To our Members, Players, Supporters, Sponsors, Partners and other stakeholders.
We write to update you about the current position with regard to the challenges against the RFU cuts to the Championship. After some reflection, we thought it important to communicate our thoughts about the sad state of affairs we find our game in.
We are enormously proud of the efforts that we, as one club, have made to grow the game of Rugby in our area. We now have some 1100 playing members across five male competitive teams plus two male social sides. For the first time we have an established women’s team taking our total to eight senior teams. In addition, we boast one of the biggest Mini, Youth and girls’ sections in the Country.
Our society has changed fundamentally, and we are now far more open, understanding and inclusive than we have ever been. As you will agree, Ampthill RUFC has mirrored this and aims to gradually implement more changes in the day to day running of our club making us stronger year on year. Cuts to the budget will challenge us, but not defeat our plans to move and offer the game of Rugby to as many people as possible.
Our overwhelming feelings are of sadness that the RFU, whose job it is to represent the 2000 clubs that constitute our sport in this Country, appear to be interested in only 12 clubs that form the Premier Rugby Limited (PRL) i.e. The Premiership. The current arrangements with PRL mean that the RFU are contracted to pay PRL £228 Million (yes you read it correctly) over eight years. There has been a dramatic overspend of £108 million by ‘Headquarters’ building the East Stand of Twickenham stadium. A total cash of spend of £336 million. Therefore, cuts will need to come from somewhere!!
Please don’t make the mistake of buying into the RFU argument that the Championship is not providing a return on RFU investment. The mismanagement of the game’s finances for a significant period of time is now coming home to roost and RFU appear to want the community game to pay for those mistakes. Mr Sweeney, the CEO, has relied upon performance standards for the Championship that have never been communicated to us, the Clubs!! I know you will all share our frustrations at the current state of affairs but rest assured, we have every confidence that we, as a club will steer a way through these terribly difficult times.
We have today, once again, met up with other clubs in the Championship. We are putting together a strategy for the development of the Championship which will be exciting, provide opportunity to our children and create a strong level of rugby within the game accessible by all. In the meantime, Ampthill RUFC are fully supportive of the Nottingham Rugby ‘two minute applause’ at half time and in all Community Games to support the #SaveChampRugby campaign.
Mark and I will keep you updated at every opportunity over the coming months.
Alex Radley
Chairman Ampthill and District RUFC
Mark Lavery
Director of Rugby
