Well said, Steve, hopefully RFU will get the message

CONGRATULATIONS to Richmond’s Steve Hill for his very frank, openminded and perceptive comments on the state of rugby in England.

What a refreshing change for someone representing a club that, if there were any justice, would still be in the Championship, populated mostly by full-time professional teams to recognize that “the community game is 98 per cent of the game”.

He goes on to say that they represent England’s core support and that, going forward, the RFU “really have to look to resource the community game better”. He even concedes that the £7m annual funding from the RFU to Championship clubs has to come under review at the end of this season.

As Steve rightly says, the big question around what the RFU are doing is “where community rugby stands in their level of importance”.

So far the governing body have been silent on this crucial issue – apart from the strongly negative message implied in the actions taken because of the financial straits resulting from the ill-judged Professional Game Agreement for funding of the Premiership.

It is surely time Nigel Melville or one of his paid officials offers a positive response to the question, to give hope to the hordes of hardpressed volunteers all around the country that currently minimal central support levels will be beefed up as soon as funding can be found.

As Steve also says, it is not all about direct investment into the clubs – though there is a pressing need for more funding – but levels of central administrative support to grassroots clubs have also been drastically cut.

JOHN ALLANSON Bishop’s Stortford RFC