RFUW in good financial health - for now

Also in the Annual Report are details of the RFUW's finances, which shows that (not including the £50,000 grant to the World Cup) the RFUW made a profit last year of nearly £5,000 (compared with a loss of £10,000 the previous year), and now has some £343,000 in the bank. And this despite the cost of running the game, especially the elite game, increasing significantly (mainly due to the World Cup).

However, as the report itself says "RFUW's finances remain heavily dependent on grant funding" - the reason for  RFUW's healthy 2010/11 was almost entirely due to it negotiating higher levels of grant funding - and the worry must be that government cuts could significantly reduce this. The Report suggests that the National Lottery may plug the gap, but that is not guaranteed.Women's rugby in England costs the RFUW about £2.5 million per year - affiliation fees, sponsorship and all other income only brings in just under £300,000.

Where does the money go?

• £1.25 million (about half) goes on the elite performance teams and systems (ie. England);
• The club and coach development officers cost £460k, with another £320 in associated expenses
• The old regional programme cost just under £130,000
• Competitions (like National 7s) cost a remarkable £43,000 (Herts 7s makes a profit!); and
• It costs £600k to run the RFUW.

On the plus side "integration" with the RFU will change all this, and - despite Rosie's expression of sadness about this in the report - the great thing is that the RFUW will not have to stand alone, and that many of these costs (especially development and administration) should now be shared, while supporting four divisions instead of 11 regions should also be significantly cheaper. You wonder whether this will be the last report like this from RFUW as separating out RFUW's own costs in the future will become increasingly difficult.

There is more to the document than money, with reports from all major officials. These are generally glowing, but contain little that is new, and sometimes it is the lack of information that is significant. For example, a programme to develop an England team for the 2013 Sevens World Cup is mentioned - but there is nothing about the Olympics, and how a Great Britain team might be formed. It might be argued that 2016 is a long way away - but most other unions have plans firmly in place. What is happening in England? The report does not say.