DEVELOP INSPIRING, COMPETITIVE CLUBS AND NATIONAL TEAMS
RHAID YSBRYDOLI
Our Goals
- Both national teams consistently ranked in the Top 5 world rankings
- National teams capable of competing for honours annually in the Six Nations and the semi-finals and finals of RWC 2027 and 2029
- Consistently competitive professional clubs that challenge in the play-offs of their competitions
- More and better players for the professional club and international game in Wales
Our Objectives
- Drive two inspiring senior Wales programmes that enable players to excel and win on the world stage through the continual pursuit of excellence
- Deliver outstanding development environments for all identified Welsh talent through high quality coaching, support services, and daily training environments
- Collaborate to build capacity and deliver a coherent player development ecosystem that develops players on and off the field
- Implement aspirational competitions at each phase of the player journey that better prepare players for the rigours and demands of professional rugby
Areas of reduced focus and rationale
7s
- Not highlighted as a priority by any stakeholders and should be responsibility of GB 7s.
- However, should continue to consider relationship with women’s players who are also 15s players.
Bringing all (marquee) male players back to Wales
- Consensus that we should be happy for some male players to pursue opportunities (monetary and performance) overseas, if there is no compelling offer in Wales.
Source: WRU Consultation; One Wales data and insights; Portas analysis
FOSTER A THRIVING AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY GAME
CARU’R GÊM GYMUNEDOL
Our Goals
- Grow and retain girls in rugby aged 6-18yrs via educational settings and/or clubs/hubs in Wales
- Grow and retain boys in rugby aged 12–18yrs via educational settings and/or clubs in Wales
- Grow and retain number of qualified match officials (Level 2 and Level 3)
- Grow and retain number of qualified, vetted and competent coaches with all teams (targeted approach to teams aged 6 to 18)
- We will have a diverse, engaged volunteer workforce, working in safe, inclusive and welcoming environments
Our Objectives
- Provide every boy and girl 6-18yrs the opportunity to engage, enjoy, and excel in Welsh rugby via educational settings and/or clubs in Wales
- Improve the safety and accessibility of our rugby facilities
- Maximise the impact of the community game by redefining club support
- Work with government and local partners to grow the social impact of rugby in our communities
- Support the community rugby workforce and volunteers to upskill and diversify in order to become qualified and verified
Areas of reduced focus and rationale
Adult Rugby
- Focus on youth rugby is crucial to ensuring sustainability of the game. Globally, >75% of adults who play a sport started playing in childhood
Expanding facility and club network
- Strong coverage of community clubs and facilities; consensus that focus should be on quality /consolidation not quantity
Source: WRU Consultation; Community Game registration data; One Wales data and insights; Portas analysis
ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WOMEN AND GIRLS’ RUGBY ECOSYSTEM
MERCHED A MENYWOD
Our Goals
- Equitable investment into the men and boys and women and girls community game
- Increase the number of women and girls who would recommend their club and rugby to friends / family
- Development of two Welsh professional clubs underpinned by a sustainable, competitive domestic competition
- Create a clearly identified pathway to increase the number of women coaches and match officials
Our Objectives
- Make rugby a sport of choice for women and girls at all levels
- Provide high quality, positive rugby experiences for all women and girls
- Develop a compelling competition offering for elite Welsh players
- Support women in rugby to excel at the highest level
- Develop a world-class workforce of coaches and performance staff
Areas of reduced focus and rationale
Offering for Women and Girls in all clubs
- Recognition that there is not yet the demand for all Welsh clubs to have a women and girls offering and that there are likely too many clubs even for the number of male players.
Source: WRU Consultation; One Wales data and insights; Portas analysis
CAPTURE, ENGAGE AND GROW OUR WELSH RUGBY AUDIENCE THROUGH POSITIVE BRANDS, EXPERIENCES AND NARRATIVES
WRTH GALON Y GENEDL
Our Goals
- Increase the positive perception of Welsh rugby
- Grow our total addressable audience
- Retain current supporter base, attract new supporters and increase proportion of younger supporters
- Create demand for tickets and sell-out Principality Stadium at market prices for all men’s and women’s senior international fixtures
- Grow average attendance at pro club fixtures
Our Objectives
- Unify Welsh rugby through inspirational storytelling and leadership, enabling a two-way collaborative conversation with varied audiences and stakeholders
- Raise and enhance the global profile of Welsh professional players, men and women
- Create a detailed understanding of demand to adopt a data and insight-led approach to fan engagement
- Improve and evolve the matchday experiences at all of our venues especially Principality Stadium in order to maintain and grow its world-renowned reputation
- Honour our vibrant Welsh culture, reflecting its respected values and the unique significance of our heritage and langauage
Areas of reduced focus and rationale
Current resource and focus
- Will be on Senior Men’s, Senior Women’s, professional teams/clubs and income generating events at Principality Stadium. Any other products or services should be costed and scoped with resource allocated on a project-by-project basis.
Source: WRU Consultation; Community Game registration data; One Wales data and insights; Portas analysis
ENABLER 1
CREATE GROWTH FROM A SUSTAINABLE FINANCIAL FOUNDATION
SEILIAU CADARN
Our Goals
- A clearly defined and followed balance sheet and debt strategy with a ‘One Wales’ approach
- Establish a robust long-term financial strategy and budgets
- To reinvest into Welsh rugby sustainably, in line with its needs and ambitious
- Improved margin on key profit lines
- Increased revenue from new growth initiatives aligned with our core business
Our Objectives
- Restructure debt and consider other funding methods to allow investment into rugby
- Maximise the value of the national teams and Principality Stadium
- Work with partners to grow the value of club and international competitions
- Increase collaboration across the whole game to drive collective value and increase efficiency
- Increase support for our professional clubs to enable them to grow and operate sustainably
Source: WRU Consultation; One Wales data and insights; Portas analysis
ENABLER 2
FOSTER AN INCLUSIVE AND COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE CULTURE, WHICH SUPPORTS AGILE DECISION-MAKING
CYDWEITHIO EFFEITHIOL
Our Goals
- Relaunch the Club Incorporation Project, supporting clubs to incorporate and deliver well-governed environments
- Improve mutual governance/decision making with professional clubs
- Build a more diverse WRU Council
- Further increase diversity of Board of Directors
- Welsh language given equal prominence in communications where practically possible
Our Objectives
- Develop an inclusive governance culture within Welsh rugby, where everyone feels there is trust, honesty and support, transparency and accountability
- Build and establish an organisational operating system with clarity on roles, responsibilities and accountabilities
- Ensure community game governance reflects the diversity of Welsh communities, delivering well governed clubs with sustainable operating models
Areas of reduced focus and rationale
New governance reviews or analysis
- Agreement that focus for next strategic period should be on implementing findings of the Independent Review rather than conducting any further reviews.
Source: WRU Consultation; One Wales data and insights; Portas analysis
ENABLER 3
BECOME A SMART DATA AND INSIGHT-DRIVEN RUGBY NATION
DATA – Y DYFODOL
Our Goals
- Be the smartest data driven sports organisation in the UK
- Reward engagement and loyalty by understanding our fans better
- Develop revenue generating digital solutions
- Sell-out Welsh rugby fixtures through data driven insight
- AI and automation established within Welsh rugby
Our Objectives
- Establish core data collection, storage and management processes throughout the whole game
- Harness the power of advanced data and analytics to drive commercial value and on-pitch performance
- Review and revitalise our digital platforms to improve our engagement with staff, players and fans
- Identify opportunities for shared processes and services between WRU and professional clubs
- Adopt data-driven decision making throughout the whole game
Areas of reduced focus and rationale
Reduce our reliance and dependency on
third-party suppliers and strengthen our own digital capabilities
Reduce system, duplications and consolidate data collection across welsh rugby where appropriate
Source: WRU Consultation; One Wales data and insights; Portas analysis
ENABLER 4
BUILD DIVERSE, HIGH-PERFORMING AND ENGAGED TEAMS ACROSS WELSH RUGBY*
AMRYWIAETH AC ARBENIGEDD
*Teams is described as rugby and non rugby departments directly employed by the WRU Group
Our Goals
- To be the employer of choice in Wales
- WRU Group recognised as a great place to work by employees
- To attract and retain a diverse, high-performing workforce across rugby in Wales
- Fit for purpose support functions to grow and reach our potential across rugby in Wales
- A clear operating system where every team member feels supported and understands their contribution to WRU
Our Objectives
- Collaborate with our professional clubs to utilise our resources effectively, together through shared services
- Maximise engagement across all teams
- Deliver a renewed and competitive total reward structure
- Become an organisation with EDI at the forefront of our culture and environment
- Embed a mindset of continuous improvement and development
- Invest in systems and processes to drive a data and insight led approach to decision-making
Areas of reduced focus and rationale
Growing workforce
- Agreement that the focus should be on developing and educating teams, rather than simply adding further resource
Rebalance investment across Welsh rugby’
- Agreement that these areas have historically received a lot of funding and focus should be on effectiveness rather than simply size of functions
Source: WRU Consultation; One Wales data and insights; Portas analysis
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Health and Social Impacts of Rugby Participation 2024
How we can have a
healthier Wales?
Welsh Rugby & U
How can you get involved and help contribute to the success
of the game?
Our commitment to inclusion
Why we believe that rugby is a game for everyone
Welsh Rugby Union Limited
Principality Stadium, Westgate Street, Cardiff CF10 1NS
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