England fans are keen to invest in the game and eager to get close to the England team. To provide them with exclusive coverage, last November we launched the Gillette Rugby Podcast, a weekly ten minute audio magazine downloadable to iPods and computers. The podcast was number one in the iTunes chart during the RBS 6 Nations and the service was provided daily throughout England’s Rugby World Cup campaign.

We have continued our campaign against black market ticket operators. We have cracked down on unauthorised sales breaking the terms and conditions of sale of Twickenham international tickets, cancelling those found on website auctions and imposing sanctions on clubs, Constituent Bodies (CBs) and individuals contravening terms of sale. We will keep doing this in order to ensure that tickets go to the right people and that we minimise any profiteering by unscrupulous third parties. Importantly, we will continue to educate buyers not to buy tickets or packages that may not exist.

We have also undertaken a review of the Official Hospitality Licensee scheme and, at the time of writing, we are going through the process of analysing a large number of bids from companies applying to become official licensed operators from the 2008/09 season. This underscores our continued commitment to ensuring that club members can attend Twickenham internationals and not just those who can afford inflated prices through tickets sold on the black market.