An update on our commitments to the community game

Dear all,

Earlier this year we set out a plan to strengthen and grow rugby across England and to deepen our commitment to much better engagement with our community game.

These commitments were shaped by your feedback, and we want to update you on the progress we’ve made so far and where we’re heading next.

Continued Growth of the Community Game

The Women’s Rugby World Cup was a huge success for our amazing Red Roses and should also provide a long-term boost for our community game. Across the tournament, over 41,000 people used the improved FindRugby system to find local events and clubs, and registrations of age grade girls continues to grow positively. Through activity days run by clubs and RugbyFest events, thousands of new, young players were engaged with the game of rugby at the start of the season, ensuring that the momentum the Red Roses generated did not go to waste.

The continued growth of rugby in schools, colleges and clubs remains at the heart of our commitments. Last season over 1,800 schools were introduced to rugby and this season we will be taking rugby to nearly 3,000 schools thanks to the new 20 School Rugby Managers (SRM) that have been part funded by the RFU, taking the total to 60 with more to follow in the years ahead.

On top of this we’re gathering key insights into player development from Universities and Academies to inform the future of our game to target the growth and retention of players at University level.

Our partnerships with Scouts, Girlguides and leisure providers have also been extended for another year, and we’d encourage any clubs to reach out to their local group and explore options for partnership. We’re delighted that through this scheme; 70,000 young people have been exposed to rugby and 50% of clubs have partnered with their local groups.

Grassroots rugby is of course about more than just the players, and this summer more than 2,000 coaches attended coach development workshops, with lots of growth through the 14-18 age bracket. Off the back of this, we now have 100 clubs receiving specialist coach developer mentoring support throughout this season. You’ll shortly be seeing more content across England Rugby channels about the impact of this programme and how your club can engage.

Governance Reform

The Governance and Representation Review Group, established by the RFU Council in 2023, set out to ensure that the RFU’s governance structures are fit for the future — that they reflect the modern game, represent all parts of our rugby community, and enable clear, effective decision-making. These are all areas when we toured the country on our last roadshows, that you told us you wanted to see change in.

Over the past year, the Group has listened to feedback from Council, Constituent Bodies, Clubs, and a range of other stakeholders to understand how best to strengthen the way the game is represented and how decisions are made on your behalf.

With this first phase of work now complete, Malcolm Wharton CBE has stepped down as Chair, having led the review process and delivered its recommendations. We’d like to thank Malcolm and all members of the Group for their thoughtful and thorough work.

The Group, led by James Cook (Council Member & Council-Elected Board Member), will take the recommendations (a summary of which you can read here) forward for further discussion, refinement, and practical planning.

Their goal is to produce final proposals to be considered by Council — and ultimately by the wider RFU membership — before the end of the season.

This work is a vital step in making sure our governance continues to serve the whole rugby community effectively, ensuring that everyone in the game has a strong voice and that the RFU remains transparent, accountable, and representative for the future.

Reducing Administrative Burden

We also know how important it is to reduce the administrative burden around running your clubs and activities and allow you to focus on the game itself.

That’s why we launched Single Sign-On this summer across the Game Management System and the England Rugby website, have continued to simplify registration processes, improved the Electronic Match Card usability on a mobile device and expanded Game User Groups to ensure your voices are heard.

These improvements are already making a difference, and further enhancements will continue through next season.

Better Communication

A key part of our pledge to you eight months ago was to strengthen two-way communication and stay more closely connected to the community game. We’re pleased to say we’re building on that promise — with more people, more channels, and more opportunities to hear from you.

This season we’re taking the conversation out to the game through roadshows, webinars, and regular visits from our Executive Team. We’ll release details through upcoming Community Game Updates, please do take the time to join us.

We’re also adding resource to this area to make sure we can respond faster, share updates more regularly, and celebrate more of the brilliant work happening across the community game

And very shortly, we’ll be launching our new community rugby Instagram account — your go-to place for news, highlights, and updates from across the grassroots game. Make sure to give it a follow and stay connected!

Modernising Competitions

We know the structure and length of our competitions is something the game as a whole is passionate about and it’s been great to hear from over 500 of you at our Competitions Engagement sessions just this week.

This season, in response to feedback you gave, in the men’s game we’ve made changes to National and Regional level playoffs and to the National Cup, whilst in the women’s game we’ve made changes to accommodate the further growth in women’s teams.

This is only the start, and we’ll continue to listen closely to the game as we aim to modernise and simplify competitions to make them work for the whole game.

Investing in Community Club Infrastructure and Improving Financial Sustainability

Finally, we’ll share more information at the end of the current season about options for a major loan scheme for clubs, ensuring we continue to invest in Community Club infrastructure.

There’s still much more to do, but together we are laying the foundations for a stronger and sustainable future for rugby. As ever, thank you for your input and passion for the game that continues to guide us every step of the way.

Bill Sweeney, CEO, Rugby Football Union