Graeme Cattermole, chairman of the Rugby Football Union Managaement Board has started this season as he finished the last - on a 10-month tour of England.

Cattermole is determined to visit as many clubs and counties as he can again during his second season in office.

The 56-year-old father-of-two believes that talking and listening to people at the grassroots as well as the top end of the game is the best way to improve the sport for everyone.

Cattermole's lifetime in rugby has included numerous roles, from being treasurer of Headstone Old Boys RFC and then Wasps FC for 12 years, to Secretary of Middlesex County RFU and a referee with the London Society and Chairman of England Rugby Ltd.

"It's important for me that I am accessible and approachable, it doesn't matter what level or who the participants are. I want to break down the perception of 'Fortress Twickenham' and ensure that the senior administrators of the RFU are seen to be readily available," said Cattermole.

"We are all part of the same family - it doesn't matter where you are based, whether it be in Richmond, Penzance or up in Penrith - everyone needs to feel part of the game. That is why I have developed this theme of 'getting out and about' as well as bringing about a vision of all working together in partnership.

"I would like to be seen as somebody who covers all the levels of the game and to show that the RFU is a caring organisation which does understand the problems people face.

"I have been very encouraged in my visits in that people are prepared to be open about how they feel about the game in their club and locality.

"If somebody has a problem I invite them to contact me direct and I will look into the matter and come back to them. It is vitally important that customers, the individuals within the game, feel that they can contact the guy at the top.

"The RFU has in the past been branded as an organisation that cannot be trusted but my aim and the way I work is to be open and honest. And, if I get something wrong, I will admit to it.

"The RFU is investing significant amounts of money and resources into community rugby and the initiatives resulting from Eric Blackman's report into halting the decline in playing numbers."

The RFU just appointed its first Constituent Body Volunteer Manager, Carole Thelwall-Jones. She will liaise with the many volunteers who organise and administer rugby below the top end of the game in the Constituent Bodies around the country, supporting their activities and helping to develop the community game.

Cattermole added: "The common denominator I have found from listening to people is the need for more and better equipped administrators. The RFU through all its programmes, including the A to Z of Community Rugby and the appointment of Carole, demonstrates its commitment to support and assist the development of clubs. They need to grasp these initiatives we have developed and mould them to their own circumstances."

The former senior executive with the National Westminster Bank Group stressed: "I would like to see the game improve at the lower levels and ensure that the initiatives the RFU are putting in place are working.

"Having put in place the various initiatives, we have to be able to monitor and measure them to see if they are effective so that if an initiative is working we can develop it and put more resources into it.

"But if we have an initiative that is clearly not working then we have to change it and develop something new. We cannot afford to carry on pumping money into initiatives and or activities which do not bring a benefit or a return for the game as a whole. And I don't mean a financial return, just simply we must have value for money."

The new Elite Player Squad agreement between the Zurich Premiership clubs, which Cattermole helped negotiate, is evidence of a spirit of co-operation in England's bid to win the 2003 World Cup.

But the RFU is also making great strides below the professional level and has now become a member of Fédération Internationale de Rugby Amateur (FIRA), the umbrella organisation for Europe's developing rugby nations.

Cattermole, who accompanied the England Counties XV on their highly successful tour of Chile in June, said: "The benefit for FIRA for a foundation union to be a member is that we can assist developing nations and provide them with resource support for refereeing and coaching, as we have already done in Romania, as well as playing opportunities.

"The benefit for English rugby is that if we could find the slots in the structured season for regional sides, whether they are individual counties or groups of counties, to participate in FIRA tournaments, it will give people below the top tier a chance to play representative rugby, followed by the opportunity to be selected for an England side and pull on that coveted national white jersey."