Charlie Hayter, best known as a 7s international and subsequently coach, takes on a quite mammoth brief.

He is put in charge of the women’s 15s game at international and domestic level as well as the men’s and women’s England 7s programmes. How does he fit all that in?

There was widespread disbelief when the Wales RU sought a person to take over responsibility for both the 7s and 15s programmes, but this job is on an infinitely larger scale. The RFU’s new structure introduces an unfortunate balance between the men’s and women’s games: for Hayter, responsibility for men and women in 7s (his speciality), but only women in 15s. A strange conglomeration.

And he, lucky man, takes on overall charge of the Allianz Premier 15s programme. I have been mulling over my thoughts on future paths for the AP 15s for a long time now, so complex and far-reaching are the consequences. I have not yet been brave enough to make my thoughts public. Hayter will have to familiarise himself fast with the 15s game after a lengthy absence.

Presumably it will be he who has to make the final decisions for the leading club league in world rugby, just as it is faced with quite massive concerns, for example: further professionalisation? relegation and promotion? size of the league? response to three Gallagher Premiership clubs wanting a piece of the action?

He will have help from Amy Walmsley, Allianz Premier 15s Strategic and Operations Manager, who has been covering for Amy Kimber-Roberts, who is on maternity leave. Walmsley is supported in turn by an Allianz Premier 15s Operations Executive.

The appointments are in line with the RFU’s ‘Every Rose 2021-2027’ action plan for women’s rugby. They come at a time when the men’s game is seeing further worrying falls in playing numbers.

Supporting him as Performance Consultant in the women’s game comes a welcome figure, Emma Mitchell. She is one of England’s distinguished figures from past decades, a captain and a World Cup winner in 1994.

When Nicky Ponsford was seconded to World Rugby for two years, I wondered who would take over her role as Head of Performance for the women’s game. The answer till now has been no-one; or rather Conor O’Shea, hitherto in charge of the men’s sector, doubled his portfolio. Mitchell’s title is slightly different.

Hayter’s availability renews the question of the balance between the 7s and 15s programmes, and within the world of 7s, between the GB and England squads. O’Shea speaks of ‘the repositioning of the sevens programme within the pathway’ It’s high time it was allowed to settle down in one place.

It is only last month that England 7s saw a change of personnel with Hayter as Performance Lead. The women’s squad have the Commonwealth Games to look forward to, enough to keep a man busy. But Hayter now takes on vast new tracts of responsibility which will include the Red Roses’ safe path to a World Cup final in November.

Let’s hope he can adjust to a position that sounds far more desk-bound and committee-bound than the active jobs he had on the playing fields of England.

For those who would prefer to see women taking charge of women’s sport, the appointment represents one more setback

An independent diversity and inclusion advisory group, chaired by former England, Lions and Harlequins player, Ugo Monye, alongside vice-chair Giselle Mather, ex-England player and current Wasps Ladies director of rugby, has been established to support the RFU with its goal of driving rugby union in England to reflect the diversity in society.

Group members also include:

• Sue Anstiss MBE – CEO of Fearless Women, trustee of the Women’s Sport Trust and co-founder of the Women’s Sport Collective.
• James Bailey – ex-England Sevens player, England Women Sevens head coach and current RPA D&I advisor and Rugby Sevens consultant.
• Nigel Boatswain – over 20 years at Apple, including time as the executive sponsor for ‘Black at Apple’, its D&I programme. Trustee at the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and external project board for Sport England D&I focused 2021 Code for Sports Governance.
• Josh Brekenfeld – London Scottish board and executive committee member and director of global development at Aspen.
• Gill Burns MBE – ex-England Captain, Rugby World Cup winner and Lancashire RFU President 2019-21.
• Laura Kapo – player and chairwoman at Richmond Women.

Biographies of the group are available here.

The group will provide insights to shape plans as well as challenge the RFU on its progress in delivering on its diversity and inclusion goals.

Former England player and D&I advisory group chair, Ugo Monye, said: “The RFU has made diversity and inclusion a core priority with clear plans being worked on that should make a substantive difference to the game.

“It’s really important that we get this right so that the anyone, from anywhere, feels rugby is a game for them. There is a wealth of experience in the advisory group and we’re all pleased to be able to contribute in driving an important agenda within the sport.”

Bill Sweeney, RFU CEO, said: “To be able to draw on the wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise in this group will be invaluable to us as we embark on plans to increase diversity in our sport and ensure it is open and inclusive to all. Consulting with others outside our organisation will provide us with different perspectives and help us to ensure that our plans are robust, meaningful, and result in tangible action.”

The RFU undertook research (details here) to inform its commitment to improving diversity and inclusion across four key areas of the game:

• Fans, Followers and Partners
• Game Play – Players, Coaches, Match Officials (professional and community game)
• Employees and Board
• Game Leadership – Volunteer leaders within Clubs, Constituent Bodies and Council

Within each of these four areas, the RFU is committed to better understanding where it is today compared to the wider population in terms of demographic, behavioural and attitudinal data and insight, establishing what it wants to change and how it will achieve it. Priorities include raising awareness, educating a wide range of stakeholders and delivering critical interventions alongside refreshed policies and guidance and ultimately monitoring progress, and adapting plans based on outcomes and updated insight. Currently the priority areas for action are ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, sexual orientation and age.

The following outlines headline goals within each area:

Fans, Followers and Partners

• Grow fans and followers in under-represented groups to 40% female interest share, 6% ethnically diverse communities interest share, 37% lower socio-economic group interest share by 2025 (compared to 29%, 4% and 33% currently).
• Increase in attendance of under-represented groups at Twickenham by 2025.

Game Play

• 60k female players (40k currently) and 170k players from lower socio-economic groups (153k currently) by 2025.
• 700 coaches and 150 match officials from under-represented groups to be identified and receive mentoring by 2025.
• Every Developing Player Programme, Centre of Excellence, Constituent Body representative team and Allianz Premier 15s club to have a female coach/ match official involved by 2025; and an increase in coaches and match officials from ethnically diverse communities in those groups.

Employees and Board

• Board composition to be 15% from ethnically diverse communities by 2022 and 30% women/non-binary by 2022 (28.6% currently).
  RFU recently announced the appointment of Tom Illube CBE as the new Chair of the Board as well as Polly Williams as an Independent Non-Executive Director, both from August 2021.
• Executive and Leadership Team to be 11% from ethnically diverse communities (4% currently) and 42% women/ non-binary by 2025 (currently 38%).
• 50% of Executive and Leadership Team and 50% of workforce to be from underrepresented groups by 2025 (currently 46% and 41% respectively).

Game Leadership

• Plans in this area will be delivered by the RFU D&I Implementation Working Group; a group of experienced volunteers, recruited from across England to represent the game.
• Members of this group were announced in autumn 2020 (biographies here). Its objective is to build an inclusive and sustainable game, through skilled and diverse leadership.
• The focus of this group is to implement recommendations approved by RFU Council. Recommendations to be implemented include:
  • A training programme to be initiated for Board and Council along with all Constituent Bodies in receipt of RFU funding to support with diversity awareness.
  • Guidance provided by the RFU to Constituent Bodies and clubs to support inclusive practices and showcase best practice. A best practice recruitment tool kit to attract a diverse range of candidates for each appointment; supporting Constituent Bodies to attract and retain a more diverse pool of people.
  • The composition of RFU committees and working groups to be considered within a D&I context to support achieving a diverse mix of members.

Courtesy of the RFU

Lead photo shows Giselle Mather giving team talk at Wasps