After a meeting of the Community Rugby Board earlier this week (Feb 18th) the Union’s staff have been working to assess the impact of the storm in rugby communities around the country and have devised a plan to provide both extra help and extra funding to impacted clubs.
An ‘exceptional circumstances’ fund has been established with the Union earmarking £100k to kick-start the provision whilst also seeking further support.
Additional funds will be raised by a bucket collection at the Wales international match in Cardiff this weekend, against France, and a range of other resources are currently being sourced.
Some clubs have informed the WRU that they have lost rugby equipment and the Union are also taking steps to help on this front alongside providing specialist expertise to the task of recovering and maintaining damaged pitches.
“These are exceptional circumstances and we have therefore decided to allocate dedicated funds and resources to help out rugby clubs in need in communities throughout the country,” said WRU CEO Martyn Phillips.
“There is money put aside for emergencies such as these and we will take great care to ensure that we target both money and resources in the right areas so that we are helping those who need it most.”
The Union will also be providing further practical help with staff members pledging to spend a full working day at affected clubs, to help out in any way they can, and will continue to monitor the situation in the days and months ahead as part of a long term strategy to support rugby communities around Wales.
