2015/16 Scottish Rugby Annual Report
Annual Report 2015/16 highlights: • Record Union turnover of£47.4million, up£3.2million on the previous year• Scotland won nine of their 16 Tests, qualifying for the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup 2015• Record club support reached£2.94 million, an increase of 63% since the summer of 2011• Glasgow Warriors qualified for the play-offs of the GUINNESS PRO12 for the 5th consecutive year• Edinburgh Rugby achieved a record crowd of 23,642 for the 1872 Scottish Cup derby v Glasgow• Group commercial income rose significantly in the past year • Average debt fell to£8.5million, the lowest in more than a decade• Impact of BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy reflected in performances of Scotland Under-20 and Scotland Women”INVESTMENT INTO DOMESTIC RUGBY HAS NEVER BEEN HIGHER” – DODSONThe member clubs of the Scottish Rugby Union gather at BT Murrayfield today (Saturday 20 August) for the Annual General Meeting.The 2015/16 financial year will be presented through the annual report which shows a record£47.4million turnover, achieved through a£3.2million income growth on the 2014-15 financial year.Investment in the club and school game is now at a record£2.94 million, sustained growth over the last five seasons of some 63%.Writing in the annual report Scottish Rugby’s Chief Executive, Mark Dodson, declares: “Our investment into the domestic game has never been higher and our support for emerging talent is stronger than ever.”Dodson notes that Scottish Rugby needs to continue to be innovative with challenges at both global and local level.”Our partnership with BT has been transformational,” he asserts, “but as player salaries rise we need to consider other revenue streams to ensure we remain at the top table in world and European rugby.”The BT funded Academy structure is operational and Dodson hailed the progress made to develop the male and female talent of the future. “In its first year, we started to see real benefits of our regional Academy structure with players moving onto full contracts with Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors while also enjoying success with Scotland under-20.The next generation made history twice this year – beating Edinburgh for the first time during the U20 Six Nations and Australia in their World Rugby U20 Championship opener.Another key pillar of Scottish Rugby’s year has been its Club Sustainability Fund, where clubs seek to make improvements to their infrastructure to place themselves ever more at the heart of their communities.At the half-way mark, Scottish Rugby’s£1.6million Club Sustainability Fund has benefited 91 clubs, with some of the first recipients completing major projects with additional sportscotland investment and support from sponsors, in particular BT.Chairman, Sir Moir Lockhead, reflected: “We are striving to achieve a sustainable model that benefits rugby in Scotland and future-proofs the game.”I am happy with the progress so far, but there is more to be done.”The Chairman also hails the recruitment of a first full-time female player in Scotland Women back-row forward Jade Konkel and says more initiatives will be forthcoming in the girls’ and women’s game, where some nine new club teams were established in the past season. He also praises Scottish Rugby’s new schools and youth conference structure, instituted at the start of last season, and which involved more than 10,000 players in almost 1,900 games. “It’s spurred clubs and schools to field more teams at all levels while also raising the standard of matches,” he observes. Main business at the AGM, will consist of the election of the Union’s vice-president with three candidates standing: Ian Barr (Lasswade); Dee Bradbury (Oban Lorne) and John Davidson (Jed-Forest), while a new President, Rob Flockhart (Boroughmuir) will be elected for a two-year term to succeed Edward Crozier.
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