considered and debated the proposals. 17.3 The Board will now consider the comments made by Council and set the ticketing strategy and prices for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons. It is hoped that the strategy and pricing will be announced shortly. 18. GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS (GDPR) Angus Bujalski - Legal and Governance Director 18.1 Angus Bujalski updated Council on the General Data Protection Regulations that come into effect on 25 th May 2018. These regulations will affect all Clubs. 18.2 The GDPR build on existing regulations and are aimed at protecting the privacy of personal data. 18.3 Clubs will have to be aware of what personal data they are collecting, what they are using it for and how it is stored. 18.4 It is important that Clubs only collect data needed to run the Club and that data is deleted when no longer required or when instructed to do so by the owner. 18.5 The regulations are complex and not easy to understand, but it is important that all Clubs consider the implications and take the necessary steps to ensure that they comply. Page 6 of 11
18.6 The RFU has produced a toolkit to assist Clubs, which can be accessed at englandrugby.com/gdpr. 18.7 Further information can be found at the Information Commission s Office website (ico.org.uk). 19. PROFESSIONAL GAME BOARD (PGB) REPORT Jeff Blackett - Chairman of the Professional Game Board 19.1 Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance (PRISP) Report. The PRISP report has been published and has been a focus of the PGB. The PGB has developed and announced an action plan to mitigate injury risk in the English professional game (the key points are included in Appendix 2) 19.2 England Performance Review The PGB has reviewed the performance of the England team in the 2018 Six Nations and a report will be circulated to the Board in due course. This is normal business, in that a review is carried out after every Six Nations, summer tour and Autumn series 19.3 Season Structure Constructive discussions have continued on the season structure and a recommendation will be put to the Boards of Premier Rugby Limited (PRL) and the RFU shortly. 20. GOVERNANCE STANDING COMMITTEE REPORT Chris Cuthbertson - Chair of the Governance Standing Committee 20.1 Regulations 20.2 Laws a. Governance has now agreed the Payment of Player regulations and these will be published shortly. b. Work is continuing on the annual review of regulations, including a comprehensive rewrite of Regulation 15 (Age Grade Rugby). Proposed changes will be put to the June Council meeting. a. The Laws Sub Committee has reviewed the impact of the Global Law Trials (GLTs) and has recommended that the Union supports their adoption into Law. The review consisted of consideration of the technical analysis produced by World Rugby, technical analysis of the Aviva Premiership, the World Rugby Survey and the RFU s own survey. b. The World Rugby Laws Review Group has also supported the adoption and the World Rugby Rugby Committee is now considering whether to recommend their adoption into Law to the World Rugby Council (which meets in May 2018), which will make the final decision. 20.3 Supplements Governance continues to consider the Union s policy on the taking of supplements. 20.4 Sub Committees Work continues to review how the Competition Development Sub Committee (which reports to the CGB) and the Adult Competition Management Sub Committee (which reports to Governance) are working effectively together for the benefit of the game. 21. INSOLVENCY REGULATIONS (Chris Cuthbertson - Chair of the Governance Standing Committee & Angus Bujalski Legal & Governance Director) 21.1 There has been criticism that Clubs that have gone into administration have been allowed to reform and keep their league position. Some have done so without appearing to suffer a meaningful sporting sanction. 21.2 Governance considered two proposals (1) automatic relegation and (2) amended points deduction. 21.3 Governance felt that any action should be (1) meaningful and (2) offer no advantage as to the timing of the administration. 21.4 Whilst automatic relegation was initially thought to be very attractive it would create if the administration occurred in the off-season. In this happened it would be known that the Club would be relegated before any matches had been played and this could affect the integrity of the competition and hinder the long-term recovery of the Club. 21.5 Governance is therefore recommending an enhanced points deduction as this can be applied at any time of the year. Page 7 of 11
21.6 The proposal is shown in Appendix 3). 21.7 The proposal will apply to all levels of the game (including Premiership & Championship). 21.8 Council was asked to submit their comments to Angus Bujalski for consideration by Governance. Governance will then draw up the regulations and submit them to Council for approval. The next Council meeting is on 8 th June 2018 at Cowdray Hall, Cavendish Square, London Chris Cuthbertson & Rob Udwin 27 th April 2018 These notes are our personal recollections of the meeting and include those matters which we believe will be of interest to Middlesex Clubs. No attempt has been made to convey all the opinions expressed during the debates. Page 8 of 11
APPENDIX 1 WORLD RUGBY PROJECT 15s WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS KEY POINTS 1. Promote a global philosophy of 'Game On' (getting matches played, based on the Welsh Rugby Union model of flexing regulations to suit those players who turn up). Support this by creating materials and advocating adoption by member unions to increase participation 2. Enable unions to select which laws apply to levels of the community game by renaming the U19 law variations "Domestic variations" and inspiring and permitting unions to apply them to all participation levels of the domestic game. Further amendments to the scrum, tackle, game time and substitution laws should also be considered. 3. Drive participation, interest and engagement in club and community fifteen-a-side rugby by investing in specialist in-house expertise to build global digital strategies in partnership with global technology platforms (e.g. Facebook). 4. Show strong leadership, and expand funding, of research and surveying into injury levels with the aim of future proofing and protecting the game. 5. Review Education and Training materials and delivery, ensuring these focus on increasing participation 6. Recognising the impact of the professional game on the community game, work with professional rugby to positively celebrate good, and remove inappropriate, behaviour. 7. Future proof the game by investing in specialist expertise in innovation, staying ahead of the other sports and partnering with others. 8. Ensure a continued focus is placed on implementation of the recommendations and that future proofing of the community game remains a priority by maintaining a working group on the community fifteen-a-side game through to at least 2021 with bi-annual reporting to the Rugby Committee. Page 9 of 11
APPENDIX 2 PROFESSIONAL RUGBY INJURY SURVEILLANCE PROJECT REPORT KEY POINTS 1. Laws: For the English professional game to work collaboratively with World Rugby on an ongoing review of the laws and all injury risk, with a specific focus on reducing the incidence of concussion in the tackle and consideration of a reduction to the current legal height of the tackle. 2. Law application: The PGB has commissioned analysis of referee decision making in the English professional game to determine if the increased tackle sanction brought in by World Rugby from 1 January 2017 is being consistently applied. An ongoing review of all dangerous/late tackle cards, penalties and omissions identified in the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons will be completed in the summer of 2018. 3. Player load: Continue to work with the PGB Sports Science Advisory Group and Medical Advisory Group to advise on optimal match, training and life loads for players, as well as club squad size and composition to allow individualised player management. The PGB has already commissioned two studies in the area of player load and injury risk: a study at Cardiff Metropolitan University looking at Psychological Load began in September 2017 and a study at the University of Bath exploring the associations between training and match load and injury risk which began in September 2014. Regular updates and recommendations will be provided to the PGB. 4. Training injury risk: The PGB has commissioned further analysis on the current training volumes and contact exposure in the Premiership. All data and evidence in relation to contact in training will be shared in a series of facilitated workshops and discussion with Premiership and England coaches, players and conditioners during the Summer of 2018 to seek their feedback with a view to developing greater consensus and understanding on the optimal training session content and the role that contact training and training on different surface types may have on modifying injury risk in training and matches. 5. Concussion risk in the tackle: Work with World Rugby to facilitate a workshop with PRL and England coaches and players to identify technical changes which may be possible in the tackle but deliver optimised ball carrying and tackling with minimal risk of head contact. 6. Resources (personnel capacity): Benchmark and audit medical, conditioning and performance resources across Premiership clubs and England representative teams to establish if sufficient personnel capacity is in place to allow for best practice management and consequently to mitigate injury risk. 7. Game analysis and injury risk: Develop an additional dedicated game event analysis resource, which will be in operation for the 2018/19 season, which allows better understanding of the changes in game activity and the interaction between game events and injury risk. A PGB project group has been formed to discuss how this should be implemented and taken forward. This group will outline the aims and objectives of the game analysis function going forward and it will establish the key metrics for analysis and how they need to be coded. 8. Artificial grass pitch risk in the elite game: The PGB has commissioned further independent analysis on different injury types and the relative risk of these on AGP in the elite game compared with natural turf. This will be included in the next PRISP report as part of the independent analysis led by the University of Bath. Page 10 of 11
APPENDIX 3 INSOLVENCY REGULATIONS PROPOSAL KEY POINTS 1. If a Club enters insolvency there will be an immediate points deduction 2. If this causes the Club to be relegated, there is no further points deduction 3. If the Club would have been relegated anyway, there will be an additional points deduction in following season 4. If Club is not relegated, then there will be an additional deduction in the following season 5. The Club cannot be promoted in the season it that enters insolvency 6. In the following season the Club must abide by a salary cap. Notes #1 The points deduction is still to be agreed but will be a percentage of total points available in the leagues at Levels 3 to 5. #2 The number of points to be deducted are currently being discussed with PRL and the Championship. Page 11 of 11