Ben T'eo

• Connacht take it up a gear with Mazda

   Connacht has ended their 14 year relationship with Bank of Ireland by reportedly signing a new 3-year sponsorship deal with Japanese car manufacturer, Mazda. As Connacht look ahead to their first season in the Heineken Cup, a need to perhaps compete financially with their opponents has driven them to seek out a better financial deal. Therefore they have reportedly turned down €100,000 a year from Bank of Ireland, a deal which they have Benefited from since shortly after the game turned profe...

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• Accounts,Funding and Financial Services

  Rugby Finance, Accounts and Funding.This section focuses on the finances that drive rugby business. The governing bodies and top tier clubs in league and union in UK and Ireland generate collectively over £600 million in turnover each year.We report and archive financial performance in rugby in more detail than any other media channel. We analyse and compare current rugby finance and related news against past reports, interview leading figures from rugby bodies and experts in tax, financ...

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• What does it take to run the biggest club rugby competition in the world?

  What does it take to run the biggest club rugby competition in the world? DAVID LAWRENSON finds out from ERC chief executive Derek McGrath   The Heineken Cup has been one of the great success stories of rugby union in the open era, becoming the biggest club competition in the world. In December, a record crowd of over 76,000 watched Stade Francais play Harlequins at the Stade de France in Paris - a remarkable achievement considering the first final in 1996 attracted less than 22,000. Days befor...

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• SSE help power the RFU

  Leading energy company, SSE, have been announced as the National Community Partner of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in a three year partnership.  SSE will invest ‘significantly’ to support community rugby in England and take on the title sponsorship of the National and Divisional Leagues. Sophie Goldschmidt, who joined the RFU as Chief Commercial Officer in July, commented: “The announcement of SSE’s investment in the grassroots game is a credit to both SSE’s dedication to the develo...

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• Roger Lewis - Group Chief Executive, WRU and Millennium Stadium

  Running Welsh rugby is one of the toughest jobs in the sport but WRU chief executive Roger Lewis has used his experience in the music business to turn things around. DAVID LAWRENSON reports.   Thirty years in the music business doesn’t seem the ideal preparation for taking on one of the toughest jobs in rugby. But after two and a half years as chief executive of the Welsh Rugby Union, Roger Lewis seems to be hitting the right notes. Trying to fulfil the expectations of a rugby-mad nation and...

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• Pitch Protection

  RUNNING RUGBY looks at a new easy-to-use system which could protect pitches from heavy rain and frost   After years of drier, milder winters, the past few months of rain and frost have brought a few headaches to groundsmen up and down the country. Grass pitches have improved out of all recognition over the last decade thanks to technology and sophisticated drainage systems but games are still being cancelled or ruined as a spectacle, because the playing surface has not been protected against a...

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• Sweatz Vest

  The Sweatz Vest is a 100 per cent toxin free, biodegradable vest worn Beneath your usual training clothing which the manufacturers claim will help generate weight loss. They say the vest works by causing the body to sweat more, which uses up more calories. The water lost is replaced by drinking, however the calories used to create the sweat stay off. In addition, the sweating helps the body detoxify, eliminating chemicals stored in the fat cells and making weight loss easier.  Effective for a r...

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• RR speaks to Robin Bye

  Outside of those reading this magazine, there probably aren’t huge numbers of people who had the fortune to combine their sporting passion with working life. But for Robin Bye, former Brand and Media Director and Saracens, that’s exactly what he’s been able to do for the last decade. And following ten years at the creative helm at Sarries, he has now gone solo, setting up Byelateral – an independent creative consultancy specialising in the design and delivery of innovative solutions for...

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• RR speaks to Eamonn McManus

  What I’m saying is the game needs a shot in the arm both commercially in terms of profile image and in terms of playing standards. Everything should be aimed towards improving our international performance and we’ll only do that if we improve club performance. What we should be doing, like every other business that works, is recognising and incentivising success rather than just cosseting mediocrity. We already have an even playing field, TV monies are distributed evenly, the Super League di...

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• Payroll cost cutting

  With rugby clubs searching for ways to cut costs DAVE COOPER, managing director at payroll provider ESOS, believes outsourcing your payroll is a way of cutting costs and improving productivity   The pace at which outsourcing is being recognised as a sound strategic and financial practice is strengthening every month and its Benefits are even more evident during these times of economic uncertainty. Businesses are constantly on the look out for cost saving measures but many are overlooking those...

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