Rugby Football Union
The theme this year is #kindness. See the video Kindness Matters
In these difficult times, we need to keep an eye out on our families, friends and teammates or clubmates.
Checkout the Keep your Boots on Health and Well-being page on the RFU website in the link
Webinar: VAT windfall reclaims currently available
Date & time – Thursday 30th April at 7pm
Rugby Club are benefiting from VAT repayment cash windfall claims. Working with Sports VAT Consultant, Russell Moore, rugby clubs have saved £4 million through VAT claims over the last 3 years. VAT claims can be made retrospectively for up to four years so can be substantial. Get your slice of the pie.
Sports VAT consultant, Russell Moore, who advises the RFU community clubs will explain what reliefs can potentially be applied and illustrate how to make a claim to HMRC.
Register for the webinar at: https://www.workcast.com/register?cpak=7238446645106682
Cornwall U20 Season & South West trials selection
Sadly Cornwall’s U20’s season ended with them unable to play their home quarter-final v Hertfordshire due to the coronavirus which led to the stoppage of all rugby by the RFU.
Cornwall’s season started in November with a team building afternoon kindly hosted by Truro RFC. This was followed by a number of training sessions and two warm up games before the Jason Leonard Cup the RFU’s U20 County Championship competition began in late January.
The first game’s result was a disappointment, losing to local rivals Devon at Ivybridge RFC. This was a reality check for the players with them being told in no uncertain terms by the coaches that lose the next game and we could face relegation for the first time from the top tier of this competition!
This rallied the players and after training in storm Ciara and Dennis it was on to face Berkshire at a wet and windy Camborne RFC. A great performance saw them win with a bonus point. Due to the other game in the pool ending in a draw, all 4 outcomes were possible from the last game.
The final pool game was all to play for and being Gloucestershire away at Dings RFC it was always going to be a hard fought game!! The lead swapped and momentum swung one way then another. With 15 minutes to go Cornwall were losing by 10 points and Berkshire were beating Devon, which if the results stood would result in Cornwall being relegated. The squad of 22 showed true grit, passion and pride in wearing the “Black and Gold” shirt to overcome the 10 point deficit to win by 4 points, earning a try bonus point to boot. The other game saw a win for Berkshire so Cornwall had gone from 3rd in the table to winning the pool and the right to a home quarterfinal v Hertfordshire. Unfortunately as they say the rest is history!!
South West trails selection
Every game is recorded and observed by selectors and of course the coaches. At the end of every game they get together and name a “team of the day” from 1 to 15. These teams and the match recordings are then sent to the South West management team and England counties management team. They collate all the information and watch the games before inviting players to the South West trials which can ultimately lead to England trials and the potential of an England counties shirt. This week the South West released the names and positions of players who would have attended the South West trials. Sadly due to the circumstances neither the South West nor the England trials will take place this season but it is great for the players to know they made the grade at that level.
11 Cornwall players from 7 different clubs were selected for the South West trials;-
3) Eliot Salt – Cardiff Met
4) Steele Barker – Penryn
5) Mawgan Osborne – Pirates Ams
6) Toby Osborne – Pirates Ams
7) Tom Spiers – Truro
8) Jack Wickham – Saltash
9) Ali Stacey – Redruth
10) James Tucker – St Austell
12) Isaak Welch – Truro
13) Ben Plummer – St Austell
13) Aaron Simmonds – Redruth
Congratulations to all of the players on their selection, but also commiserations, as they unfortunately are not able to display their skills at the next level. However 7 of the players are eligible next year so!
As the season ended abruptly it is also fitting to say a big thank you to everyone involved with the U20’s this season and of course the clubs and spectators who have supported us. Especially;-
All of the players who have been part of the enlarged squad
Coaches – Rich Kevern (Backs) Tyler Gendall (Forwards) assisted by Adam Kevern
Medical team – Dr John Garman, Sam West, Graham Ashton & Neville Curnow
Kit man – Paul Hurrell
Press & PR – Simon Bryant, David Burrows, Kevin Bishop, Elliot Trotman and Benjamin Eyriey
Management Board – For their support and guidance
Sponsors – O’Neills, Kelsall Steele Investment Services Ltd, Biffa, Booths Print, Brooks Macdonald, Trelawny’s Army.
2020 – 2021 Season begins
Work has already started to collate the 2020 – 2021 with regards to players. We have a number of players who are eligible from this season, a number transitioning from the U18’s. We will also write to all clubs in September asking for them to nominate suitable players and of course the management team will be out observing matches and players during the season to identify potential players.
The criteria for a player being eligible;-
Anybody who meets the criteria and wishes to be considered should initially contact the team manager Colin Hatch 07967725368 or hatch0348@btinternet.com
Finally everyone involved with the Cornwall U20’s would like to thank them for their support and encouragement and look forward to seeing you next season. In the meantime and during these difficult times please follow the government guidelines and “Stay Safe”
Colin Hatch Cornwall U20 Team Manager
Footnote. Colin Hatch, who wrote this article, also deserves a big thank you for all the hard work he does on behalf of the Under 20s. The CRFU are indebted to him.
Rugby clubs need to check to see if they are eligible, we would urge all clubs to check to see if they meet the criteria to receive this support.
County Hon. Sec Terry Williams has today written to all Club Secretaries advising them to check their club’s eligibility.
If your facilities have a ratable value, and you do not as a club pay any rates due to Small Business Rate Relief, you may well find that you are entitled to claim .
Do checkout the following link to see if your club can claim.
Application form to be completed on-line via Cornwall Council website in the link
The latest Safeguarding bulletin regarding DBS checks.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is running a webinar to help rugby clubs understand the support available to them from the union, the Government and Sport England regarding COVID-19.
The webinar will take place on Thursday 16 April, between 7-8pm, and you can register in advance for the webinar here.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. A programme of further club support webinars will be advertised shortly.
I hope you are all managing to cope with the current Covid situation and that your respective clubs are managing these unique times as best as they can.
Attached is a publication from the RFU which may prove to be of some assistance, especially when we embark on our return to play activities for next season. One concern is that players of all levels will have had a far longer close season than is the norm and therefore the return to match fitness will not be as simple as may otherwise be the case.
A further and probably more prescient worry is the mental wellbeing of our club members. All of us are experiencing concern over loved ones, personal isolation and the absence of the social stimulus that underpins our game. The mental well- being support is just as vital as the physical conditioning as we move towards the next season. As RugbySafe reps I would urge you to keep all the communications avenues as open as possible so that potential concerns can be identified early and managed before they become serious.
As ever, if there is anything I can do to help, please don’t hesitate to call.
Bob Hubble | CRFU RugbySafe Lead
rugbysafe@crfu.co.uk | 07980 600565
| Coronavirus (Covid-19) Update Please find below the fourth edition of our Coronavirus (Covid-19) update. We’ve launched a dedicated web portal on the England Rugby website, which you can find here, to help the rugby community access from one place the Coronavirus (Covid-19) information and updates available. This now includes a Club Support Guide. In addition, we’ve announced the final 2019/20 league positions and have obtained more information regarding the Sport England Community Emergency Fund. Eddie Jones has also sent a supportive message. More detailed information is available below. We will continue to provide regular updates to support our clubs through this communication. |
| RFU headlines Launch of Coronavirus (Covid-19) Website Portal Our dedicated Coronavirus (Covid-19) webpage will help the rugby community easily access all the information available during this period. Club Support Guide The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has already had a profound effect on our rugby community and, with great uncertainty as to how long the changes will last, the RFU has compiled a Club Support Guide. This includes tips and guidance on financial planning, how to mitigate any losses in revenue, accessing external funding, ideas to generate new income streams, mothballing facilities, communicating with members and volunteers and planning for the future when rugby opens once again. Final league tables Following the early end of the 2019-20 rugby season in England, we announced the decision reached regarding league positions for the professional and community game on Thursday 2 April 2020. The final league positions have been determined by awarding league points to a team’s remaining matches based on their home and away playing record in fixtures played up to the cancellation of the 2019-20 season (fixtures up to the 16 March). We have now published the final league positions for Men’s RFU Leagues (levels 3-12) and Women’s RFU Leagues (levels 2-5) and have provided a more detailed explanation of methodology used to conclude the season. Click here to read more. Emergency Loan Scheme Last week, we announced an emergency loan scheme for clubs. The online application process for the first round of loans will open on Monday and will be open until 30 April 2020. The scheme has been launched to support voting clubs impacted by Covid-19 in the immediate and short term (next few months) to ease cashflow and meet outstanding costs. Loans of between £2,000 and £10,000 are available to provide eligible clubs at league level 3 and below with financial support towards essential operational expenditure. These loans will be interest-free, repayable over a period of up to three years, with an opportunity to defer the first payment for up to six months. Please check the England Rugby website on Monday 6 April to access the online application portal and view supporting documents. Annual General Meetings Many clubs will have AGMs scheduled for the coming months, and some will already have sent out notices for those AGMs. The current government guidance on social distancing will mean that it is impossible to hold physical AGMs. To give some clarity to clubs, the RFU Regulations do not require clubs to hold AGMs by any particular date, or in any particular way. Any requirement to hold AGMs will be set out in a club’s constitution (their Articles of Association if the club is a company, or the club’s Rules if it is a Registered Society). Clubs may want to hold AGMs electronically, for example by conference call or video-conference. On Saturday 28 March, the government announced that there would be changes to legislation to give flexibility for companies required to hold AGMs by a certain date. It was stated that “this might include postponing or holding the AGM online, or by phone using only proxy voting”. If a club has not yet called its AGM, it may be appropriate to wait until this guidance is available before calling the AGM. Once further details of this legislation are known, further guidance can be given. Clubs may want to postpone their AGMs, although how this will impact on people’s appointment for specific time periods will depend on how the proposed legislation is drafted. Further guidance on the use of technology to hold AGMs will follow. If clubs have specific questions about holding AGMs until new guidance is available, they can contact the Legal Helpline on 0330 303 1877. |
| Other support packages Update on Sport England Community Emergency Fund Sport England announced earlier this week a £195 million package to help sport and physical activity through Coronavirus. This includes a new £20 million Community Emergency Fund which is open now for local club and community organisations to bid for grants between £300 and £10,000 – click here to read the article. We have now analysed what this could mean for rugby clubs – click here to find out more. |
| Clubs doing great things We continue to receive inspiring stories about the great work that is being undertaken to support local communities or to protect their own financial position. These will appear in weekly features on the England Rugby website. Many clubs are also staying connected with young players in a variety of ways. One has hosted a virtual tour, many are passing the ball digitally, or even the toilet roll, and one is running a short story competition for young members with the mayor reading the winners on local radio. Please email VeeMontebello@rfu.com or PatriciaMowbray@rfu.com to let us know about your club’s activities. |
| Other important updates Update on Payment of Player Declarations For clarity, please note that The Payment of Player declaration requires the declaration to be approved and minuted at a formal club meeting. For the purposes of the declaration, a formal club meeting can include a virtual/online meeting as well as a physical/in-person meeting. In relation to signing the declaration, a new system is in place for this season. Physical signatures are no longer required and all signatories can authorise the document online. Message from Eddie Jones “All the best to the rugby community for helping out. It’s a difficult time. “Obviously, the health of everyone is the most important thing but rugby is a game that has always espoused teamwork. One of the things we talk about with the England side is how to be a better team mate and I think now it’s how you become a better citizen.” Click here to listen to the full podcast. Message from Sarah Hunter to NHS Workers and the UK You can see Sarah Hunter’s message here. |
Just so all are aware local RFU staff in Area 1 have been Furloughed as part of the Government’s Job retention Scheme until the 31st May.
During this period Don Parsons, Jon Bendle, Jonny Stephenson & Matt Bray supported centrally by Dave Stubley & Ted Mitchell will be the RFU staff on the ground during this time.
If you have any queries that your local CB cannot deal with please contact Jonny in the usual way and he will filter through to the appropriate person.
Dave Saunter
Chairman CRFU
