Read the latest from Gemma Cobb, Communications Manager, Community Game .
Grassroots competition offers chance to tour with the British & Irish Lions in New Zealand
The British & Irish Lions have launched a grassroots programme called ‘Pick of the Pride’ to inspire a future generation of rugby players and help retain existing youth players in the game.
Four ambassadors aged 18 to 21 will be selected from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and travel to New Zealand to immerse themselves in the culture of New Zealand rugby, to understand the challenges facing youth rugby globally and establish a network with their counterparts. They will then bring their learnings back in order to share these with their own clubs and with other clubs in their region.
Know anyone at your club who should enter? Tell them to visit: www.Lionsrugby.com/Learning. Closing date is 16 April 2017.
Warrior Camps: great opportunity to grow women’s rugby at your club
In January, England Rugby launched, Meet your Inner Warrior, to attract more women into rugby. Approximately 1,500 women took part in over 107 Warrior Camps across the country with around 500 brand new players taking part. Click HERE to see some of the success stories.
We are running another set of 100 camps from May 12 -21 and then May 26 – 29 across the Bank Holiday weekend.
Warrior Camps are a great way for clubs to engage with women and girls across your community and we welcome clubs to create sessions which target women and girls.
You will receive national promotion through England Rugby’s Findrugby.com website including sign up options for new people, be a part of England Rugby’s national campaign that will run across our channels and receive access to the England Rugby Brand Centre to promote your sessions.
To register an Inner Warrior event:
Simply click HERE. This will take less than 10 minutes. You have a choice of 14 dates in May and they can be focused on women’s and / or girls’ recruitment.
All dates, times and venues MUST be confirmed by Wednesday 12th April 2017
For more guidance and assistance on how to create an Inner Warrior session at your club, please contact your local Women’s Rugby Development Officer.
Aviva Premiership Final and HSBC London Sevens
As another winning RBS 6 Nations ends for England and the England Sevens celebrate their victory at the Vancouver 7s and look ahead to Hong Kong, we’re encouraging rugby fans to celebrate their successes by booking a place at the HSBC London Sevens on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 May and the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final on Saturday 27 May.
Fans will have the chance to see some of the stars of Eddie Jones' squad as the top two teams battle it out for 2017 glory at the Aviva Premiership Final, while the HSBC London Sevens will showcase some of the world’s best sevens rugby talent. This year will be a Feast of Rugby, with Twickenham transformed into a food festival with great live music and entertainment both on and off the pitch.
HSBC London Sevens individual day tickets are available from £5 for juniors and £30 for adults, while the Aviva Premiership Final tickets start at just £15 for juniors and £30 for adults.
England Rugby Deals
England Rugby Deals have been busy out and about on the road. Almost 100 clubs have now booked visits with our cost-saving team. The savings identified from the 75 clubs are in excess £211,460, with an average saving per club of £2,800.
Feedback from Crowborough RFC who the RFU visited at the end of March said, ‘Thanks for coming not too onerous and very worthwhile’.
Help your club to save money and book your visit email support@englandrugbydeals.co.uk or visit www.englandrugbydeals.com.
Legal and Tax Helpline
The RFU has arranged helplines for clubs to obtain free advice on any legal or tax related matter, as well as online support for the creation of standard contracts and legal documents.
Legal & Tax Helpline: 0330 303 1877
Online Legal Documents
RFU clubs are provided with online support for the creation of legal documents. This service allows clubs to draft your own legal documents instantly, simply by answering a series of easy-to-answer questions.
Many documents are available free of charge, and include such things as:
•Employment agreement
•Consultancy agreement
•Website privacy policy
•Health and safety policy creator
•Agreement for the supply of goods
•Debt collection letters
To access the system click here. Clubs will need to register by entering the RFU clubs' voucher code - ARAG751BIZ.
The RFU's largest ever grassroots survey
Nearly 28,000 people completed the National Rugby Survey and Age Grade Player Surveys in 2016, the largest community rugby surveys of their kind. The RFU would like to thank all of those that took the time to give us their feedback, and would ask all clubs and CBs to pass on thanks to their members.
With responses from current and former players, match and club officials, as well as coaches, parents and supporters, we have been able to gain valuable insight into what motivates and drives different parts of the game across age groups, genders, playing and non-playing roles, and across all formats of the game.
The scale of the response demonstrates the level of commitment that exists to improve the grassroots game and reminds us - if we ever need it – who we are representing and what we are striving to achieve.
Among many other things we found that:
•General satisfaction with the game is high across all types of involvement with the game and a vast majority of people would recommend others to be involved in rugby.
•This is especially true for players, who have overwhelmingly said they would definitely recommend the game to family and friends.
•You see the RFUs biggest imperative as supporting grassroots clubs and growing the number of players, and we agree!
•You value rugby for its team spirit, alongside respect and sportsmanship, it’s team spirit that sets your game out from the rest.
•‘Social’ leagues and teams and formats where you can ‘turn up and play’ are top of the wish list for players struggling to find time for the game.
•There is a strong appetite in the women’s game to play more rugby, however there need to be more opportunities to play nearer where women live, with more teams and coaches.
•Winning is of limited importance to young people, they play the game for enjoyment and playing with their friends
•We know many of our age grade players don’t go on to play adult rugby, dropping out of the game when they leave school, or after university, hence our focus on transition and retention through youth to adult rugby.
There are lots of positives, but also areas where it is widely accepted the state of the grassroots game needs to improve. We are currently analysing the findings, we are listening, and ready to act where needed. More information will be made available to CBs over the coming months, where possible with relevant local data cuts.
The next wave of the survey will take place in May and we are particularly looking for feedback from players within the game. We will share details when this next phase goes live and would welcome any support you can in getting players to complete this.
From August, the National Rugby Survey and Age Grade Player surveys will be combined to maximise response rate, minimise impact on the game and ensure alignment on communication of findings and actions. We look forward to hearing from you all again then!
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