World Rugby has launched ‘A Global Sport for All – True to its Values’, a new strategic plan for the advancement and growth of the sport through to 2025.

While recognising the challenges facing society and sport as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the plan sets out World Rugby’s long-term mission to support and enhance the game. It builds on strong foundations, with 9.6 million people playing the sport globally and the worldwide fan base increasing by two-thirds in rugby’s established markets and doubling in emerging markets over the past decade to more than 405 million.

The new strategy focuses on four key areas – Competition, Participation, Engagement and The Game itself. For each of these, there are a particular set of targets.

 

MAKING THE GAME ALL IT CAN BE

Player welfare transcends everything that World Rugby does and continues to be the number one priority. Throughout the life of the strategic plan, World Rugby will lead an open discussion with the rugby family and independent experts to continually advance player welfare guided by evolving research, science and technology.

It will continue to lead targeted research to inform and advance injury prevention and mental wellbeing and drive player welfare-centred law review and trials to further protect players at all levels of the game.

Alongside this, World Rugby will collaborate with the global rugby family to evolve the game to ensure it is attractive and relevant to a new generation of participants. This will include exploring ways to supercharge sevens, enhance the community game and further develop the non-contact offering for emerging nations, where shorter formats such as Touch and Tag are attracting newcomers to the sport.

Recent Nielsen data demonstrates that in some nations two-thirds of new rugby followers are introduced via non-traditional formats.

In delivering the plan, World Rugby intends to further tap into the depth and range of expertise across the sport and beyond, building on the increasing number of players, players’ representatives and coaches on World Rugby’s Committees. Similarly, its Fan Panel, which was launched in 2020, and in-depth research will be used to inform planning and ensure fans remain at the forefront of decision making.

Our View: Blending player welfare, albeit without mentioning concussion directly, and the data showing two-thirds of new players are coming via non-traditional formats suggest this may be the future path of the game. This will be the second cycle of an Olympic Games where Sevens gains the biggest of all worldwide audience and is a format more appealing in terms of its simplicity, speed and safety. Cricket is an example of how new formats have come to dominate, even in the most traditional of sports.

 

ADVANCING THE CALENDAR AND COMPETITIONS

Building on the successful launch of the WXV women’s international competition and planned support for Pacific Islands professional rugby franchises, the plan sets out to advance and unify the men’s international fifteens and sevens calendars to build a stronger and more aligned sport for all. In partnership with rugby’s stakeholders, World Rugby will facilitate discussions and seek to develop a more compelling competition structure and unified approach to test rugby within the July and November windows.

With player welfare central to considerations, World Rugby is reviewing the role and portfolio of its competitions with the objective of increasing global competitiveness and diversifying revenues for the sport. Game-changing targets include the launch of new men’s and women’s emerging nations competitions by 2022 to boost high-performance competition opportunities, as well as a revamped sevens rugby ecosystem.

Our View: The key phrase here is stakeholders and for the first time that goes beyond what would have always been considered the Rugby family. Private equity investment is done on the basis of a return in financial terms, not necessarily in the immediate short term but at some point. In recent days we have witnessed a flexing of muscles in soccer that has ultimately failed in the creation of a new Super League but which shows that the days of a single body determining the calendar ‘for the good of that game’ are numbered.

 

GROWING PARTICIPATION

As the sport looks beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, a key objective for grassroots and elite rugby alike is to facilitate players, officials, volunteers and fans back to the game in a safe and secure manner in all regions of the world. To mitigate the impact on the grassroots game and broaden global development, World Rugby will work in partnership with regions and unions to retain players, with a particular focus on the 15 a side game, building capacity and capability.

The plan also reflects World Rugby’s commitment to the success of women in rugby – the single biggest opportunity to grow the sport.

As the halfway stage of the 2017-25 Women’s Development Plan approaches, World Rugby will build on the progress that has already been made in all areas, from leadership to competition, grassroots to commercial, and extend the success of the ‘Try and Stop Us’ campaign to further increase the number of women involved in the sport.

World Rugby will also be launching a new plan to accelerate diversity and inclusion across all levels of the game in line with the recommendations of the organisation’s wide-ranging governance review.

Our View: Retaining players, expanding the Women’s game and increasing diversity and inclusion are essential requirements of any sporting strategy in 2021 and all are present and correct. World rugby’s strength can be in the way it enables the sharing of projects that work and rolling them out to other parts of the world.

INCREASING ENGAGEMENT

To promote and increase engagement in a marketplace where the competition for attention is continually increasing, World Rugby will facilitate knowledge sharing, as well as generating insight and materials, such as marketing and communications toolkits, for regional associations and unions.

A 10 per cent increase in global followers and fans by 2025 is being targeted. World Rugby is also committed to further enhancing the way it works with stakeholders across the rugby family by introducing a new ‘State of the Union’ survey to gather feedback and better understand the needs of its partners.

World Rugby’s commercial, broadcast and content strategy will be focused on growing rugby’s audiences around the world, delivering compelling and relevant content to fans and developing new and increased revenues for re-investment in the game. This will include optimising digital platforms, building interest and engagement in between events and ensuring insight and value from audience data is maximised.

Our View: This intent to optimise digital platforms could have been taken from the CVC plan to justify its investment in PRO14 Rugby, the Premiership and the Guinness Six Nations.  The key to success will be for the two different groups, with their different agendas, to work as one.  The attention of fans is limited and Rugby needs to speak in one voice, even if in different languages.

 

WAYS OF WORKING – A RESPONSIBLE PARTNER

“The ambitious Strategic Plan 2021-25, recognises the current challenges and sets out a long-term roadmap to support and develop rugby around the globe.,” said World Rugby Chair Bill Beaumont.

“It will focus and guide us as we work to ensure the game is as enjoyable, accessible, appealing and safe as possible, with player welfare remaining our number one priority.”

“This is not just a plan for World Rugby, it is a plan for the whole rugby family that has embraced input from across the rugby community, from unions and regions to partners and stakeholders. Everyone has a role to play, whether they be a player, parent, fan, volunteer, coach or administrator, and we look forward to driving the sport forward together.”

“This is an important moment for World Rugby and the sport – a clear and aspirational plan that will protect and promote the growth of the sport worldwide, beyond its traditional nations,” added Vice Chair Bernard Laporte.

“Now, more than ever, the game needs unity, vision and leadership and this reflects our ambitions as we look to support our unions through the most challenging period in sporting and societal history.”

“In these uncertain and challenging times, it has never been more important to map a route ahead for the sport. This new Strategic Plan 2021-25 provides a framework for the continued development and expansion of rugby as we strive to continue our journey towards becoming a global sport for all, concluded CEO Alan Gilpin.

“As an organisation, a sport and a family, this plan will guide how we tackle the three Cs of Covid, calendar and concussion, and build the foundations for a safer, stronger and more sustainable game for all. We will focus on advancing player welfare and international competitiveness, increase participation, grow revenues and deepen fan engagement.”

“In delivering this plan, we will work in full partnership with our unions, regional associations and partners and look to tap into the expertise across the rugby family and beyond, as well as listening to our fans. We will further enhance our governance and decision-making structures and, importantly, our strong values, which we know are central to our sport’s appeal, will remain at the heart of all we do.”

 

Sport for Business Partners