ANNUAL REPORT 2020 JUNE 2021 2020 ANNUAL REPORT CONTENTS 3 | FROM THE CHAIR 28 | TOUGHING IT OUT Simon Johnson reflects on a challenging year How Covid-19 drove a wrecking ball through the community game calendar 5 | NO PERFECT SOLUTIONS Ralph Rimmer on how the sport refused to stand still 30 | HOLDING THE MOMENTUM or be beaten Women’s and girls’ Rugby League hits the pause button 8 | THE PANDEMIC UNFOLDS 31 | HAPPY BIRTHDAY Key dates in the sport’s battle with Covid-19 Celebrating 125 years of Rugby League 10 | NUMBERING UP 32 | RFL ROLL OF HONOUR The story of a momentous year by numbers Individuals recognised for outstanding service to Rugby League 13 | A SEASON LIKE NO OTHER The grandest finish to a Super League Grand Final 33 | FROM THE PALACE TO THE PEOPLE Building towards the greatest Rugby League 16 | INSURMOUNTABLE ODDS World Cup of all Why the Championship and League 1 season was little more than a postscript 35 | PROTECT AND SURVIVE An important year for the Safeguarding team 17 | THE MAGNIFICENT 7S Rob Burrow’s old squad number wins the day 38 | A SPORT FOR ALL at Wembley Tackle It takes on discrimination in all its forms 19 | WANE’S VIRTUAL WORLD 39 | COVID-19: THE OFFICIAL RESPONSE England’s new coach takes the online approach How the Match Officials grew in both number and stature 21 | PLAYING IT TOUGH 41 | BEHIND CLOSED DOORS How RL Cares had the backs of the The Events team re-invents its role playing community 42 | SUPPORTING THE WHOLE 23 | READY TO RETURN RUGBY LEAGUE FAMILY Fans have their say on the post-Covid response The sport’s charities show the sport at its finest 24 | MEMBERS ON THE MARCH 44 | THE ROLE OF THE RFL The growing success of OurLeague How the RFL continues to apply the principles of good governance 25 | UNSWERVING COMMITMENT How partnerships and commercial links strengthened 46 | FINANCIAL MATTERS The RFL’s consolidated accounts in full 26 | COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS Rugby League underlines why it’s more than a sport 52 | PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENTS Meet Clare, Carl and Mike 27 | GOVERNMENT LIFELINES The funding that helped keep clubs going in the 54 | RFL BOARD toughest of years The directors who steered the sport through Covid-19 JUNE 2021 2020 ANNUAL REPORT INTRODUCTION 03 CHAIRMAN For the second consecutive summer, the RFL Annual General Meeting, and the Annual Report for 2020 which accompanies it, will be unavoidably dominated by the impact of Covid-19. The effect of the pandemic on our sport was devastating. We had to cancel the international Ashes series; there were no Women’s or Wheelchair internationals; no Women’s Challenge Cup or Super League; from mid-March, we had to suspend Community Rugby League, and the seasons were paused and ultimately suspended in the Championship and League 1, also preventing a second staging of the 1895 Cup; when fixtures were able to resume, in the Betfred Super League and Coral Challenge Cup, the matches were played without crowds. It was, therefore, a year in which the focus for our sport, and all sports, had to be on survival. The tribute to those we have lost - which has become an important and poignant moment before our end-of-year Rugby League Council meeting each December - was a stark reminder of the toll this awful disease has taken on Rugby League people and families. The Council meeting was conducted virtually, as so many others had been through the majority of 2020, as clubs and other key stakeholders – coaches, players, sponsors, broadcasters, and increasingly Government – came together to plot a path through this unprecedented period. There were some consolations Rugby League could take from distressing, sometimes tragic, times. The game came together; immense sacrifices were made; fixtures were rearranged at short notice periods that would have been previously unimaginable; Cup draws were redrawn; home advantage became irrelevant; league tables were determined by percentages; scrums were suspended. As a result, Leeds Rhinos and Salford Red Devils made it to Wembley for the first Challenge Cup final ever staged in October. Lizzie Jones performed Jerusalem, stirringly, but to a mostly empty stadium; Abide with Me had been pre-recorded – in Huddersfield, as we remained determined to celebrate Rugby League’s 125th year. Rob Burrow, whose spirit and family values had inspired so many throughout the year, was our first Chief Guest in absentia. Salford relished their first Wembley appearance for 51 years – with their loyal supporters so cruelly denied the opportunity to be there – but there was a symbolism in a Leeds win secured by a drop-goal by Luke Gale, wearing the Number 7 jersey which Rob Burrow had graced for so long. The following month, the Betfred Super League Grand Final was staged at Hull FC’s KCom Stadium, interrupting its close association with Old Trafford. Wigan Warriors and St Helens had finished first and second on percentages, and produced a match of relentless intensity which ended unforgettably – congratulations to Saints for securing successive Super League titles, the first club to do so since Leeds in 2011 and 2012. The winning try, scored as the hooter sounded, will be remembered as one of the finest and most dramatic endings in all of sport. JUNE 2021 2020 ANNUAL REPORT INTRODUCTION 04 CHAIRMAN We have continued to be immensely grateful for the continuing support of Government for our sport. Their financial support of the game in 2020 has been invaluable and we thank the Secretary of State for their steadfast support of Rugby League. Along with Sport England, their generosity and flexibility has enabled our sport to survive and thrive. Government has provided loans to Rugby League through the pandemic, with the total facility reaching £32.7m. Together with DCMS and Sport England, the RFL established a Loans Committee and a process to distribute these sums according to need across the professional game. The process that we established with Government has been replicated in a number of other sports. The co-operation with DCMS and Sport England through the pandemic has been exemplary, and I want to thank colleagues within the RFL, too, who implemented a system to administer public money quickly and effectively. Government has also continued to provide material support to Rugby League World Cup 2021. The Board of RLWC2021 has continued to oversee impressive commercial growth and preparations that are genuinely whetting the public appetite for this great tournament. Rugby League has shown its resilience, its values and its strength over the last year. Although we have huge challenges in front of us in 2021, the fact that we came through 2020 as a sport still moving forward, is a testament to the staff, directors, players, coaches, volunteers and fans of our great sport. Simon Johnson RFL Chairman JUNE 2021 2020 ANNUAL REPORT INTRODUCTION 05 CEO As the worldwide coronavirus pandemic struck in the early months of 2020, I sat down at each of the stakeholder forums we hold regularly and coined a phrase for what lay ahead of us: ‘No Perfect Solutions.’ At the time, I had no idea just how much airtime that phrase would command, or indeed how many imperfect solutions would be required in order for the sport to complete a season which, though ultimately badly bent, was not broken. Understanding the jeopardy ahead, the RFL approached Government and presented a campaign which raised this sport above every other in quickly securing an initial £16m of loan support alongside accessing significant grant funding for community clubs. The campaign was both focused and intense. The stresses which often exist within our Rugby League communities were exacerbated by the pandemic and it was vital that they had certainty and swift access to the lifelines they would require. With these in place, the RFL could then collectively begin plotting the way forward. The RFL worked closely with its partner organisations, Super League Europe, Rugby League Cares and Rugby League World Cup 2021 in planning the way through the year for the sport. All of us had to demonstrate new thinking and achieve new levels of activity to protect and grow our constituency. Clubs across all parts of the game - Super League, Championship, League 1 and Community - all rallied to act as hubs within their communities and provide a myriad of services for local people. The sport gave a powerful reminder that it often provides an additional social service in its towns and cities, and really did the talking for itself. Alongside current and former stars of our great game came the likes of Russell Crowe, Adam Hills and Johnny Vegas to add strength to these activities. Rugby League truly pulled together for all to witness in our hour of need and was a leader in the sporting arena. The Betfred Super League season and the Coral Challenge Cup took centre stage as their continuance meant that broadcast contractual and commercial commitments were met and finance for the game secured. Sensitive negotiations with broadcasters and commercial partners ensured their support remained: another strong example of the entire Rugby League community pulling together. We all had to be innovative and completely solution-focused in order that Super League and the Challenge Cup could took place. Early decision-making meant the cancellation of other events and postponement of leagues, in order that these competitions could be delivered; the eagerly awaited end-of-year Ashes Test series became a necessary casualty. The nature of that continuous decision-making was both immediate and bruising and all involved were tested, as pragmatism ruled. A spectacular finale to the Coral Challenge Cup final in an eerie Wembley Stadium saw Leeds Rhinos triumph over Salford Red Devils by the narrowest of winning margins to provide a fitting end to a uniquely and rapidly restructured competition.