MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING OF LANCASHIRE COUNTY RUGBYFOOTBALL UNION HELD AT TYLDESLEY RUGBY CLUB ON 20TH JUNE 2018 President Dave Clarke welcomed everyone to the meeting. 1. Apologies John Dewhurst, Steve Rigby, Jim Hainsworth, David Matthews, David Herriman, Margaret Herriman, Bill Chappell, Margaret Chappell, Roly Heptonstall, Allan Bower, John Huyton, Tim Harper, Bill Nichol, Frank Morgan, Robbie jones, John Heald, Bill Hopkinson, Dave Aigwin. 2. Minutes of the Extraordinary General Meeting held on Wednesday 21st March 2018 at Liverpool St Helens FC. All minutes have been circulated and they are on the Lancashire County RFU website. 3. Matters arising. There were no matters arising. 4. RFU Representatives Report. Chief Executive’s Report • The CEO had met the Sports Minister and received very positive feedback on the RFU’s approach to governance reforms and the resulting steps that had been taken. • The new Chief Financial Officer, Sue Day, was introduced. Her focus would be on agreeing the business plan for 2018/19 and looking at the medium to long-term shape of the business. • The AGP programme had seen 10 Rugby Turf and two Rugby Share pitches laid with five pitches currently being built and six about to star • The GDPR toolkit had been launched and it had already had 2000 views and 700 downloads. • The RFU investment in the commercial arm of USA Rugby was struggling. The original investment was not about making a financial return but about supporting a potential Tier 1 Union in their development. • The facilities management of the stadium had been outsourced to CBRE and it was stated that this was not for financial but for practical reasons. • A recent review had shown that the RFU’s health and safety and fire strategies were not best practice and that rectifying this was a priority. • The East Stand project had proved to be a very difficult process. Due to overruns caused by difficult ground works and re-designs related to bomb blast protection and fire safety, the Board had agreed to pay acceleration costs to ensure that the stand was completed in time for the Autumn internationals. The fit-out Contract and Settlement Agreement with Willmott Dixon Interiors (WDI) has now been agreed and signed by both parties. This now secures an accelerated programme to achieve completion by 22nd October 2018 with target date of 28th September remaining. International Report • The CEO and Steve Tew (NZ Rugby) had been appointed to the Rugby World Cup Limited Board. • It was reported that the governance of the Six Nations was currently being discussed and this work will affect the running of the Lions and should ensure that both organisations are in a strong place going forward. • World Rugby Representative Council ratified the appointment of Deborah Griffin as World Rugby representative. • Draft AGM Calling Notice Council approved the 2018 AGM Calling Notice. The AGM was to be held at Cowdray Hall, London on 8th June 2018. • Approval of the RFRU Constitution Council approved the draft constitution of the Rugby Football Referees Union. Chairman’s Update Following the negative article in the Daily Telegraph on 23 May, there was a placed interview with the same newspaper some days later which sought publicise the work that we as a union are doing to improve diversity and inclusion within the Game. The Board approved Phil De Glanville as the RFU’s representative to replace Jeff Blackett} Community Game Board Report Rob Briers reported that CB Roadshows would be taking place in May and June Community Game Board Presentations Presentations were given on the recent National Rugby Survey, Player Development and Competition Development. Ticketing Strategy Mike Cordell reported on the game-wide consultation on the ticketing strategy and outlined the key points of the strategy. Professional Game Board The Professional Rugby Injury and Surveillance Prevention Report 2016/17 (PRISP) had been launched and one of the outcomes of the report was the likelihood of a trial for tackles below nipple height in the U20 Rugby World Championship. It was also suggested that there might be a trial in the Championship around refereeing/carding related to high tackles. Injuries occurring on AGPs were being monitored both in the professional and community games. Governance Committee Report • Chris Cuthbertson expanded on the work of the Laws Sub Committee and the Global Law Trials. • World Rugby were to consider the GLTs at its May meeting. [World Rugby had subsequently agreed to the GLTs] • Club Insolvency Regulations - Chris Cuthbertson explained proposed changes in the Regulations which addressed the position regarding clubs going into liquidation and forming new entities but not suffering any rugby consequence. Nominations Committee Report Council approved the following recommendations for Season 2018-19: • Jason Leonard had been appointed as the Six Nations representative. Jason is not co-opted to Council but has a standing invite to all Council meetings and relevant Council functions. • Deborah Griffin had been appointed to World Rugby it is now necessary to appoint another Women and Girls representative to Council. • Privilege Members of the RFU: M R Cordell G K Simpson • National members: M O Alphonsi MBE, M E Corry MBE • Nominations Standing Committee: A A Shorney, K Andrews, M E Waplington • Ratified the appointment of Phil de Glanville to the Board, and the reappointment of Helen Weir to the Board. K Andrews also sits on Education and Age Grade Sub Committee and is RFU Representative to ERFSU. RTJ Briers continues on the RFU Board and Chairman of the Community Game Board. A table recording and reporting Council attendance at committee meetings was being produced for circulation to CBs Business Plan The Board time spent discussing and debating the proposed Business Plan for 2018/19. This was presented to Council at the June meeting: After a significant period of revenue growth and investment in the game, the RFU is starting to face similar pressures to many other sports and businesses in the UK. Given these rapidly changing market conditions and a return to a ‘normal’ RWC loss- making year in 19/20 (and likely in the next cycle), it is essential that RFU now focus on the reduction of our overhead base to deliver our Strategic and Rugby priorities in a more cost- effective way. Factors affecting the financial downturn: • We are now back to RWC financial cycle, not since 2011/12 season have RFU made a loss • Every four years RFU make a loss due to no Autumn Internationals in RWC year - 2019/20 • No new major investment ie Compass deal • Sponsorship declining • Broadcasting deals are now different and possibly less revenue • Higher professional costs that are fixed • Ticket sales up and TEL & ERH also drive new revenues. Proposed Actions: • Be confident but realistic • Maximise money to invest • Minimising spend on non-rugby areas ( as far as possible) • Take action now 18/19 rather than wait for 2019/20 • Drive efficiency across RFU- reduce RFU back office from 19% to 16% Annual Regulations review Council approved a number of regulation and competitions regulation changes. These are set out in Part A and Part B of the Matrix. Council also delegated authority to Governance to finalise the drafting of the regulations set out in Part A and competitions regulations set out in Part B of the Matrix. Safeguarding The Board undertook specialist safeguarding training, which was led by David Smellie, the Head of the Safeguarding Unit at Farrer & Co. As “Protect” is one of the pillars of the Strategic Plan, it was important for the Board to understand both their obligations as a Board, and role they may be able to play in order to help safeguard children and vulnerable adults throughout the Game. Professional Game The Board was pleased to approve the appointment of Chris Booy as the new chair of the PGB. This will be the first time that the PGB is not chaired by a Council member. Nevertheless, as a former Council member, and one of the six chairs of the Regional Activation and Legacy Groups for RWC 2015, he will be well placed to understand the views and needs of the RFU in that forum. Executive Team Lucinda Pullinger is supporting the process to recruit a successor to John Feehan as CEO of the 6 Nations. As an interim measure Ben Calveley, Head of Strategy and Corporate Affairs, has been seconded part-time to the Six Nations as Acting Chief Operations Officer and the Lions as Acting CEO to ensure the organisations run successfully until new leaders are in place. GDPR The toolkit provided for the Game continues to gain traction, with 5,000 views and over 2,500 downloads. The RFU’s own internal GDPR project has delivered well, with privacy notices and internal processes being completed and published. Ticketing As Council may have seen, certain black market ticket and hospitality operators have briefed journalists that they intend to challenge the RFU’s ticketing policies. We remain confident of our position, and enforcement of the RFU’s ticket terms and conditions for the benefit of the game as a whole remains a priority. Sponsorship Official Hydration Partner – Coco Fuzion, a coconut based sports drinks, have made an offer to replace Lucozade as England Rugby’s Official Hydration Partner and become a Tier 3 RFU sponsor. IBM – IBM have made an offer to renew for another four years as a Tier 2 sponsor. We are appraising their offer in the context of 18/19 budget and hope to close a deal by the end of June. Twickenham Experience Limited England Rugby Hospitality –the RFU is taking direct control of the ERH Direct marketing strategy and budget in an attempt to improve ERH Direct sales.