Receive and adopt the Annual Report

whose continued support (and bidding at the auctions) we are deeply grateful for. Thank you also to the many generous organisations and people who provide these auction items or give their time which enables us to offer some totally unique experience based auction items.

Whilst our annual pre-test luncheon at Eden Park continues to be our benchmark, we acknowledge the ongoing support of rugby organisations who continue to include us into their events with such loyalty: Emirates Group, Centurions RFC, New Zealand Harlequins RFC, the New Zealand Barbarians RFC and Massey RFC. The networking and public awareness these opportunities provide is equal to the financial benefits realised from these events.

Thanks to our Business and Sponsorship in Kind partners – NZR, Panasonic, DB Breweries, Foley Family Wines, Claymore Law, NZ Rugby World and The Experience Group. Your continued support, flexibility to embrace our demands and enthusiasm towards new ventures is so heart-warming.

Finally to the gaming trust funders from Infinity Foundation, North and South Trust, Pelorus Trust, GrassRoots Trust, Lion Foundation and Four Winds; we thank you for your support. We acknowledge the increased demands on your funding resources across many charities and are extremely grateful for your support when it is available.

PREVENTION, ADVOCACY AND COLLABORATION • During the year we worked with a group of injured players and John Miller Law (JML). The issue is the disparity between the funding package paid by ACC to the contracted agencies and the package paid by ACC to those managing their own care (i.e. while an agency contracted to ACC is not arranging care). This is a complex issue and where there is no resolution yet, we would like to acknowledge Charlotte Kerr for her dedicated hours of work and also the team at ACC who are always available for discussion.

• There are many people at NZR dedicated to research and making the game as safe as possible as demonstrated in the prevention programme RugbySmart. ACC have made a $7m commitment towards this.

• We have had some excellent side by side working with ACC case managers, where we work jointly to ensure the best possible outcomes for our mutual clients.

• I would like to acknowledge Malcolm Pacific Immigration who over the years have provided incredible support and service in assisting with immigration and visa issues.

• Biennially we meet with our counterparts for collaboration on many levels: In May we met in Sydney with teams from Australia, South Africa, England, Argentina, Ireland and Japan. We agreed common objectives which include the continuous improvement in the education and prevention of spinal injuries (SCI) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in the game of Rugby Union and the management, rehabilitation and welfare of players who have suffered such serious injury playing Rugby Union. We agreed to actively share ideas, information and knowledge on a confidential basis that may be beneficial to the operations of the parties and the Common Objectives.

CONCLUSION We could not provide the assistance that we do to our injured players without the grant from New Zealand Rugby. I acknowledge the many dedicated staff members who assist us in a myriad of ways.

To our injured players, thank you. We’ve had so many lovely moments together this year. We have been fortunate to get to know your families - wives, partners and children, as well as carers and friends. We salute your support networks.

Finally, I thank my colleagues, Ben Sturmfels, Gwendoline Jessop and Angela Davies, for their teamwork and energy and our Board of Directors who offer constant support and balanced, sage guidance. They give us their time, knowledge and expertise with enthusiasm.