Page 19 - RFU Annual Report 2018

1
CEO’S REVIEW
OF THE YEAR

7

The challenge has been to keep new With specific focus on college
teams on board, met by offering greater recruitment, and young players from
support to clubs who increased teams different ethnic backgrounds, ten
last year. different events took place nationwide
during the summer.
Both England Counties and England
Counties U20s finished their summer Project Rugby, operated in partnership
fixtures unbeaten, with tours of Romania with Premier Rugby, recently received
and Georgia respectively. praise from the Minister for Sport for
reaching out to those traditionally under-
The growth in our women’s game, since represented in rugby. It has seen around
launching our Women and Girls Action 13,000 involved and a 22% transition
Plan last November, now sees more than to clubs from young people who may
have previously felt the game was not
32,000 registered female players for them.
and 91 new teams.
This year we created a Diversity and
Almost 500 Inner Warrior Camps took Inclusion Working Group to grow
place, with more than eight thousand rugby via new and under-represented
women attending. The programme won audiences. We have also worked
National Inspiring Initiative of the Year with the Activity Alliance, towards
from the Women’s Sports Trust. introducing a Disability Action Plan.

The Gill Burns Division 1 County Attracting and keeping young players
Championship final became the first continues to be key and this has been a
RFU women’s community match played milestone season for Age Grade Rugby
at Twickenham and, with Yorkshire which encompasses our Quilter Kids
running out victors over Surrey, was a First work.
great celebration of women’s grassroots
rugby. Clubs, schools, coaches and
parents have signed up to drive
The new format XRugby, having been the best game possible for
tested in England in conjunction with players under the age of 18
World Rugby and approved onto the
law book, has already proved popular and we now have over 1,000 Kids First
at universities. XRugby 7s will feature pledge clubs and schools, and more
at eight AGPs, with qualified coaches than 2,000 coaches signed up to the Age
already recruited. Grade Codes of Practice. The Under 19
Commission’s key recommendations,
Widening our playing base and including the Half Game Rule, are now
audience remains an imperative and being implemented.
Secure Trading 24Sevens aimed to
engage 12,000 players and 800 teams Our first phase of CBRE All Schools and
at over 40 local qualifiers, with four linked clubs are now completing their
regional play offs and a national final. sixth year and
Using England Rugby social media
channels and involving England Sevens we are close to achieving our
players to generate interest brought ambition of 750 new state
a healthy number of team entries and secondaries playing the game.
national finals with teams from the 350 more 15-a-side teams have
Tyrells Premiership 15s and Super been created in these schools
Sevens Series competing in the elite tier. over the past two years.
O2 Touch has been tremendously In all 26 teams entered the U18s
popular with some 23,500 people Champions Trophy this season, with
registered at 437 centres, of which 26% new additions adding to the strength of
are female. the competition.

Annual
Report
2018