A GLOBAL SPORT FOR ALL - TRUE TO ITS VALUES - WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25 - Asia Rugby

 
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A GLOBAL SPORT FOR ALL - TRUE TO ITS VALUES - WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25 - Asia Rugby
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

A GLOBAL SPORT
FOR ALL – TRUE TO
ITS VALUES
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN
2021-25

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A GLOBAL SPORT FOR ALL - TRUE TO ITS VALUES - WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25 - Asia Rugby
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY                                                                                                 WORLDRUGBY
                                                                                                                  WORLD RUGBYSTRATEGIC
                                                                                                                             STRATEGICPLAN
                                                                                                                                       PLAN2021-25
                                                                                                                                           2021-25

EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY

BACKGROUND
World Rugby is an organisation and a movement
– everyone has a say, and everyone should feel
connected with the sport, its advancement and
success.

As an organisation, World Rugby leads and guides a
sport that has enjoyed significant growth over recent
years – across participation, audiences, markets and
                                                        OUR VISION
revenues.                                               A global sport for all - true to its values

Against a challenging societal and sporting backdrop
exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, this Strategic
                                                        OUR VALUES
                                                        Integrity, solidarity, respect, discipline, passion
Plan articulates how World Rugby proposes to lead the
sport, inspire participation and engagement, support
players and grow revenues for the benefit of everyone   OUR PURPOSE
in the global rugby family in the coming decade.        Growing rugby by making it more relevant and accessible

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A GLOBAL SPORT FOR ALL - TRUE TO ITS VALUES - WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25 - Asia Rugby
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY                                                                                                       WORLD
                                                                                                                        WORLDRUGBY
                                                                                                                              RUGBYSTRATEGIC
                                                                                                                                   STRATEGICPLAN
                                                                                                                                             PLAN2021-25
                                                                                                                                                 2021-25

THE NEXT STRATEGIC PLAN                         DELIVERING THE NEXT STRATEGIC PLAN
World Rugby plans to fulfil its Purpose and
                                                Without increased revenues, World Rugby will not be able to invest at the levels
Vision by focusing relentlessly on the three
                                                required to grow rugby globally. Operating competitions profitably, building commercial
pillars of Competition, Participation and
                                                partnerships, strengthening the brand of the sport and driving value from audiences, will
Engagement – underpinned by evolving the
                                                all be critical to our success. We believe that delivering this strategic plan, in partnership
game itself, our Product.
                                                with unions, regional associations, partner organisations and commercial partners, will
This new Strategic Plan will drive the          take the sport of rugby from strength to strength in the years to come.
organisation forwards from 2021 onwards. It
is a plan for World Rugby as an organisation,                          Strategic Plan Overview
based around a Vision and Purpose endorsed
by our stakeholders. It will be implemented         Vision       A global sport for all - true to its values
through a series of annual priorities set by
the organisation’s Executive Committee.
                                                 Purpose          Growing rugby by making it more relevant and accessible
And while it is envisaged that the framework
set out here – Competition, Participation,
Engagement, Product, Ways of Working –             Values         INTEGRITY        •   RESPECT         •    SOLIDARITY         •   PASSION           •   DISCIPLINE

could remain in place for the next decade,
given the pace of change in the sector the          Pillars       Competition                          Participation                     Engagement
content of these pillars should be reviewed                       •    Optimise the portfolio          •     Drive retention             •    Promote brand rugby
within the next five years.                                       •    Raise standards and             •     Grow women’s rugby          •    Enhance stakeholder
                                                                       competitiviness                 •     Target growth markets            relations
                                                                  •    Build the global calender                                         •    Drive audience
                                                                                                                                              engagement and value

                                                                  The Game (our product)
                                                                   •   Player Welfare &            •       Forms of the game         •       Utilise expert and
                                                                       experience                                                            audience input

                                                  Culture          Ways of Working
                                                                   •   Responsible                 •       Commercial                •       Efficient and Effective

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A GLOBAL SPORT FOR ALL - TRUE TO ITS VALUES - WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25 - Asia Rugby
WORLD
                                                                                                             WORLDRUGBY
                                                                                                                   RUGBYSTRATEGIC
                                                                                                                        STRATEGICPLAN
                                                                                                                                  PLAN2021-25
                                                                                                                                      2021-25

CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................2               WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN......15

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT............5                       Strategic framework.......................16

  Covid-19 - tackling the coronavirus                     Competition..................................17
  challenge.......................................6
                                                          Participation.................................21
  The sports sector - a period of
                                                          Engagement.................................24
  transition........................................7
                                                          The game (product).......................27
   Rugby - strong foundations but
   challenges ahead.............................8         Ways of Working...........................30

  World Rugby - a successful federation                 THE STRATEGIC PLAN ON A PAGE.....33
  aiming ever higher.... .......................9
                                                        WORLD RUGBY SCORECARD............35
VALUES, VISION, AND PURPOSE........10

  Our values......................................11

  Our vision: a global sport for all - true
  to its values....................................13

  Our purpose: growing rugby by
  making it more relevant and
  accessible ......................................14

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A GLOBAL SPORT FOR ALL - TRUE TO ITS VALUES - WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25 - Asia Rugby
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

BACKGROUND
AND CONTEXT
                                               5
A GLOBAL SPORT FOR ALL - TRUE TO ITS VALUES - WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25 - Asia Rugby
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

COVID-19 – TACKLING THE
CORONAVIRUS CHALLENGE
It would be remiss of any attempt to          •   Generating and sharing intelligence and    landscapes will look like in six months’
develop and present a strategic plan at           lessons on the COVID-19 pandemic as it     time, let alone in the years ahead. We do
the end of 2020 to not reflect the global         has spread around the world                not fully understand the long-term impact
COVID-19 pandemic. No individual, family or   •   Working with colleagues across the sport   of the pandemic. In general, we tend to
organisation has been left untouched by the       to develop and issue optional COVID-19     overestimate the effect of a systemic shock
pandemic. Sport has been hard hit in terms        law trials                                 in the short run and underestimate the effect
of the ability to stage events and matches                                                   in the long run.
                                              •   Creating – in partnership with
from community to the elite level. Rugby,
                                                  stakeholders – return-to-play protocols
as a team and contact-based sport, and one                                                   However, as World Rugby successfully
                                                  and guidance
commercially very dependent on match-                                                        concludes its current Strategic Plan, it has
day revenues, has been among those most       •   Driving collaboration on the global        never been more important to map a route
adversely affected.                               calendar – both in the short-term and      ahead for the sport.
The sport has responded as one might hope         long-term
to the situation – by pulling and working     •   Managing effective communication and
together to support those most in need.           correspondence with member unions,
From World Rugby’s perspective that has           regional associations and partner
meant a focus on several key areas:               organisations
                                              •   Shaping and managing the media
•   Assessing and addressing the most
                                                  narrative to assist with understanding
    urgent funding needs of member unions
                                                  and place rugby near the front of the
    severely hit financially by COVID-19
                                                  queue for sport’s return
•   Streamlining our own costs in order to                                                   The sports sector as a whole was facing
    maximise financial support to member                                                     an uncertain, but optimistic, future as the
                                              In many ways, it is hard to predict what
    unions                                                                                   COVID-19 pandemic hit. The optimism The
                                              the health, economic, sporting and rugby

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A GLOBAL SPORT FOR ALL - TRUE TO ITS VALUES - WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25 - Asia Rugby
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT                                                                             WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

THE SPORTS SECTOR –
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION
The sports sector as a whole was facing              alternative routes to audiences – such as
an uncertain, but optimistic, future as the          large-scale streaming services, or going
COVID-19 pandemic hit. The optimism                  direct to consumer – have become more
was driven by increasing leisure time and            appealing
spend, the power of sport to deliver live        •   Many sports bodies – including World
audiences and shared experiences, and                Rugby – have found that the appetite
the ability to use new technology, and to            for sports stories and information has
reach untapped markets. Against that,                remained as strong as ever despite the
uncertainty was being driven by increased            absence of live content, illustrating the
competition for attention, market saturation         value of fan-engagement and compelling
for many leading sports, and a feeling that          content
sports rights were potentially reaching a
                                                 •   Outside investment into certain parts of
value ceiling. In many ways COVID-19 has
                                                     the sports sector – including rugby union
accelerated many of these shifts:
                                                     – has increased
•   The rise of Esports has taken a step-        •   A lack of trust in global leadership in
    change as it has filled the vacuum left as       general, sport included, and the need
    traditional sports have had a hiatus             to be relevant, authentic and purpose-
•   Those striking rights deals now are              driven on key global issues such as
    struggling to retain previous levels             diversity, inclusion and climate change

•   Sponsors – many of whom are in business      As the international federation for rugby
    distress themselves – are exerting           union it is World Rugby’s role to help and
    even more scrutiny over the return           lead the sport – and its constituent parts – to
    on investment from any partnership           navigate and thrive in this uncertain future
    arrangements                                 sporting landscape.
•   The struggles of traditional broadcast
    partners and models has meant that                                                                                              7
A GLOBAL SPORT FOR ALL - TRUE TO ITS VALUES - WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25 - Asia Rugby
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT                                                                                                     WORLDRUGBY
                                                                                                                           WORLD RUGBYSTRATEGIC
                                                                                                                                      STRATEGICPLAN
                                                                                                                                                PLAN2021-25
                                                                                                                                                    2021-25

RUGBY – STRONG FOUNDATIONS
BUT CHALLENGES AHEAD
There is no question that rugby has had – on most            •   Nielsen research suggests that in traditional            and dynamic to succeed in this environment
measures – a successful past 10 years.                           rugby markets the number of fans has increased       •   The need to be purpose-driven and align with
                                                                 by two-thirds over the past decade and in                societal trends
•   The sport now has 128 member and associate                   emerging markets such as the USA, Brazil, China
    unions – up from 117 in 2009                                                                                      •   Time pressures and the availability of suitable
                                                                 and India, the number of fans has doubled
                                                                                                                          options mean that people are flocking to
•   Some 9.6m people play the sport globally – up
                                                             However, against this backdrop, we must tackle               shorter time-frame pursuits
    from 3.7m in 2009
                                                             several key challenges faced by sports:
                                                                                                                      •   Technology and cultural change has driven
•   In almost all markets, the sport is perceived as
                                                             •   All sports and forms of entertainment are in an          a preference for spontaneous and flexible
    more exciting than it was
                                                                 increasingly competitive environment, fighting           activities rather than those which require
•   In almost all markets, the sport is perceived as                                                                      scheduling
                                                                 for attention, relevance and share of audience
    safer than it was
                                                                 and revenue. Rugby needs to be more flexible         •   Ever-shortening attention-spans
                                                                                                                      •   The relative complexity of rugby union vs other
              Do you feel that rugby is becoming more or less safe/risky that 5 years ago?
                                                                                                                          sports and leisure activities
    Established Markets - 2019                                            Emerging Markets - 2019                     •   The current global club and international
                                                                                                                          calendar, which is not straight-forward for fans
                                                                                   48%
                                                                                                                          to follow
              36% 35%
                        29%                                                                                           •   Economically over two-thirds of global
                              24% 23% 22% 22%                                            24%                              revenues within the sport are generated in the
     21%                                         18%                      18%                  19%
                                                       14%                                           14%                  UK and France, with both markets relatively
                                                             12%
                                                                                                                          mature and saturated
                                                                                                           6%
                                                                                                                      •   The high levels of rights fragmentation in
                                                                                                                          rugby frustrates media partners and erodes
                                                                                                                          total value propositions
                                                                   -4%                                          -2%
      All                                                                  All
    markets                                                              markets
    average                                                              average

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A GLOBAL SPORT FOR ALL - TRUE TO ITS VALUES - WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25 - Asia Rugby
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT                                                                                                 WORLD
                                                                                                                       WORLDRUGBY
                                                                                                                             RUGBYSTRATEGIC
                                                                                                                                  STRATEGICPLAN
                                                                                                                                            PLAN2021-25
                                                                                                                                                2021-25

WORLD RUGBY - A SUCCESSFUL
FEDERATION AIMING EVER HIGHER
As the international federation for the sport   and underlying business model is heavily         level. Finally, and, perhaps inescapably as an
World Rugby has also thrived over the           skewed. Currently the organisation is            international federation and arbiter of the
past decade. Successive World Cups have         highly-geared to the commercial success          game, World Rugby can be perceived to be at
generated increasing interest, audiences and    of the men’s Rugby World Cup. This in            the root of any issues the sport faces – in any
revenues – the men’s                            turn is highly dependent on a select few         form, anywhere – by a range of stakeholders.
                                                commercial markets and potential hosts.
Rugby World Cup is one of the planet’s                                                           The purpose of this strategic plan is to set out
                                                The competition portfolio overall requires
biggest sporting events. Olympic status has                                                      how World Rugby proposes to act, behave
                                                some rationalisation, as well as a stronger
been won and enjoyed. The values of the                                                          and deliver in the coming decade. How we
                                                narrative across the range of events. With
organisation continue to be highly-prized                                                        intend to embrace opportunities and tackle
                                                the organisation’s success being intrinsically
by participants and partners. And the body                                                       challenges in a united fashion, and thus bring
                                                linked to the health of the sport and its
itself is rated highly for governance and                                                        benefit to the whole sport.
                                                member unions, it needs to continuously seek
trustworthiness. The Association of Summer
                                                understanding and cooperation at a strategic
Olympic International Federations annual
audit puts World Rugby in the top bracket of
their assessment of 33 such federations.

Finally, at an operational level the
organisation has a strong network of
partnerships with both member unions, and
the regional associations that have now
become established.

However, as well as these strengths the
organisation also faces a number of
challenges – both immediate and on the
horizon. World Rugby’s competition model

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A GLOBAL SPORT FOR ALL - TRUE TO ITS VALUES - WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25 - Asia Rugby
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

VALUES, VISION
AND PURPOSE
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VALUES, VISION AND PURPOSE                                                                     WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

OUR VALUES
Inherent in everything we do are our values
of integrity, respect, solidarity, passion and
discipline. These values were developed in
partnership with our member unions at the 2009
General Assembly and have stood the test of time.

INTEGRITY                                         PASSION
Integrity is central to the fabric of the game    People have a passionate enthusiasm for
and is generated through honesty and fair         the game. rugby generates excitement,
play                                              emotional attachment and a sense of
                                                  belonging
RESPECT
Respect for team-mates, opponents, match
officials and those involved in the game is
                                                  DISCIPLINE
                                                  Discipline is an integral part of the game
paramount
                                                  both on and off the field and is reflected

SOLIDARITY                                        through adherence to the laws, the
                                                  regulations and rugby’s core values
Rugby provides a unifying spirit that leads to
lifelong friendships, camaraderie, teamwork
and loyalty which transcends cultural,
geographic, political and religious differences

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VALUES, VISION AND PURPOSE                                                                                   WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

World Rugby recently canvassed its
Executive Committee, Council, colleagues,
                                                                    Values and Adherence to Values
unions, regional associations and partner
bodies as to their views on these values. The
vast majority - some 87 per cent - see these
                                                                          72
values as world-leading.
                                                       68
It was particularly positive that as well as
feeling that the values themselves were
powerful, those within the sport also see
them as being strongly adhered to. However,
World Rugby needs to ensure this positive
view is maintained and also consider how
these values translate and resonate to those
outside the sport. They are an important
differentiator in the competitive audience-                                                  12
engagement landscape and fundamental                                                                                               2
                                                                                                                 8
to the image of the sport and its ability to
attract new participants and fans.
                                                   Strongly             Agree            Neither            Disagree          Strongly
Integrity is central to the fabric of the game      Agree                                                                     Disagree
and is generated through honesty and fair
                                                 Q: In comparison to the other sports, how strongly do you agree/disagree with the following
play
                                                              statements: ‘Rugby Union leads the sporting world in terms of’...

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VALUES, VISION AND PURPOSE                                                                                     WORLD RUGBY
                                                                                                               WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC
                                                                                                                           STRATEGIC PLAN
                                                                                                                                     PLAN 2021-25

OUR VISION:
A GLOBAL SPORT                                     Please consider the following hypothetical vision statements. Choose the
                                                         two that you feel best capture a suitable vision for the sport
FOR ALL – TRUE TO
ITS VALUES                                                      Turning the whole world oval         5          12

                                                                  For Rugby, and its values, to
                                                                                                     16               26
World Rugby’s Vision of driving a Sport for                         flourish around the world
all – true to its values has been in place for
                                                          To be the most exciting team sport         13          14                 First choice
a decade. That facet of the sport – being                                        in the world
suitable for all shapes and sizes, wanting to
                                                                                                                                    Second choice
be inclusive and provide a home for everyone     Enabling all of Rugby to be the best it can be     64
and anyone – remains as strong today as it
did 10 years ago. When asked to consider                 Bringing the world together through
                                                                                                           24                  20
                                                                           the spirit of Rugby
alternative ambitions, respondents from
within the sport remain wedded to this
                                                          Building Rugby’s Success, Together        8 8
Vision.

What has changed in the last decade is our        A world inspired and unified through Rugby              17              21
experience. The men’s Rugby World Cup in
Japan showed the potential for the sport to                   A sport for all, true to its values                    60               37
look beyond its traditional homelands, to
activate new markets. This ambition drives
                                                                   Taking Rugby to the World             15           14
our renewed Vision, to become a global sport
for all – true to its values.
                                                                        Note: Several of these paraphrase other sports and rugby bodies

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VALUES, VISION AND PURPOSE                                                                  WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

OUR PURPOSE:
GROWING RUGBY
BY MAKING IT
MORE RELEVANT
AND ACCESSIBLE
Having clarity of purpose is crucial to        Being accessible – to participants,
World Rugby’s success. How can the             spectators and audiences – means that
organisation genuinely realise its vision      player welfare concerns are addressed
of A sport for All – true to its values? How   to make the sport ever-safer, ensuring
does it define its role vis-à-vis the other    the sport is open and inclusive, that
organisations operating in rugby’s busy        high-quality, appealing content is readily
landscape?                                     available to fans new and old, that
                                               competition structures are exciting,
As a membership organisation World
                                               engaging and effective, and that unions
Rugby’s core role is to serve and
                                               have appropriate capability and capacity.
support its member unions and regional
associations. Their health and success is      Being relevant means ensuring that the
an indicator of World Rugby’s success.         sport is attractive, that people are aware
As the sport’s regulator, law-maker,           of it and what it offers, that it chimes
key funder and operator of many of its         with 21st century lifestyles, behaviours
leading competitions, World Rugby can          and values.
best serve the sport by ensuring that it
                                               This Strategic Plan sets out how we plan
remains relevant and accessible in the
                                               to fulfil this purpose and deliver our
decade ahead.
                                               vision.
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WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

WORLD RUGBY
STRATEGIC PLAN
                                                 15
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN                                                                 WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

STRATEGIC
FRAMEWORK
                                                                             Vision
Developing a new strategic plan against
the uncertain and ever-changing backdrop                                    Purpose
has been challenging. Developing it in the
current virtual working environment has
also brought both benefits and challenges.                                   Values
In order to help shape discussion, assemble
ideas and consider future communication,
                                                          Competition      Participation       Engagement
the following framework has been developed
                                                Pillars

and adopted by World Rugby’s Executive
Committee.                                                              The Game (Product)
This framework forms the structure for the
Strategic Plan as described below, section by
section.
                                                                         Ways of Working

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WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN                                                                      WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

COMPETITION
Like many international federations, global      going forwards World Rugby will need to do
and regional competitions are at the heart       two things:
of what World Rugby is about. Rugby is
                                                 1. Ensure that all current and future
recognised as a sport that organises such
                                                    competitions are considered carefully in
competitions well, to the benefit of athletes,
                                                    terms of what they deliver for the sport
officials, spectators, audiences, hosts and
                                                    and;
partners.
                                                 2. Financial support for each event should
As the sport has grown so has the range of
                                                    be tailored to its requirements, which in
competitions, as World Rugby has sought
                                                    some cases may mean marketing and
to satisfy demand wherever it can. Although
                                                    broadcast spend, for example, is focused
all World Rugby events earn revenues
                                                    where it is most appropriate.
through some combination of gate receipts,
hospitality, sponsorship, merchandising          Growing and diversifying revenues from our
and broadcast, only one – the men’s Rugby        competitions must be a priority for World
World Cup – generates a net income for           Rugby if investment in the growth of the
World Rugby. In order to ensure that its         game is to be maintained and increased in
portfolio can be financially sustainable         the decade to come.
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WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN                                                                          WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

COMPETITION CATEGORISATION
                                                      Proposed approach for categorising
Previous attempts at categorising                               competitions
competitions have been based on the level
of competition – e.g. pinnacle v age-group.
The approach being adopted now by World
Rugby is to very much focus on the core
purpose of each event or competition – is it                          DRIVES GAME GROWTH
to generate net income, is it to broaden the
                                                                      •    Events that will definitively
talent base or is it to drive game growth?                                 help the sport thrive in
Some competitions may be striving to                                       targeted markets
do all three (and possibly succeed) but                               •    Open up markets in terms
in practice most will benefit from having                                  of audiences, commercial or
                                                                           participation
their core purpose identified and focused
upon. This approach enables the level of
investment – particularly in marketing,
broadcast and content production – to be
targeted where it is most effective (e.g.
towards events more likely to drive game
and audience growth). It will also ensure
                                               GENERATES NET
that World Rugby’s strong track record
                                               INCOME                                               SIGNIFICANTLY
of working with partners to successfully       •   Currently to the                                 BROADENS TALENT
                                                   buisness’ bottom line
operate and deliver competitions will                                                               •      Help significantly raise
                                               •   Have potential to                                       standards in the global
continue.                                          become profitable                                       game
Categorising competitions in this way
also enables us to consider adapting the
approach we take for specific competitions
such as the U20 Championship and HSBC
World Rugby Sevens Series.
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WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

RAISING STANDARDS AND
COMPETITIVENESS
One indicator of the health of a sport is
how competitive it is. If we are to fulfil an
ambition of creating ‘A global sport for all’
then we need to see more nations having the
opportunity and ability to compete at higher
levels, all the way up to Rugby World Cup. High
Performance investment will target sustained
improvements in capability and pinnacle
performance, especially where they lead to a
potential economic return for the sport.

Looking at the current portfolio we can
identify some clear gaps that are holding
the global game back. In particular, the lack
of competition pathways for elite women’s
15s, and for men’s 15s in emerging nations
have been identified as barriers to raising
competitive levels. World Rugby intend to
address these two issues by launching new
international competitions in both areas.

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WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN                                                                                    WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

THE GLOBAL CALENDAR
                                                          STATE OF PLAY                   GAME CHANGERS                   MATCH RESULTS
Currently only 46 per cent of
international matches played                                                                                          •   Major events such as
are ‘meaningful’ in a competitive                                                     •   Reconfigure portfolio           RWC 2021, Olympics and
                                                                                          around three categories         RWC 2023 even more
sense. With all the evidence                                                                                              successful than preceding
                                                     •   Majority of events not           -   Profit-making
showing that fans, spectators                                                                                             versions
                                                         self-sufficient                  -   Broadening the talent
and audiences find competitive                                                                base                    •   By 2025 World Rugby has
                                      COMPETITION    •   One-size fits-all approach                                       a more balanced portfolio
fixtures more compelling World                           to marketing and                 -   Generating game
                                       PORTFOLIO                                                                          with fewer competitions
Rugby will continue to work                              broadcasting events                  growth                      needing significant
with stakeholders - as it has                            is unsustainable and         •   Broadcasting and                subsidisation
                                                         inefficient                      marketing investment to
done during the 2020 COVID-19                                                                                         •   A relaunch of the Sevens
                                                                                          match event role                Series by 2022 which
pandemic – to improve the
                                                                                      •   Reset for Sevens Series         works for players, the
current situation and develop                                                                                             sport and finances
competition models and formats                                                                                        •   HP-supported unions
that drive growth. As well as the                    •   High Performance
                                                                                  •       HP remains targeted             deliver competitive
calendar itself, World Rugby will                        support required by many                                         performances at RWCs
                                                                                          at ensuring sustainable
                                                         unions                                                           and Olympics
also seek to work with partners      STANDARDS AND                                        competitiveness levels
to help improve the annual           COMPETITIVENESS •   Lack of suitable
                                                                                  •       New annual women’s and      •   New men’s and women’s
                                                         opportunities for                                                competitions launched by
                                                                                          men’s emerging nations
narrative of the sport in the eyes                       emerging nations and the
                                                                                          competitions                    2022
                                                         women’s game
of its followers around the world.
By working together and cross-
                                                                                                                      •   Development of a more
promoting as far as possible all                                                      •   Work with stakeholders          compelling competition
stakeholders stand to gain from                      •   Only 46% of international        to build a compelling           structure that delivers
an improved awareness and               GLOBAL           fixtures are ’meaningful’        narrative and cross-            more meaningful matches
                                       CALENDAR      •   Sport suffers from a lack        promotion for the sport         by 2024
appetite amongst fans and new                                                             across the international
                                                         of compelling annual                                         •   A more unified approach
audiences alike.                                         narrative                        and club games                  to promoting the
                                                                                                                          international competition
                                                                                                                          cycle

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WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

PARTICIPATION
RETENTION                                            as much as attracting them has heightened
                                                     considerably. Keeping facilities, clubs and
With much of the focus currently on the
                                                     opportunities to play available will be a big
impact of COVID-19 on the sport’s finances we
                                                     part of the recovery programme from 2021
shouldn’t forget the enormous impact that’s
                                                     onwards. World Rugby’s role here is to support
been felt by the game’s grassroots. With so
                                                     players, coaches, officials and clubs by building
little community rugby union – particularly of
                                                     the capacity and capability of their unions and
the contact kind – being played during 2020,
                                                     regional associations. As ever, player welfare
there’s a risk that a whole generation of players
                                                     continues to be priority number one throughout
have lost the ‘habit’ of playing. The rationale to
                                                     our participation plans.
focus attention on keeping people in the game

                                                                                                         21
                                                                                                         21
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN                                                                                              WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

WOMEN’S RUGBY                                          programme. We will seek to build upon and extend the success of the ‘Try and Stop
                                                       Us’ marketing campaign. And finally, although we as an organisation and the sport as
As we approach the halfway stage of the World
                                                       a whole has far more women involved in the sport – including at leadership levels –
Rugby 2017-25 Women’s Development Plan
                                                       than ever before, we will look at how to accelerate this.
there’s little doubt that the women’s game, and
indeed the role of women in the game, has been
transformed. More young women have been
getting into rugby each year than men, with
over a quarter of participants now being female.
However, there remains considerable progress
to be made – in all areas from leadership to
competition, from the grassroots to commercial
aspects. World Rugby is committed to the success
of women’s rugby as it represents the single
biggest opportunity to grow the sport. As well as
developing the new women’s annual international
tournament World Rugby will review its Women’s
Plan during 2021 to ensure it is fit for purpose and
sufficiently stretching. Maintaining funding of the
women’s game – especially in these challenging
times – is a stated priority for World Rugby and
was made a condition of its recent COVID-19 relief

                                                                                                                                                        22
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN
                                                                                                               WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

GROWTH MARKETS
                                                               STATE OF PLAY                  GAME CHANGERS                       MATCH RESULTS
Although a global sport with World
Rugby now having 128 full and associate                                                   •   Union Fund maintained to
members, participation in rugby union                                                         the benefit of participants     •   The sport is able to
                                                           •   80% of participation           in current major markets            recover the ground lost
remains a niche activity in most countries.
                                                               occurs in the top 20       •   Increase capacity of unions         through the Covid-19
World Rugby aims to continue the                               countries                      to sustain participants             pandemic by 2023,
broad global development of the game           RETENTION                                      (players, coaches, officials,       and reach 10m overall
                                                           •   Covid-19 has devastated
by working with unions and regional                            community clubs and            support staff, volunteers)          participants (5m active
                                                               changed habits             •   Behavioural insight                 players across 15s and
associations to build their capacity and
                                                                                              and intelligence shared             sevens) by 2025
capability. It is through our support of
                                                                                              between stakeholders
unions in this manner, rather than direct                                                 •   Union Fund to target
action, that we can best build sustainable                                                    female participation in
growth.                                                                                       established markets
                                                                                                                              •   An updated Women’s
                                                                                          •   Women’s Rugby plan to be
Commercially, rugby lacks the universal                    •   Currently halfway                                                  Rugby Plan to be
                                                                                              reviewed in 2021
                                                               through 2017-25 Plan                                               produced in 2021
presence of say football, and unlike           WOMEN’S                                    •   Extend and embed Try and
                                                           •   Participation and                                              •   Further editions and
cricket (with India) or basketball (with        RUGBY                                         Stop Us global marketing
                                                               presence greatly                                                   evolutions of the Try and
the USA and China), does not have an                                                          campaign
                                                               improved but still                                                 Stop Us global marketing
economic powerhouse market to rely                             plenty of opportunity to   •   Participation and                   campaign to help drive
                                                               activate further               leadership programmes               awareness and interest in
upon. The sport as a whole – and all of its                                                   to be developed                     women’s rugby
stakeholders – would benefit if a virtuous                                                    and implemented in
circle of participation, audience, fan, high                                                  partnership with Unions
                                                                                              and Regional Associations
performance and commercial success
could be generated in major markets.                       •   Participation still highly •   Target markets to
As we are currently doing with USA                             skewed – a few saturated       be identified and
                                                               markets vs many with           supported on the basis          •   Working in partnership
Rugby, Major League Rugby and other            GROWTH          low rates                      of participation potential,         World Rugby to activate
stakeholders, we will seek opportunities       MARKETS     •   Capacity-building is           union capability and                one major new market
to work with unions and commercial                             the best way for World         capacity, commercial                for the sport by 2025
                                                               Rugby to support broad         sustainability, and High
partners to build sustainable growth for
                                                               growth                         Performance potential
the benefit of the whole sport.
                                                                                                                                                            23
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN                                                                            WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

ENGAGEMENT
BRAND RUGBY                                                          Considering the traditional roles of an International Federation,
                                                                     please put the following in order of importance for World Rugby
One of the strong messages that came out
of the 2019 World Rugby General Assembly                                                                         All respondents
                                                            Ensuring player welfare
was the desire to see the sport – and all                                                                        average ranking
                                                                  and safeguarding
its benefits – more widely-recognised and
promoted. Similarly, the recent stakeholder                    Promoting the sport
survey saw ‘promoting the sport’ as second
                                                          Setting and administering
only to player welfare as a priority for
                                                         the rules/laws of the game
World Rugby. While some major unions
have sophisticated research, insight and            Generating income for the sport
marketing tools and functions, most are
not resourced in this way. World Rugby                        Running international
believes it can play a role both in facilitating                      competitions
knowledge-sharing across the sport as
well as generating insight and materials for                Taking the sport to new
regional associations and unions to deploy               countries or demographics
to their benefit. These could range from
marketing materials and communications                         Raising international
                                                             standards of the game
toolkits through to evidence-based research
on the benefits of rugby. We must also                           Driving innovation
understand and champion the health and
social benefits of participation, crucial to       Delivering training and education
government funding, curriculum inclusion
and parental decision-making. World Rugby                                              8      7       6      5       4         3    2
will work in partnership with its stakeholders
to identify what is required in this area.
                                                                                                                                         24
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN                                                                                               WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

STAKEHOLDER RELATIONS
While World Rugby does have – via its
competitions and media – a direct relationship
with participants, players, officials and fans,
much of what it does is in partnership with key
stakeholders – particularly regional associations,
member unions, organisations like International
Rugby Players, and commercial and broadcast
partners. In the main these relationships are
healthy, being built around a common passion
for the sport and shared values. However, World
Rugby should always be looking to understand
and service its partners as well as it can –
given how much of what it does is ‘business-
to-business (B2B)’. Looking ahead we plan to
introduce two approaches which we believe will
improve further what we do here:

1. Implement and utilise a Customer
    Relationship Management (CRM) system
    which will enable us to communicate and
                                                     AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT                                 World Rugby’s – and the sport’s – commercial
    work with stakeholders better than ever
                                                                                                         future.
    before; and,                                     World Rugby’s ability to reach audiences and
                                                     engage them has transformed over the past           The commercial, broadcast and content
2. Create an annual ‘State of the Union’ survey
                                                     decade. And despite the sporting hiatus created     strategy for World Rugby over the next decade
    which will invite all stakeholders to assess
                                                     by COVID-19 we continue to provide news and         will be focused on growing rugby’s audiences
    how we are performing in different areas.
                                                     content to followers of the sport around the        around the world, delivering compelling and
Crucially, both these measures will enable us        world. These efforts are not altruistic. Building   relevant content to fans and developing new
to better understand the genuine needs of our        audiences and engaging them is crucial to           and increased revenues for re-investment in the
partners, and therefore address them.                                                                    game.                                             25
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25
                                    STATE OF PLAY                                 GAME CHANGERS                                     MATCH RESULTS

                        •   Relative to other activities, the sport   •   Create and distribute a toolkit that will help
                            suffers from concerns over safety and         partners promote the sport                       •   Independent annual research to show
    MARKETING
                            its complexity                                                                                     enhanced perceptions as well as a
  THE SPORT AND                                                       •   Build and maintain ongoing media campaign            10% increase in global Followers and
   BRAND RUGBY          •   Currently a minority sport in most            about the benefits of the sport and                  Fans by 2025
                            markets                                       management of safety aspects

                                                                  •       Implementing a cross-platform relationship
   STAKEHOLDER          •   World Rugby is primarily a B2B                and communication platform to engage             •   Annual ‘State of the Union’ survey
   RELATIONSHIP             operation – working with Unions,              through all touchpoints                              to set and monitor World Rugby Net
   MANAGEMENT               Regional Associations, commercial and
                                                                  •       World Rugby will survey partners for regular         Promoter Scorew
                            other partners
                                                                          feedback – and act upon it

                        •   Participation still highly skewed – a few
                                                                      •   Evolving to an ‘always-on’ content approach
                            saturated markets vs many with low
    AUDIENCE                                                              looking beyond specific events                   •   Value of audience engagement
                            rates
   ENGAGEMENT                                                         •   Formal data strategy will seek to create             activity to increase by 50% by 2025
                        •   Capacity-building is the best way for
                                                                          insight and value
                            World Rugby to support broad growth

In the main audience engagement has been built             focused on commercial activity and/or driving             beyond the traditional rugby world, to the
through servicing the World Rugby tournament               game growth will be supported more strongly.              benefit of the whole sport.
portfolio from a build-up, coverage and reporting
                                                       2. Building on the lessons of the past six months’        4. As well as building audiences for direct
perspective. This encompasses more than 20
                                                           hiatus we will look to have more of an ‘always-           commercial return, we will also develop a data
annual events. Looking ahead we envisage this
                                                           on’ presence thus building interest, attention            strategy to ensure that insight and value from
approach evolving in four key aspects:
                                                           and engagement in between events.                         audience data are being maximised – we will
1. We will adapt coverage and content to reflect                                                                     need to be more “direct-to-consumer” in our
                                                       3. We aim to develop highly-resonant creative
   the status of each competition – those more                                                                       approach.
                                                           content that can cut through to an audience
                                                                                                                                                                     26
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN                                                                      WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

THE GAME (PRODUCT)
Underpinning and driving Competitions,         working hand-in-hand with unions and
Participation and Engagement is the critical   player bodies.
building block of the game itself. World       Recruitment and retention are inextricably
Rugby has purposefully termed this pillar      linked to the quality of the player and match
of work as ‘Product’ to reflect the need       experience. World Rugby recognises this
and desire to think about the game as an       and will partner with regional associations
entertainment form as well as a sport. In      and unions to enhance its efforts in training
order to succeed the sport must take a look    and education to support the development
at itself through multiple prisms – from       of coaches, match officials, medics and
administrators, players, and participants,     administrators throughout the pathway.
through to spectators, audiences and           The recent experience of moving much of
partners too.                                  this effort digitally during the pandemic will
PLAYER WELFARE AND                             be built upon to extend the reach of such
EXPERIENCE                                     services, where feasible.

A consistent number one priority for World     FORMS OF THE GAME –
Rugby is the issue of player welfare – from    ACCESSIBILITY
the elite end of the game through to the       World Rugby sees the 15s game as a core
grassroots. Ensuring the safety and welfare    part of the sport’s future and in established
of players is our top concern. World Rugby     rugby markets it is how at least two-thirds
prides itself on its commitment, investment    of people first get involved in the sport. But
and stringent processes in this area. Our      in emerging markets, while 15s and sevens
ambition is to enhance this unrelenting        drive around a third of interest apiece,
focus by delivering even more leadership,      other formats such as Touch and Tag, or
and driving even greater collaboration         Beach and Snow, also entice and enthral

                                                                                                                                27
WORLD
                                                                 WORLD RUGBY
                                                                       RUGBY STRATEGIC
                                                                             STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25
                                                                                       PLAN 2021-25
newcomers. As the landscape for participants,           EXPERT AND AUDIENCE INPUT
audiences, sponsors and hosts gets ever more
                                                        World Rugby recognises the depth and range of
competitive it would be remiss of World Rugby not
                                                        expertise within the game and intends to enhance
to look at how the sport must evolve to fit in around
                                                        how it taps into this. More and more Council
modern lifestyles. A careful balance needs to be
                                                        members are now bringing their experience and
struck here between looking to enhance the sport’s
                                                        insight to World Rugby’s committees, and they
offer, without making it appear more fragmented,
                                                        are increasingly being joined by players, player
and also between acknowledging the local market
                                                        representatives, coaches and other experts from
expertise of unions, and supplementing it. The
                                                        right across the sport. The current Governance
strategy consultation process has helped identify
                                                        Review of our Committee structures and
a number of areas where World Rugby believes it
                                                        procedures will look to build upon this and ensure
could make a difference:
                                                        that in the future World Rugby benefits from a
In response to the views expressed by Development       range of views and expertise.
Directors, World Rugby intends to assist emerging
                                                        Similarly, we know how important it is that
nations by developing and sharing the sort of non-
                                                        our competitions and content meet audience
contact products that many established unions
                                                        expectations, if not exceed them. We need insight
use to both introduce players to the sport and also
                                                        and innovation as never before. World Rugby
sustain their involvement. This is a particularly
                                                        recognises that it does not have a monopoly on
pertinent issue given the current pandemic.
                                                        understanding what works for audiences. During
World Rugby intends to work with stakeholders           2020 we have set up a Fan Panel which enables
to look at how the community game should                us – and our partners – to test out concepts and
evolve so as to remain as accessible and attractive     changes, where appropriate. We will increasingly
to participants as possible. We will build upon         couple this with wider communication to potential
the recent union-led development of ‘Game On’           fans to help inform decisions. This approach
guidelines, which offer a far more flexible approach    – always having the player or (potential) fan at
to the laws of the game in order to help fixtures to    the forefront of our mind – is essential for us to
take place. Developing a ‘Community Code’ that          cut through the very cluttered and competitive
unions can adopt or adapt as appropriate will help      landscape we operate in.
the sport – at the community level – respond to the
challenges of being a 21st century sport.                                                                    28
                                                                                                             28
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN                                                                                          WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

                              STATE OF PLAY                                  GAME CHANGERS                                   MATCH RESULTS

                                                                                                                  •     Independent research to show
                                                                 •   Sustained investment into an ongoing               that Rugby is perceived as a world
                                                                     programme of researching a range of                leading sport in assessing and
                                                                     physical and mental player welfare concerns,       addressing player welfare issues
                  •   Player welfare viewed as a leading             as well as law review, trial and change      •     Injury incidence and severity rates
                      priority for the sport and World Rugby         processes                                          continue to stabilise
 PLAYER WELFARE •     Need to promote a pathway of lifelong •        Target further injury prevention and injury    •   Game metrics e.g. Ball in play,
 AND EXPERIENCE       participation to include and recognize         management initiatives                             tries, passes, dead time continue to
                      support roles such as coaching, match •        Develop a broad range of Training &                improve.
                      officiating, medical and administration        Education material to support the              •   By 2025 develop 1 coach for every 15
                                                                     development of coaches, match officials,           players, 1 medic and 1 administrator
                                                                     medics and administrators throughout the           per squad of players, 1 qualified
                                                                     pathway.                                           match official for every match, 1
                                                                                                                        administrator per union

                                                                 •   World Rugby will work with relevant Unions     •   During 2021 -25 World Rugby to
                  •   The sport currently features a number
                                                                     to create a non-contact product that can be        develop and deploy a non-contact
                      of alternative formats, stages and
  FORMS OF THE                                                       deployed where appropriate                         product offering with emerging
                      player numbers
     GAME                                                        •   Building on the success of ‘Game On’ a more        Unions
                  •   Opportunities need to reflect modern
                                                                     flexible and practical ‘Community Code’ is     •   ‘Community Code’ to be rolled out
                      lifestyles as much as possible
                                                                     developed for 15s                                  from end-2021 onwards

                  •   Players, coaches, officials and fans are   •   More player and expert input than ever
                      at the heart of the sport                      before, via World Rugby Committees,            •   A 360° approach to thinking
                                                                     consultations and its relationship with            about the game will become the
  EXPERT AND      •   The more that decisions - where
                                                                     bodies such as International Rugby Players         norm – interventions will only
 AUDIENCE INPUT       relevant in the community and                                                                     be implemented if they’ve been
                      professional game - are informed by        •   A Fan Panel and wider research tools will be       appropriately tested
                      their views, the better                        utilised to assess audience appetite

                                                                                                                                                               29
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN                                                               WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

WAYS OF WORKING              As described earlier World Rugby is a well-
                             respected international federation and its values
                                                                                   that wants to reach new demographics and
                                                                                   markets. How an organisation communicates
                             continue to resonate. However, in delivering          – both internally and externally – is key to
                             this Strategic Plan we need to consider how it        success. Especially for an organisation such as
                             operates going forwards.                              World Rugby where so much of what we do is
                                                                                   ‘business-to-business’ in nature. World Rugby
                             A RESPONSIBLE PARTNER
                                                                                   will aspire to use inclusive and collaborative
                             World Rugby cannot deliver its purpose
                                                                                   language and tone. For example, we shall no
                             without the support of others, be they regional
                                                                                   longer refer to ‘tier one’ and ‘tier two’ unions and
                             associations, unions, partner organisations or
                                                                                   our portrayal guidelines will reflect the world
                             commercial partners. In order to earn and retain
                                                                                   we wish to connect with.
                             that support World Rugby recognises that it
                             needs to continue being seen as a responsible
                                                                                   Sustainability
                             partner – one you would want to and feel safe         Most organisations are analysing their
                             doing business with. Three areas of initial focus     own and their stakeholders’ environmental
                             will be Diversity and inclusion, Sustainability       credentials through formal processes to
                             and Governance.                                       determine future collaboration. Commercial
                                                                                   partners are increasingly mindful of business
                             Diversity and inclusion
                                                                                   practices and consumption patterns. In recent
                             Rugby prides itself on being a sport for all
                                                                                   years, World Rugby has introduced a variety
                             shapes and sizes, a sport for all. World Rugby
                                                                                   of environmental and social sustainability
                             would like to see itself in a similar way. Great
                                                                                   measures to get our own house in order, to the
                             strides have been made in recent years –
                                                                                   point where our actions have been recognised
                             particularly in the area of female representation
                                                                                   by the UN, IOC, GAISF and other international
                             – but there remains progress to be made.
                                                                                   federations. However, this is not the time to
                             World Rugby has already started the process
                                                                                   rest on laurels. World Rugby will look to use
                             of looking internally at how it can improve
                                                                                   the UN Sports for Climate Action Declaration
                             diversity and inclusion in all it does. As well as
                                                                                   and Framework to help shape its actions going
                             being the right thing to do this is also a business
                                                                                   forwards.
                             imperative for an organisation and sport
                                                                                                                                     30
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN                                                                                 WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

Governance                                         expertise and greater control over rights delivery,
                                                   we will reduce our reliance on third parties and
Assessment by the Association of Summer
                                                   the risk of key agency personnel leaving. We
Olympic International Federations as well as
                                                   will also prioritise longer deals across more
Nielsen research shows that World Rugby is
                                                   properties.
well-regarded for governance. In order to ensure
that this continues an independently-chaired       AN EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE
Governance Review is currently taking place and    ORGANISATION
will make recommendations during 2021.             Fit for purpose
COMMERCIALLY-MINDED                                As the strategic direction of World Rugby
Without increased revenues, World Rugby will       evolves so must the shape of the organisation
not be able to invest at the levels required to    itself. During 2021 we will conduct a People and
grow rugby globally. World Rugby has enjoyed       Organisation Review to ensure we have the
sustained revenue growth over the past             relevant skills, experience, structure and systems
decade – driven primarily by the success of the    aligned to successfully deliver our priorities. We
men’s Rugby World Cup. Despite the current         will also look to build upon the recent experience
commercial climate, a focus on driving value can   of working virtually to think more creatively
help us generate the income necessary for the      about how we organise our work and deliver.
sport to flourish.                                 Drive efficiency
Maximise rights value                              As well as the afore-mentioned plan to develop
We will maximise rights values by developing       the in-house commercial unit instead of relying
our rights proposition and increase the yield      on agencies and rising commissions costs, we
from our growing digital assets. We will           will also seek cost efficiencies where possible.
unbundle rights and establish women’s rugby as     For example, we will look at outsourcing areas
a standalone commercial programme. As with         such as resource-intensive tournament time
many other sports bodies we intend to leverage     delivery. Overall we will look to cap operating
data further to support our business and our       costs as a proportion of revenues at their current
partnerships.                                      levels. This will allow us to both provide sufficient
                                                   services to the sport as well as maximise the
De-risk our business
                                                   investment available.                                                                   31
By building direct relationships, in-house
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN                                                                                      WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

                              STATE OF PLAY                               GAME CHANGERS                                    MATCH RESULTS

                                                              •   An extensive range of diversity measures
                                                                  – across recruitment and retention,            •    World Rugby to report and action
                   •   Pressure from commercial partners to       communications, portrayal, monitoring – to          diversity and inclusion metrics
                       ensure we continue to be seen as an        be activated                                   •    Sustainability Charter in place
                       attractive partner                     •   World Rugby to create and publish a formal          by end of 2021 and performance
   RESPONSIBLE                                                    Sustainability Charter, based around the UN         reviewed on an annual basis
                   •   Requirement to set a leadership
                       example for the sport in terms of          Sports for Climate Action Declaration and      •    Governance Review to conclude
                       governance                                 Framework                                           during 2021 and recommendations
                                                              •   Independent Governance Review taking                be implemented by 2024
                                                                  place

                   •   Strong track record in sponsorship and                                                    •    Digital sponsorship revenues to
                       broadcast activation around men’s      •   Increased digital offer and yield                   double by 2025
                       RWC                                    •   Women’s rugby commercial programme to          •    £5m reduction in cost of sales by
   COMMERCIAL
                   •   Potential to drive greater value           launch                                              2025
                       through more control and digital in    •   Developing and deploying in-house expertise •       Budgeted commercial revenue
                       particular                                                                                     targets to be hit

                   •   New strategic plan will require the
                                                                                                                 •    Organisational capability and
                       organisation to evolve
                                                              •   People and Organisation review to be                delivery to be assessed annually
   EFFICIENT AND   •   To maximise both support offered and       conducted and implemented                           through stakeholder and colleague
     EFFECTIVE         investment into the game we must                                                               feedback
                                                              •   All functions to be delivered in most efficient
                       balance having sufficient capability
                                                                  way – whether in-house or outsourced            •   Operating costs to be monitored
                       and capacity, with being as lean as
                                                                                                                      relative to revenue
                       possible

                                                                                                                                                          32
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

THE STRATEGIC
PLAN ON A PAGE
                                                 33
THE STRATEGIC PLAN ON A PAGE                                                                                             WORLD
                                                                                                                         WORLDRUGBY
                                                                                                                               RUGBYSTRATEGIC
                                                                                                                                    STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25
                                                                                                                                                   2021-25

This new Strategic Plan will drive the
organisation forwards from 2021 onwards. It
                                                    Vision    A global sport for all - true to its values

is a plan for World Rugby as an organisation,
based around a Vision and Purpose endorsed         Purpose    Growing rugby by making it more relevant and accessible
by our stakeholders. It will be implemented
through a series of annual priorities set by the
                                                    Values    INTEGRITY              •   RESPECT        •    SOLIDARITY         •   PASSION           •   DISCIPLINE
organisation’s Executive Committee. And while
it is envisaged that the framework set out
here – Competition, Participation, Engagement,      Pillars        Competition                          Participation                     Engagement
Product, Ways of Working – should remain                           •    Optimise the portfolio          •     Drive retention             •    Promote brand rugby
                                                                   •    Raise standards and             •     Grow women’s rugby          •    Enhance stakeholder
in place for the next decade, given the pace
                                                                        competitiviness                 •     Target growth markets            relations
of change in the sector, the content of these                      •    Build the global calender                                         •    Drive audience
pillars should be reviewed within the next five                                                                                                engagement and value

years.                                                          The Game (our product)
                                                               •       Player Welfare &             •       Forms of the game         •       Utilise expert and
                                                                       experience                                                             audience input

                                                   Culture     Ways of Working
                                                               •       Responsible                  •       Commercial                •       Efficient and Effective

                                                                                                                                                                        34
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WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25

WORLD RUGBY
SCORECARD
                                              35
WORLD RUGBY STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-25
                                                             MATCH RESULTS SUMMARY
       COMPETITION                       PARTICIPATION                      ENGAGEMENT                           PRODUCT                       WAYS OF WORKING
                                                                                                       •   Independent research
                                                                                                           to show that rugby is
                                                                                                           perceived as a world leading
•   Major events such as RWC                                                                               sport in assessing and
    2021, Olympics and RWC                                                                                 addressing player welfare    •      World Rugby to report
    2023 even more successful                                                                              issues                              and action diversity and
    than preceding versions       •   The sport is able to recover                                     •   Injury incidence and                inclusion metrics
•   By 2025 World Rugby has           the ground lost through        •   Independent annual                severity rates continue to      •   Sustainability Charter in
    a more balanced portfolio         the COVID-19 pandemic by           research to show enhanced         stabilise                           place by end of 2021 and
    with fewer competitions           2023, and reach 10m overall        perceptions as well as a 10% •    Game metrics e.g. Ball in           performance reviewed on
    needing significant               participants (5m active            increase in global Followers      play, tries, passes, dead time      an annual basis
    subsidisation                     players across 15s and             and Fans by 2025                  improve.                       •    Governance Review to
                                      sevens) by 2025                                                                                          conclude during 2021
•   A relaunch of the Sevens                                                                           •   By 2025 develop 1 coach
    Series by 2022 which works                                                                             for every 15 players, 1 medic       and recommendations be
    for players, the sport and                                                                             and 1 administrator per             implemented by 2024
    finances                                                                                               squad of players, 1 qualified
                                                                                                           Match Official for every
                                                                                                           match, 1 administrator per
                                                                                                           Union
•   HP-supported Unions           •   An updated Women’s
                                                                                                       •   During 2021 -25 World
    deliver competitive               Rugby Plan to be produced                                                                            •   Digital sponsorship
                                                                                                           Rugby to develop and
    performances at RWCs and          in 2021                                                                                                  revenues to double by 2025
                                                                     •   Annual ‘State of the Union’       deploy a non-contact
    Olympics                      •   Further editions and                                                 product offering with
                                                                         Survey to set and monitor                                         •   £5m reduction in cost of
•   New men’s and women’s             evolutions of the Try and          World Rugby Net Promoter          emerging unions                     sales by 2025
    competitions launched by          Stop Us global marketing           Score                         •   ‘Community Code’ to be          •   Budgeted commercial
    2022                              campaign to help drive
                                                                                                           rolled out from end-2021            revenue targets to be hit
                                      awareness and interest in
                                                                                                           onwards
                                      women’s rugby
•   Development of a more                                                                                                                  •   Organisational capability
    compelling competition                                                                             •   A 360° approach to                  and delivery to be
    structure that delivers more •    Working in partnership                                               thinking about the game             assessed annually through
    meaningful matches by                                            •   Value of audience                                                     stakeholder and colleague
                                      World Rugby to activate                                              will become the norm –
    2024                                                                 engagement activity to                                                feedback
                                      one major new market for                                             interventions will only be
                                                                         increase by 50% by 2025
•   A more unified approach to        the sport by 2025                                                    implemented if they’ve          •   Operating costs to be
    promoting the international                                                                            been appropriately tested           monitored relative to
    competition cycle                                                                                                                          revenue
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