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WRU Chairman David Pickering has issued a pledge to the grassroots rugby clubs of Wales that their funding has been ring-fenced to ensure the new deal with the four Regions does not impact on the community game.

He says the WRU will continue to distribute to current funding levels and invest in support for the amateur game to help boost participation levels in the future.

Pickering said the new £60m six year deal was essential for the elite game to prosper in Wales, but the WRU will always adhere to its remit of representing the whole of Welsh rugby.

In the financial years which ended in June 2012 and 2013 £500,000 and £800,000 were respectively allocated to Welsh rugby clubs as facilities grants.

This money was used to improve standards and secure the Welsh rugby grassroots environment for players, coaches, backroom staff, volunteers and supporters.

Most recently, in June 2014 a further £500,000 was committed to continuing the facilities grant scheme.
Also in recent months a further £750,000 one-off sum was committed to a new Participation Points Scheme which will deliver much needed equipment and resource to hundreds of clubs.

From this season, 2014/2015, there is a 13% increase in core funding for WRU community clubs to a total of £2.6m a year and part of that sum has been earmarked to increase the basic core grant payable to Member Clubs to £4,000 per annum with immediate effect.

For the Principality Premiership Division the core funding has gone up by 19% to £1.5m a year.
In recent years the operational running costs for grassroots rugby in Wales have been around £3m a year.

With the development staff and club operations team along with the new Schools Rugby Officers being engaged there are more than sixty staff focused directly on the community game.

In the last year some 3,000 volunteers have received WRU training and the NatWest Rugby Force team have delivered financial training at a number of seminars through the year. The WRU has also produced a Club Operations Manual to help all community clubs enhance off-the-field activities.

David Pickering said: "The WRU will always seek to safeguard and develop rugby at the grassroots level right across Wales.

"We have increased our core funding for this year and continued with our other substantial grant distributions so I am proud of our record relating to support for amateur rugby.

"Of course the international team is the financial engine which drives Welsh rugby and successful Regions are vitally important to encourage more people to follow our sport, but we could not achieve any of our successes without a strong foundation.

"The community game epitomises the strong values associated with rugby and it is the doorway into the game for players to go on to earn international honours.

"Wales is known the world over as a rugby nation and it is the grassroots game which has made it so central to our culture and identity.

"We were determined to get the best possible Rugby Services Agreement in place for our Regions, but throughout the negotiations I insisted the community game had to be protected.

"We all know a lot of hard work lies ahead to ensure the community game is sustained and the challenges are clear.  Soccer is strong in Wales, the economy is still not at its strongest and participation levels have to be improved.

"What we have in place is a clear strategy to help community rugby and we back that up with the kind of funding we have already committed to.

"Our latest initiative devised by Josh Lewsey and his Rugby Department staff is to revitalise rugby in schools with the direct aim of grabbing the interest of youngsters and then encouraging them to get involved with their local clubs.

"I am confident for the future at all levels in Welsh rugby because I know we have passionate and knowledgeable people working in our clubs and schools. 

"Welsh rugby can continue to punch above its weight and I say that as we all look forward to a mouth-watering Rugby World Cup next year with eight games to savour here in Wales at our Millennium Stadium.”