The Rugby Players Association (RPA) today announced the appointment of Penny Maltby-Payne as Head of Communications. Penny joins the RPA from Great British Racing, where she was Senior PR Manager tasked with raising the profile of Horse Racing alongside managing all campaigns and commercial strategies. Prior to working at Great British Racing, Penny held various Account Management roles at Pitch Marketing Group, working across multiple sports and clients including BT Sport (Rugby and WTA), Tag Heuer and Harlequins.  

As Head of Communications, Penny will be responsible for developing and activating the business-wide communications strategy of the RPA, managing the communications team, and overseeing marketing, PR, digital and brand activity across the RPA Group.  

RPA Group CEO, Damian Hopley, said: “We are really excited to welcome Penny to the RPA. We are living through one of the defining set of events in our lifetime and our sport, so it’s great news that Penny is joining at such a challenging yet exciting time for rugby. Given Penny’s outstanding experience and skill sets, we all look forward to working together and continuing our mission to make England the best environment to play rugby in the world.“  

RPA Head of Communications, Penny Maltby-Payne, said: “I am thrilled to join the RPA as Head of Communications and be a part of such a talented team of people. Rugby has always been a huge passion of mine both personally and professionally and I am really looking forward to helping the business develop and activate a communications strategy that will encompass innovative and fresh campaigns and continue to provide our members with the very best support. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and the exciting challenges that lie ahead.”