Appendix 1 ii)
Appendix 2:
IRB – Details from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rugby_Board
History
Until 1885, the laws of rugby football were made by England, as the founder nation. However, following a disputed try in an international between Scotland and England, letters were exchanged, in which England claimed they made the laws, and the try should stand. In 1885, Scotland refused to play England. Following the dispute, the home unions of Scotland, Ireland and Wales founded the International Rugby Football Board. England refused to take part, stating that they should have greater representation, as they have more clubs. The England Union also refused to accept the IRFB as the recognised law maker of the game. This led to the IRFB taking the stance of member countries not playing England until they joined. In 1890, England joined the IRFB. The same year, the IRFB wrote the first international laws of rugby union.
In 1893, the IRFB was faced with the divide between amateurism and professionalism, which was nicknamed the "Great Schism". Following the introduction of working class men to the game in Northern England, clubs began paying "broken time" payments to players, due to the loss of earnings from playing on a Saturday. Cumberland County Union also complained of another club using monetary incentives to lure players, leading to the IRFB conducting an enquiry. The IRFB was warned by all the chief clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire that any punishment would lead to the clubs seceding from the union. The debate of broken time payments ultimately led to the 22 leading clubs in Yorkshire and Lancashire to form the Northern Rugby Union, a sport today known as rugby league football.
It is thought that in the late 1950s the IRFB was presented with the ideas of a world championship. Again in the early 1980s, the IRFB was presented with a proposal for a world championship to be held in the British Isles, but dismissed it. In 1983 the New Zealand Rugby Union and Australian Rugby Union each proposed hosting such a tournament. The following year the board committed to conduct a feasibility study. A year later there was another meeting in Paris, and the Union subsequently voted on the idea. It was the South African Rugby Union's vote that proved to be crucial in setting up a tied vote, as they voted in favour, even though they knew they would be excluded. English and Welsh votes were then changed, and the vote was won 10 to 6.
Olympics
The sport of rugby union has been played at the Summer Olympics on four occasions, with the last being in 1924. The winners, and thus the reigning champions, were the U.S. team. Rugby union made one more appearance as a demonstration event but was then removed from the games. The IRB has most recently been very keen to see it return to the Games and is adamant that the sport (specifically referring to rugby sevens) satisfies every respect of the criteria set out in the Olympic Charter. In furthering its cause, the International Rugby Board became an International Olympic Committee Recognised International Federation in 1995, marked by a ceremonial signing by President Juan Antonio Samaranch prior to a match between Wales and South Africa in Cardiff.
The IRB cites rugby union's global participation, with men playing the game in well over 100 countries, with women playing in over 50 as well; the IRB's compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code; and that a rugby sevens tournament could be (and generally is) accommodated in one stadium and is relatively inexpensive to play. Not only is the sevens game successful in the context of the Sevens World Series and World Cup Sevens, it is also very successfully played in the Commonwealth Games; the sevens tournament at the 2006 Games in Melbourne set all-time attendance records for a sevens tournament.
Funding
The IRB have recently released £18.6 million of funding over three years for tier two nations Canada, the USA, Japan, Romania, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. Argentina will also receive additional support to enable it to retain its tier one status. The money, built up from successful World Cups, was released following a report commissioned by the IRB highlighting the growing disparity between tier one and tier two nations. (see IRB statement). This is in addition to the £10-12 million it normally gives out grants and tournament costs. The emphasis is on three areas infrastructure, high performance units and cross border competitions. Three new crossborder competitions involving Tier 2 nations were launched in 2006:
- The Pacific Nations Cup, a competition involving the full national teams of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Japan, plus New Zealand's "senior A" side, the Junior All Blacks and Australia A.
- The Pacific Rugby Cup, a competition similar to the Super 14 with two franchises each from Fiji, Samoa and Tonga
- The North America 4, a competition similar to the Pacific Rugby Cup, with two franchises each from Canada and the USA
It was announced in April of 2006 that tier-3 rugby nations; Georgia, Portugal, Tunisia and Russia were identified as the key investment nations over the next three years. The program is designed to increase the competitiveness of international rugby union.
Executive Council
The Executive Council meets twice a year. It consists of eight Unions with two seats each: Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Four unions have one seat each: Argentina, Canada, Italy and Japan. Six regional associations representing Europe, North America and the West Indies, South America, Africa, Asia and Oceania also have one seat each. With the Chairman and Vice Chairman, this adds up to a total of 28 members. The full membership meets at a General Meeting which is convened every two years. Regional meetings are held at regular intervals. The current chairman of the IRB is Dr. Syd Millar. Bernard Lapasset, the current president of the French Rugby Federation (FFR), is to become the new IRB chairman following the Executive Council vote which took place on October 19, 2007. His election will be effective on 1st of January 2008.
Past Chairmen
- Vernon Pugh, QC, was chairman of the IRB from 1994 to 2002.
- Syd Millar 2002 to 2007.
- Bernard Lapasset 2007-
Laws and regulations
The laws of rugby union are controlled by a standing Laws Committee, which is established by the IRB Council. The current chairman of the committee is Bill Beaumont. The Laws of the Game are formulated by the IRB, and are then circulated by the national Unions. The official laws of the game are written in English, French, Russian and Spanish. There are variations for under-19 and Sevens rugby. There are 21 regulations in total, these regulations range from definitions, eligibility, advertising, disciplinary, anti-doping and a number of other areas. The IRB also approves equipment, which are tested at an IRB Approved Testing House.
Stellenbosch Laws (experimental law variations)
In 2006 the IRB initiated proposals for variations to the laws, which were formulated and trialled initially at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Further trials are set down for 2007 and 2008. The law variations aim to push the balance between defensive and attacking play more in favour of attacking play, and to reduce stoppages for penalties and infringements.
Anti-doping
The IRB is compliant with the WADA code. The IRB anti doping programme includes testing at the under 19 and under 21 level, sevens and senior 15 a side. Testing is a mix of in-competition at IRB organised events, as well as out-of-competition testing, which can occur at any time. In 2003, World Cup year, the IRB member unions undertook approximately 3,000 tests. "Keep Rugby Clean" is a campaign message run by the IRB Anti-Doping Manager Tim Ricketts. The programme is supported by stars such as Brian O'Driscoll.
World rankings
The IRB publishes and maintains the World Rankings of the men's national rugby union teams. The concept was launched in October of 2003, at the start of that year's world cup in Australia. The rankings are calculated using a Points Exchange system, whereby nations take points off each other based on a match result. Several years of research went into developing the rankings system, using an extensive database of international matches that date back to 1871.
The system's reliability is assessed in a number of objective ways, which includes predictions of current strength and responds to changes in form. The system takes into account home advantage, in that the home nation is treated as though it has an extra three rating points, effectively handicapping them, as they will gain less ranking points for a win, and lose more should they lose. In the case of a freak result, there is a maximum number of movements on the ranking that any nation can gain from one match.
If a nation does not play for a number of years they are considered dormant, and excluded from the rankings, upon returning, picking up from where they were excluded. If a nation is to merge or split, the highest rating of any of the rankings is inherited.
Currently all capped international matches are equally weighted, whether or not they take place within a competition or are played as friendlies; the sole exception to this is the final of the World Cup.
Appendix 3:
Appendix 4:
Appendix 5:
Daily Echo newspaper article:
Tag rugger festival on the beach
From the Echo, first published Tuesday 12th Aug 2003.
DORSET will be treated to some more `sand-astic' beach action this month with two more tag rugby evenings. (Aug 28)
Throughout the summer, there has been a series of successful beach rugby events in the county with the aim of widening participation across all ages and genders through the non-contact rugby based sport.
Sandbanks Beach in Poole will host the final two beach rugby festivals on Thursdays' August 14 and 28.
The event will be supported by the Rugby Football Union and run in conjunction with 2CRFM radio station and the Borough of Poole. Action commences at 6.30pm and goes on until 9pm with tag rugby festivals for both children and adults. You can just turn up on the night with or without a team.
There will also be food stands and refreshment tents, a live band and the evening will reach its climax with a fireworks display at 10pm.
For more information please contact Dan Brown, Rugby Development Officer for Dorset & Wilts, on [email protected]
More than 150 local schoolchildren participated in the eighth Ellingham and Ringwood Rugby Club Infant School Roadshow, in partnership with Hampshire RFU.Ringwood Infant School Publicity Officer Steph Cooper said: "We are very grateful to the coaches from Ellingham and Ringwood Rugby Club, who always organise such an enjoyable day."
Steve Evans, of Ellingham and Ringwood, said: "This is an important event for us, and we have once more used it to recruit next season’s under-7s side.
"Last year, we had a squad of more than 30 players who had an excellent season and went on to win the Hampshire Plate, the New Milton Tournament and the Wimborne Tournament.
"The club trains on Sunday mornings at Poulner Junior School from September to April and anyone interested in joining should contact Steve Benson on 01425 474991."
Appendix 6:
Dorset colts merit table (from Wimborne RFC website)
Appendix 7:
LINKS TO DORSET&WILTS CLUBS (from Dorset and Wilts RFU website)
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North Dorset RFC
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Pewsey Vale RFC
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Poole RFC
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Appendix 8:
Article showing the path from amateur level to elite level.
Appendix 9:
England rugby academies (from RFU website http://www.rfu.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/RFUHome.Articles_Detail/StoryID/5988)
What is an England Rugby Academy and what does it do?
‘England Rugby Academy’ is the term used to describe the process supported by the RFU for what will be one of several key stages of player development in the Rugby Football Union’s World Class Performance Plan. The primary, and at all times central, purpose is to develop better England players.
The England Rugby Academy structure will operate at three levels:
Level 1 will be a National Academy for a select group of up to 60 players mainly in age groups U19-U24.
At Level 2 England Rugby will license a network of regional academies each serving a discreet geographical area of the country and supporting development of up to 300 young athletes in age groups U16-U21.
At Level 3 England Rugby will support each regional academy to work closely with RFU development staff, CBs, clubs and schools to establish a comprehensive programme of talent search and player development at up to forty accredited elite player development centres.
What can the Academy offer me?
A player selected for academy entry will be directed into a personal development programme that is geared primarily to ensuring that his capacities and abilities as a rugby player are maximised.
The athlete will be supported by academy staff, specialist coaches, sports scientists and other specialists appointed by the Academy Manager. All areas of physical, technical, tactical and psychological development will be supported as well as game knowledge (rugby brain) video analysis and a competitive programme appropriate to the player’s development.
How can I qualify for selection to an England Rugby Academy?
Players will be selected from existing club and school structures, county development squads, age group festivals and by direct referral. Opportunities will be created for entry by late developers and talented athletes from other disciplines.
Players selected to attend an England Rugby Academy must be England qualified and have the potential to play for England. Player potential will be assessed under four main categories:
• Skills and elements of competence
• Fitness
• Tactical and game awareness
• Personal attitude
Players wishing to put themselves forward for selection towards an academy should first be identified within the constituent body development squads run by the RFUs Rugby Development Officers. Players can be nominated to these squads from any club or school. Selection will be based on merit. Those selected must demonstrate the potential to become a professional rugby player and the mental toughness/desire to “be the best”. Academy athletes will be expected to put “rugby first” and adopt a lifestyle that will enable them to develop into a professional athlete.
Appendix 10:
WRFU: (from wikipedia)
Until May 1994 Women’s’ Rugby was run by the Women’s’ Rugby Football Union (WRFU), formed in 1983. The WRFU was responsible for rugby in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. When the WRFU was formed there were 12 founder teams as members in the first year. These teams included: Leicester Polytechnic, Sheffield University, UCL, University of Keele, Warwick University, Imperial College, Leeds University, Magor Maidens, York University and Loughborough University.
In 1994 the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW) was formed in England with each of the Home Nations governing their own countries. The RFUW currently has over 410 Clubs comprising of 170 Senior clubs, 80 student sides, 29 Under 18’s sides, 103 Under 16’s sides and 40 Schools. These clubs are slotted into regions, these being: North West, North East, Yorkshire & Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, Eastern Counties, London & South East North, South East South, South West (North) and South West (South) There are also 16 Partnership Officers developing girls rugby in their geographical regions.
The RFUW aims to:
· Promote and govern rugby union for women in England
· Develop the game for the benefit and enjoyment of its participants at all levels
· Be world leaders through excellence in every aspect of the elite game
Appendix 11:
GBWR: (from the welcome section of their website)
“Great British Wheelchair Rugby is a 20 year old not for profit registered Charity representing the sport across the UK and Great Britain on the world stage.
Our objectives are to develop a fully inclusive sport, enabling players to achieve and reach their full potential regardless of financial status or disability.
Wheelchair rugby as featured in the Bafta Award nominated film Murderball is a full-blooded, contact sport developed initially for tetraplegics - those whose disabilities affect both their lower and upper limbs and offers male and female players significant rehabilitational, health and social benefits as well as gaining athletic achievement at both national and World Class Sporting levels.
As a charity we depend on income from sponsorship, donations and membership in order to fund key areas of our work.
This includes ongoing support for Elite Squad Athletes ranked 1st in Europe and 4th in the world rankings, our development team which develops the sport from grass roots to Elite squad level and our ever growing national League.
Our players belong to an international family where competition on the court is matched by comradeship off the court. The sport promotes teamwork, personal independence and the ability to succeed no matter what the odds. Wheelchair rugby became a full Paralympic sport at Sydney in 2000 and is without question one the fastest-growing wheelchair sports in the world.”
Bibliography:
