Support available for your club!

Volunteers

If you are looking for hints and tips on how to find and recruit new volunteers, support current volunteers, or recognise the great work that they are doing find out more by visiting the volunteer section of the England Rugby website (opens in a new tab)

GMS Support Trainers

Our small network of GMS support trainers are available to provide training, support and guidance to clubs and Constituent Bodies on key topics within the Game Management System (GMS).

They have in-depth knowledge of the GMS platform which is our primary platform to support the administration of rugby union.

To express interest in receiving a support session click here.(opens in a new tab)

The Club Management Health Check 

The Club Management Health Check is an online self-assessment tool designed to help rugby clubs review their Business Operations and Club Management areas, and can be found on the England Rugby website. (opens in a new tab)

Completing the tool will be a collaborative effort from across the club using the knowledge from club volunteers and staff (where appropriate) who are responsible for the relevant area, which are:

Club Management 

  • Policies & Procedures
  • People
  • Structure, Standards & Conduct
  • Communications

Business Operations 

  • Strategy & Vision
  • People & Premises
  • Communications & Marketing
  • Finance & Commercial

After completing the Health Check, clubs receive a customised action plan, with links to a large range of helpful resources, which can be saved and downloaded to share with relevant club committee members.

Howden Risk Assessment Tool

As part of a club’s Regulation 9 responsibilities, they must complete an annual first aid risk assessment. It should be reviewed/updated each season between the beginning of July and the end of September.

To support clubs and rugby activity organisers with this responsibility, the RFU have worked with Howden, the RFU insurance broker, to produce a risk assessment tool for clubs to use.

The Howden Risk Assessment Tool(opens in a new tab) is now integrated into the RFU Game Management System (GMS). To access, please go to the GMS login page (opens in a new tab) and login using your individual GMS details.

Please note: Individuals need GMS Level 3 or above to access the risk assessment tool via their club’s organisational profile.

The following video provides a step-by-step guide on how to access the risk assessment tool via GMS.

GMS-Howden Risk Assessment Tool Explainer(opens in a new tab)

Further off field club support

The RFU provides various ‘off field club support’ services – many of which are free.

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    Guidance on legal or tax matters for clubs is provided by England Rugby’s Official Legal partner, Irwin Mitchell, via the Legal & Tax Helpline: 0333 010033. Plus, there are a wide range of online legal documents available free of charge, on the Irwin Mitchell Legal Documents Portal(opens in a new tab).

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    For entertainment licensing, including premises licenses, club premises certificates and gambling, we operate the free specialist Alcohol (& Gambling) licensing Helpline 0115 934 9177 in partnership with Poppleston Allen Licensing Solicitors. For VAT support contact Russell Moore, a former partner at a leading sports advisory accountants. The first 30 minutes of advice is free to clubs with any additional services provided at greatly reduced rates. Either call Russell on 07710 329317 or email russellmoore@sportsvat.co.uk(opens in a new tab).

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    Did you know the RFU automatically provides member clubs with insurance for various third-party claims? The cover includes: Public Liability Insurance, Professional Indemnity Insurance, Employers Liability, Directors and Officers Liability – find out more at the Howden website(opens in a new tab) (official insurance broker for RFU Clubs).

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    Has your club used the online self-assessment health check tool(opens in a new tab) yet? This is designed to help clubs better understand their relative strengths and development for their ‘off field’ areas. Once completed, the tool provides a bespoke action plan.