Global Partners

Development


Rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes. As the game evolves, World Rugby accepts its responsibility to ensure that, as the pinnacles of the game achieved through elite performance are driven higher, the grass root foundations of the game are broadened and deepened.

The development of the game, high performance and competition can not reach their potential.

World Rugby Development Plan

The World Rugby Participation Plan recognises the need to embrace and promote the game’s diversity and ensure it is inclusive in all that it sets out to achieve. The new plan must ensure it can inspire and support all stakeholders to grow, either quantitatively through engagement, recruitment and retention of new participants, or qualitatively by promotion of best practice, which drives up standards and ensure the highest ‘quality of experience’ for all participants. These participants could be players, coaches, match officials, volunteers or spectators.

Pacific Combine 2020
Future stars of rugby in the Pacific Islands participated in the 2020 Pacific Combine. The programme featured 24 players from Samoa, Tonga and Fiji and was delivered by World Rugby in partnership with Pacific Rugby Players and the unions.

World Rugby aims to:

  • Support Member Unions and Regional Associations to shape the evolution of the whole game in the short, medium and long term
  • Support Member Unions and Regional Associations in creating the necessary strategies and infrastructure to promote long term sustainable game growth
  • Deploy World Rugby resources to maximise return on investment
  • To enhance and support the growth of the game in identified new markets eg. Women’s game 
  • Globally grow the core game of 15s and sevens and T1 Rugby, retaining existing players in the core game while also introducing new players to both the game and its newer variants
  • Underpin High Performance systems to increase competitiveness of teams competing for Rugby World Cup and Olympic qualification
  • Work with unions to improve their domestic game provision
  • Support the growth of fans in the game
  • Collect data and insights on global trends and advice regions and unions appropriately 


Equality in opportunity and provision

Achieving equality in opportunity and provision must lie at the heart of all things World Rugby does. This must be the key driver in all our efforts to grow the game, and no more so than in the women’s game.