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Community game & covid-19 updates from the RFU

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 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.

Update regarding RFU staff in Area 1

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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

CRFU Operation Support

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In these testing times when our actions must be to follow government advice and stay in whenever possible rugby is probably not top of our priorities, however when the lockdown is lifted it will be part of the healing process. Our clubs will need to be ready to get back in action as soon as possible so that all our players, from Taggers through to first teams, can get back on the turf.

With this in mind both the RFU and now CRFU have been working on  rescue packages for any of our clubs with financial worries. I would like to announce one of these, with the RFU allowing us to use the final tranch of LRP to directly help clubs, a sum of £13k, the CRFU are going to add £12K to this, making £25k in total available to any clubs who need our help.

For CRFU grants in the first instance please contact the county secretary Terry Williams at terry344@sky.com and he will set out the criteria clubs will need to meet to qualify for help. Criteria in PDF file in link. The RFU have also have  other loans, schemes etc available, and this information can be found at www.englandrugby.com .

These are tough times for us all above all else stay safe follow advice and I look forward to seeing you all when we come out the other side.

Regards Saunts Chairman CRFU

Available Government Schemes

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CORONA VIRUS, COVID-19

There are various government schemes to assist with employment costs and the club’s accountancy firms should advise you of what those are. If you do not have that support then you may contact Georgina Finnegan, Chair of CRFU Finance and Governance Committee, and she will send you links to the HMRC website or assist you as she can.

Also, if you need advice regarding employment she can put you in touch with employment law specialists who usually give their first hour free of charge.

Her email address is: georgyfinn@hotmail.co.uk

New update from Bill Sweeney

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 Message from RFU Chief Executive Bill Sweeney

My thoughts and those of all of us at the RFU continue to be with everyone impacted by the difficult and exceptional situation we are all facing, both across the country and within our own rugby union community.


Earlier today we held a virtual board meeting and I am writing to advise you of the actions that have been agreed to offer a support package directly funded from the RFU worth £7m to provide support for community clubs in England.


Impact


To support clubs we are today announcing that the RFU will be providing a £7m relief package for community clubs. The package includes monies ring fenced and diverted for the community game, as well as additional funding. These measures include:


• An early release of £800,000 cash due to clubs through the ticketing fund. 


• Early release of final funding payments (£600,000) to Constituent Bodies and suspension of the activity plans against which this was allocated, enabling them to utilise this to provide “immediate support grants” to clubs most in need. In addition, £400,000 will be made available to Constituent Bodies who elect to match funds from their own reserves.


• A suspension of the Quarterly loan repayments for clubs with outstanding loans due in April (£335,000). 


• The creation of a £5m support loans programme, offering loans of between circa £2,000 and circa £10,000 to clubs, with deferred payments for six months and repayable over three years. 


We will be providing more details on this financial package in the coming week. We will also be issuing regular club recovery updates with practical advice on how government grants can be accessed, as well as other business management advice.


We welcome government interventions which will provide business rate holidays and grants for clubs.


The RFU will continue to provide a free helpline to assist clubs with legal and tax related matters, which you can access here.


Significant progress has been made on the process for considering the implications of ending the season early. We will ensure a fair and balanced outcome for the game and are now committed to update on this by the middle of April.


No one can predict every possible outcome of the COVID-19 outbreak particularly with regard to the duration of this crisis and we are managing in the unknown. We have modelled three potential scenarios and are working on an assumption based on a medium term impact with a view to a return to rugby in the autumn. We will continue to monitor against this assumption and review and revise planning where necessary.


The RFU had budgeted for a loss making year within a four year cycle due to the costs of the 2019 RWC campaign and hosting only two home Six Nations games. The loss will now be considerably more as we face challenges similar to businesses across the country. 


The RFU’s biggest asset is also a major cost and the closure of Twickenham Stadium has a significant impact on the revenues we can generate to re-invest back into the game. In that sense we are like every other club in the Union, when we do not stage matches and events we do not generate revenue.


Based on our planning assumption we estimate RFU revenue losses over the next 18 months to be approximately £45-£50 million and have a firm plan in place to mitigate this. The RFU Executive Team will be taking a cut in remuneration in excess of 25%. In addition, combined Board fees will be reduced by 75%.


Welfare


We are continuing our support to ensure colleagues and communities are given help to follow government advice and are providing recommendations on how to stay fit and healthy and a range of new content will be made available to players and fans across our social media channels.



We are discussing with government and the NHS the role the RFU and Twickenham Stadium can play in providing volunteers as well as support for the NHS including accommodation, parking, and meal provisioning. 



I am confident that rugby will play a big role in energising communities across England after this difficult period. In the meantime, we are working hard with the wider rugby community to take the necessary measures to safeguard a financially resilient Union so that we can prioritise support available to ensure survival in the best interests of the game.



Bill Sweeney

Terry Pryor – RIP

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It is with great saddness that Cornwall RFU has learned of the passing of former county captain Terry Pryor.

Pryor (pictured above when captaining Cornwall) played for Cornwall on 55 occassions, captaining the Duchy during the 1977-78 season.

Pryor, a fine prop, played in a front row containing Stack Stevens and John Trevorrow at hooker, through the mid to late seventies.

A Redruth man, he captained his club in their centenary year in 1975.

An England trialist and replacement, Pryor captained England B on their tour to Romania in 1978.

He was also a Barbarian and played for the South West Counties in 1975 against Australia on the old County Ground in Exeter. Pryor and Stevens proped whilst Devon’s John Lockyer hooked.

Pryor went on to be an outstanding coach, mentoring the likes of Phil Vickery and Trevor Woodman.

Apart from Redruth he coached at Penryn and St. Austell and was involved with the county side.

A charming man, always had time for a chat, he will be sadly missed.

Everyone at the CRFU will wish to express their most sincerest and heartfelt condolences to Terry’s family and friends.

Funeral details will be published on the website when known.

Message from CRFU Chairman

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Over the last few days various clubs have been asking how we as a County can help.  The management board will continue to weigh up all options. This will include advice like the attached and any other important information we can share. We will be discussing over the weekend if and how we support financially.   Hopefully we will hear from the RFU on what they propose. In the meantime please stay safe, and if you have any questions my mobile is 07554010480.

Saunts  Chairman CRFU

RFU end season

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Message from RFU Chief Executive Bill Sweeney
My thoughts and those of all of us at the RFU are with everyone impacted by COVID-19 as well as recent flooding events, both across the country at large but also within our own rugby union community.



In order to provide clarity and to assist with immediate and longer term planning, the RFU is today announcing the end of the 2019/20 rugby season for all league, cup and county rugby in England. The only exception to this is the Gallagher Premiership, who we are in active discussions with to review possible best next steps.



When current government advice on social distancing measures changes, we will naturally encourage rugby training and friendlies to recommence. 



I would like to personally thank everyone for their swift actions in suspending rugby activity, this is not an easy time and I know many of you will have concerns that go beyond the game. 



We are working through the implications of ending the season early and have instigated a thorough process to ensure fair and balanced outcomes for the game. We will communicate these outcomes by the middle of April. While we would like to provide all the answers now, we need some time to get it right for the best interests of the game. Rest assured we are working on this as a priority and we will continue to send weekly updates to clubs. 



The three areas of focus for the RFU right now are Welfare, Implications and Reboot. 



Welfare



We are ensuring colleagues and communities are given support to follow government advice and are providing recommendations on how to stay fit and healthy using individual training programmes. We are also talking to government about how we can deploy and mobilise our own resources across England to support the vulnerable.



Implications



Every union is different, with unique structures and challenges and the RFU needs to manage its own particular complexities. Our business model is similar to most rugby clubs – we earn revenue from events on and off the field and we invest that back into the game. We benefit from strong Twickenham Stadium revenues but we are also exposed if there is widespread cancellation of games and events. 



In this extraordinary situation we are working through a range of potential financial scenarios dependent mainly on the length of this crisis. This was already budgeted to be a loss making year within a 4 year cycle due to the costs of the 2019 RWC campaign and only hosting two home Six Nations games. The loss will now be considerably more as we face challenges similar to businesses across the entire country. There may well also be much longer term financial implications which we are assessing now. It is therefore taking us some time to develop a considered position on how we can support clubs and the rugby community, which we will do.



We have already undertaken financial measures to safeguard the business enabling us to review all options and programmes to provide support for clubs in these difficult times. 



We welcome the measures announced by Government which could provide crucial support to professional and community clubs and the RFU. We are in regular contact with Sport England and The Sport and Recreation Alliance to understand how business rate relief and hardship funds can be accessed by clubs and will be providing assistance to make sure every club who is eligible will be supported.  



The implications for all areas of rugby will be thoroughly worked through and solutions discussed and developed with the clubs.



Reboot 



Our welfare advice before the start of next season will switch to offering guidance on how players at all levels can reboot and get match ready. 



We will work closely with constituent bodies to support clubs, competition organisers and the wider rugby community in preparing to re-start rugby in what is likely to be a challenging environment. 



In recent days we have all been inspired by the many stories across the rugby family working together to support those who are the most vulnerable in their community – this encapsulates the unique spirit of rugby. I am confident that this spirit and resilience during these tough times will ensure we will come through this together and emerge stronger.



Take care and stay safe,



Bill Sweeney

Club’s Forum – Postponed

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Please note, the Club’s Forum scheduled to be held at Camborne RFC on Thursday 9th April has been postponed.

Club secretaries and reps have been informed by e-mail by the Hon. Secretary.

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