FEATURED WORK

Hampshire Rugby Football Union

BOOSTING EFFICIENCY BY 200% WITH AUTOMATED WORKFLOWS

Hampshire Rugby Football Union faced significant administrative bottlenecks due to a restrictive proprietary website platform and reliance on manual paper-based processes. Lemongrass Media delivered a bespoke digital solution that automated complex workflows including concussion reporting and disciplinary payments. The transformation has resulted in over 8,000 unique visitors and increased volunteer and club administrative efficiency by 200%.

LAUNCH PROJECT

About Hampshire RFU

Hampshire Rugby Football Union (Hampshire RFU) serves as the governing body for rugby union across the county, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands. Their mandate is extensive, supporting clubs, schools, colleges, universities and volunteers at every level of the game. From nurturing grassroots participation to managing representative pathways, the organisation plays a pivotal role in the health and development of the sport in the region.

To manage an organisation of this scale effectively, Hampshire RFU requires a digital presence that is not only informative but functionally robust. It serves as the central hub for thousands of players and officials who rely on accurate information and seamless administrative support to keep the game moving.

Hampshire RFU encountered several problems with their old website

The Problem

Before partnering with Lemongrass Media, Hampshire RFU was operating on Pitchero, a proprietary sports website platform. While popular among smaller individual clubs, the platform proved restrictive for a large governing body with complex needs. The client found themselves “hand-tied” by limited functionality and had virtually no say in the overall design or user experience. This resulted in a generic online presence that failed to reflect the authority and professionalism of the county union. However, the challenges extended far beyond aesthetics.

The vast majority of the organisation’s critical processes were paper-based. Administrative staff spent countless hours manually processing forms, chasing payments and entering data across disparate systems. Whether it was tracking concussion incidents or managing disciplinary hearings, the reliance on physical paperwork created bottlenecks, increased the risk of human error and consumed valuable time that could have been spent on strategic development.

A Youth Concussion Report, for example, would involve a volunteer having to manually contact the child’s parent, the school, the club’s welfare officer, Hampshire RFU and also a notification back to the person who completed the form to let them know their report had been received.

The organisation needed a solution that would liberate them from these manual constraints.

The Solution

Hampshire RFU has devolved responsibilities from the RFU to govern, deliver and grow the game which includes event approval, tour approval, financial statement upload, report a red card and more. Lemongrass Media approached the project not just as a website redesign but as a comprehensive digital transformation of the organisation’s workflows. We moved the client away from the restrictive Pitchero environment to a bespoke platform designed specifically for their needs.

Our team worked closely with Hampshire RFU to identify the most time-consuming administrative tasks and engineered custom automated solutions to handle them. The visual identity was completely modernised to provide a professional, contemporary look that instils confidence in visitors.

Financial Statement Form

Amongst the many regulatory forms automated for Hampshire RFU, under Regulation 5 you can work closely with your clubs to ensure timely reporting of statements and key updates.

Touring / Event / Camp Approvals

Automate your entire approval system with forms that will collect from clubs all the relevant data you need and ensure that that information immediately gets to the right people.

Automated Concussion Reporting

We digitised the critical Concussion Report Form. This intelligent workflow now determines which notifications and details are automatically sent to relevant parties across multiple organisations based on the data entered. It triggers secondary and tertiary workflows without human intervention and automatically generates monthly and annual reports.

Disciplinary and Citing Workflows

We built a secure system for managing disciplinary notifications and citings. This sensitive area of rugby administration is now handled digitally, ensuring accuracy and privacy.

Paying Fines and Fees

The new platform facilitates the payment of fines and administrative fees. Submitting the relevant form with the fine reason selected automatically totals the fine due and also logs it on the website back end. Users can pay the fines immediately through any payment processor of your choice.

Dynamic Clubs Directory

We created a comprehensive directory of all Hampshire clubs listing facilities and game types. Clubs can now update their own details through a moderated online form to keep information current without burdening central staff. Behind the scenes, key staff members are also added to the club directory and this powers the form system, ensuring information gets to the correct people.

Result

The impact of the new digital ecosystem was immediate and measurable. By migrating away from a rigid proprietary system to a custom solution, Hampshire RFU has reclaimed control over their digital operations.

The shift to automation has fundamentally changed how the office functions. Since the launch, the website has processed over 1,000 form completions, saving hundreds of hours of manual data entry. The platform has also successfully attracted over 8,000 unique visitors, proving that the modern design and improved user experience are resonating with the rugby community.

Most significantly, by streamlining these heavy administrative processes and digitising workflows, Hampshire RFU has reported a productivity increase of 200%, saving volunteer and club administrator time, improving compliance and overall efficiency. Volunteers are no longer buried under paperwork and can focus their energy on supporting the growth of rugby across the region.

Hampshire RFU’s strategy reflects that of the RFU – how can they make it easier for their volunteers (county and club) to govern, deliver and grow the game. Lemongrass Media have given them the tools to do exactly that.

What This Shows

The partnership between Hampshire RFU and Lemongrass Media demonstrates the power of looking beyond the “website” to the business processes underneath. By identifying the limitations of their previous platform and embracing bespoke automation, Hampshire RFU has future-proofed their administration.

We continue to support Hampshire RFU as they evolve, ensuring their digital tools remain as dynamic as the sport they represent.

If your organisation is held back by manual processes or restrictive software, contact us today to discuss how we can streamline your workflow.

Take a Look at Some of the Forms

Report A Youth Concussion Citing Notification Red Card Notification Pay an Admin Fee Rugby/Holiday Camps Request Outgoing Tour Application POOAG Assessment Competition Registration Add An Event Add An Event Send a News Story