Cover Stories
RFU and PRL new eight year agreement
Francis Baron (fifth from left) Media Announcement
The RFU and Premier Rugby Ltd (PRL) have signed a new agreement which will govern the professional game in England from 1 July 2008 until 30 June 2016. The agreement follows a long period of negotiation between the RFU and PRL covering all aspects of professional rugby in England with the aim of building on England’s position as one of the leaders of the game at both club and country level while creating a long term structure for continued success.
The agreement covers the following core areas:
• Season Structure
• Elite Player Squads (EPS) and the Player Management Programme
• Academies
• An England Qualified Players compensation scheme
• Player Welfare & the Professional Rugby Players Association (PRA)
• EPS Player Agreement, Match Fees & Intellectual Property Rights (IP)
• First Division Rugby
• Governance
• Commercial
• The European Rugby Cup
• Finance and Funding matters
The agreement will come into full force and effect from July 2008 and will replace the current Long Form Agreement, which governs the game until the end of the 2007-8 season. The agreement provides for the creation of 3 Elite Player Squads (EPS); Senior, Saxons and U20 each of 32 players. An Elite Player Management Programme will be set at the beginning of each season for each Senior EPS player by the Elite Rugby Director and the England Head Coach following discussion and consultation with the club Director of Rugby. The Annual Player Programme for each Saxons EPS player will be discussed and agreed between the RFU Elite Rugby Director and each club Director of Rugby. The Annual Player Programme for each U20 EPS player will be drawn up by the club Academy Manager for the approval of the RFU Director of the National Academy. PRL and each of its clubs will be responsible for ensuring full implementation of the Elite Player Management Programmes. The England team coaches and RFU National Academy coaches will have access to and regular contact with all Senior EPS players to provide and deliver programme support in respect of the individual Elite Player Management Programmes. A Medical Protocol has been agreed for the Senior EPS to ensure that each player is in optimal physical condition and health at all times. To improve the preparation for England matches, all Senior EPS players will be released 13 or 14 days before the start of the autumn internationals and RBS 6 Nations and for the duration of both international windows. There will also be a minimum 2 weeks preparation for the Senior EPS players prior to each summer tour on which England will take their strongest available squad. The agreement has detailed provisions for the Saxons EPS, U20 EPS and the operation of the Regional Academies. In return, the RFU has agreed to pay PRL clubs £102 million over the course of the agreement plus a share of the net revenues from a fourth autumn international every other year which should take the total RFU payment for PRL Clubs to around £110m over the period of the agreement. Clubs will only receive payment under the Agreement by having players in one or more of the 3 EPS squads and/or through compensation payments under the English Qualified Players (EQP) scheme and/or by running an RFU licensed Academy. As part of the agreement, PRL shall be solely responsible for negotiating the sale of their own TV, media & Sponsorship rights and giving directions to ERC in respect of England’s position on the sale of the TV, media and sponsorship rights related to the European Rugby Cup and European Challenge Cup. The deal sees the creation of a Professional Game Board (PGB) to oversee the new Agreement. The Professional Game Board has detailed terms of reference and decision-making powers. Said Francis Baron OBE, Chief Executive of the RFU,“I am very pleased to have negotiated this agreement with PRL. It has taken a considerable amount of time but it was vital to get it right and seek to resolve, once and for all, the issues that have caused ‘club v country’ conflict through a long term agreement that is right for the game as a whole. Our aim has been to produce the most comprehensive and detailed agreement covering the professional game that has been drawn up anywhere in the world. “We believe we have done that. We have secured an agreement which both gives the national side the strongest platform it has ever had to maintain and build on its success, while maintaining the integrity of our excellent club game. This agreement is in the interests of everyone involved in the game. “The agreement meets the RFU’s key objectives for the future of the professional game: it protects the safety and welfare of players; it secures the financial viability of the game and will increase participation at all levels. This is a truly exciting period for English rugby.” Mark McCafferty, Chief Executive of PRL commented, “The agreement provides a good balance between what England needs to build on its success and what the clubs need to continue the rapid growth of the professional club game. It protects and develops the Guinness Premiership, the most competitive league in the world and supports the continuing success of our clubs in Europe. Both are the foundations for international success. “In addition to the monies being paid by the RFU, it was essential for Premier Rugby and its clubs to secure the full financial potential of their commercial rights in their leading competitions. “The real work now lies ahead of us to translate this agreement into sporting success and inspiration for those involved in the game at every level.” Said Rob Andrew, RFU Elite Rugby Director, “A lot of people in the RFU, PRL and the PRA have worked very hard on this deal. It’s the first time we have reached an agreement, which is a sustainable English solution for the English game, since the game went professional in 1995 and everyone should be congratulated on that. I think it's the first time that all the parties have fully understood the issues and this is one of the most significant agreements reached in the last ten to twelve years. It provides a great platform for the English club and the national game and will strengthen the excellent work that has already taken place in the Guinness Premiership, the clubs participation in the Heineken Cup and with England, after successive appearances in the final of the RWC.”
New Agreement from 1st July 2008
Long term Agreement in place for 2 World Cups
Provides foundation for further England team success
Develops strength of Guinness Premiership
RFU will provide around £110 million to the Guinness Premiership clubs
Professional Game Board created to oversee the professional game
Legends arrive at Twickenham
Sally Price
There has been a new addition at Twickenham recently as the England Rugby Walk of Legends began to be laid. The special walkway which runs from the new Twickenham South Stand round past the Lion Gate towards the North Stand, enables rugby fans to have their name in stone at Rugby HQ. To avoid the walkway being damaged by the ongoing development of the Twickenham South Stand at Twickenham the construction of the walkway was delayed, but the good news for the thousands of people who have bought stones is that the stones are now being laid. The first phase (quadrants 1 - 20) is expected to be completed on target and unveiled to the public on 2nd February 2008. 2003 Rugby World Cup player Will Greenwood was the first England Rugby Legend to have his name laid down in history at Twickenham, swiftly followed by Fran Cotton, Matt Dawson and Jason Robinson. Whilst the walkway will be accessible to the public the first official opening will be at the RBS 6 Nations match between England and Wales on Saturday 2nd February. People wishing to come and see their stones or the walkway after this time are welcome - visit the Find Your Stone section of the www.rfu.com/wol website to locate your stone or find your favourite player. The second phase (quadrants 21 - 45) will be laid around April 2008 onwards with an anticipated unveiling date of November 2008. The Walk of Legends website is being revamped with lots of new photos of the legends and stones being laid. Keep an eye on www.rfu.com/wol and you may even see your stone going down! There are still a limited number of stones available so why not join in and have your name and message as part of Twickenham’s history.
Lost highway to Twickenham
One of the world’s greatest live rock and roll bands, Bon Jovi are hitting Twickenham Stadium next summer on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th June as part of their Lost Highway World Tour. Bon Jovi are renowned for delivering state of the art stage shows, electric performances and mammoth sold out stadium concerts. Tickets for their Twickenham Stadium spectacular are available through Ticketmaster on 0870 902 0000 or at ticketmaster.co.uk With more than 90 concerts already scheduled in 16 countries, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan and Tico Torres will visit Canada, Japan, the U.S., New Zealand, England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Holland, Austria and more Ticket sales for Bon Jovi’s Have A Nice Day 2007 tour broke records selling at a rate of 1000 tickets a second. The band played to over 500,000 across the UK in just over a week. Globally, they have sold more than 120 million albums and performed more than 2,500 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 32 million fans. Their latest album LOST HIGHWAY has been a record breaker.
