Under the terms of the ERL Shareholders Agreement, the RFU and PRL agreed to appoint an independent Non-Executive Chairman to the Board of ERL and John Rennocks took up the appointment last month.

John has had a distinguished career holding senior financial positions in a number of major PLCs including Powergen PLC (where he was Finance Director) and Corus Group PLC (where he was Executive Director of Finance).

Since retiring from full time executive positions in 2001, John has built up a portfolio of non-executive directorships in PLC companies. He is a lifetime supporter of rugby union at all levels from junior clubs to international, is married with two children and lives in Oxshott, Surrey.