Grass-roots coaches will bear the brunt of RFU’S brutal cuts
The Rugby Football Union’s latest round of redundancies will see more brutal cuts to the rugby development department as the governing body counts the cost of Covid-19. A breakdown seen by
suggests that the workforce will shrink to 425 from 570, but 11 board roles and five executive positions will remain.
Grass-roots coaches on the frontline of community rugby, many of whom earn around £20,000 per year, will be hardest hit.
In total, 99 people in rugby development roles will lose their jobs, reducing that area of the business from 234 to 130. That decrease, of over 44 per cent, takes into account five current vacancies.
According to the document seen by the business, operations and communications division at Twickenham is to shrink from 140 to 128 with nine employed roles going.
The commercial department will shrink from 74 to 58, losing 16 roles. Nine more roles in the performance department, excluding those of players, are to go as well, reducing from 72 to 63.
All the while, the future of England’s men’s and women’s Sevens teams remain shrouded in doubt.
A report in has suggested the number of full-time contracts will almost halve, dropping from 58 to 30.
At the start of July, RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney revealed that he had forecast to make 139 people redundant in the face of a £107million shortfall because the furlough scheme would not save roles.
“Unfortunately, this is not enough to run a sustainable operation and safeguard our future,” Sweeney said. “We need to maintain our organisation for the long term. This is not a short-term, costreduction exercise.
“The RFU will still stand, but the impact of Covid-19 will continue to affect us for many years to come.
“Our detailed scenario modelling shows there may be a short-term impact of £107million in lost revenues and we also know there will be a much longer-term effect.
“We are projecting a four-five year recovery with cumulative revenue reductions of around 20 per cent. We are having to make difficult decisions on what we can continue to invest in as well as what is the
Tough decisions: RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has outlined that 139 jobs will go
right size and shape of our business,” he said. “To ensure we have a sustainable RFU we have announced to colleagues that it is proposed that the total number of roles across the organisation will reduce by 139.”
London Irish, meanwhile, have announced that Australia lock Rob Simmons will be joining the club, with the 31-year-old becoming the fifth Wallaby in the Exiles squad, joining Sekope Kepu, Adam Coleman, Nick Phipps and Curtis Rona.
Simmons spent nearly a decade with the Queensland Reds and won 100 caps for the Wallabies.
“Rob comes to London Irish with fantastic club and international experience,” said Declan Kidney, Irish’s director of rugby.
“We are very happy that we had the capacity to recruit someone of Rob’s abilities and we are excited to see him in the London Irish shirt.”
“Coming over to England is a brilliant opportunity for me and I can’t wait to get going with London Irish” said Simmons.
“It seems to be an exciting time for the club, especially with the stadium move next season, so I am looking forward to linking up with my new team-mates and contributing as much as I can.”
Irish have also confirmed that Ruan Botha, due to return from Japan ahead of the 2020-21 campaign, will not be rejoining the club, with Simmons effectively replacing him.
After a quiet summer, Irish have announced four signings this week: full-back Tom Homer, hooker Matt Cornish, England Sevens player Charlton Kerr and now Simmons.
The club have also been linked with a move for veteran Argentine hooker Agustin Creevy.