Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

IRFU commit to 'accelerating the women’s game' in new plan

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - APRIL 27: Ireland players celebrate after the team's victory and qualification for the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup during the Guinness Women's Six Nations 2024 match between Ireland and Scotland at Kingspan Stadium on April 27, 2024 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

The IRFU have placed the women’s game at the forefront of their new ‘Inspire, Connect, Thrive’ plan, which was launched today and will be implemented between 2024-2028.

ADVERTISEMENT

Described as having involved an ‘unprecedented level of collaboration between the IRFU and the four Provinces’, the strategy is the result of 15 months of discussions, involving more than 5,000 stakeholders in rugby.

Four priorities were laid out in the announcement: “Delivering great rugby experiences, driving our high-performance ambition, accelerating the women’s game, and inspiring our fans.”

Video Spacer

Abbie Ward: Bump in the Road | trailer

Bump in the Road explores the challenges faced by professional female athletes and all working mothers, featuring England lock, Abbie Ward. Watch the full documentary on RugbyPass TV

Watch now

Video Spacer

Abbie Ward: Bump in the Road | trailer

Bump in the Road explores the challenges faced by professional female athletes and all working mothers, featuring England lock, Abbie Ward. Watch the full documentary on RugbyPass TV

The plan details their target outcomes for women’s game which include creating ‘inspiring and truly inclusive experiences for all involved to attract and retain participants’, growing the game by ‘creating sustainable environments leading to lifelong career and volunteering opportunities’, and empowering officials, coaches, players, volunteers to reach their full potential.

Included in this is moving towards having four contracted provincial teams, and aspiring to achieve 40% female Governance representation at Provincial and Club level.

In addition, they will be looking to create more entry points in the game in collaboration with schools and university programmes, have clear Talent Identification and High-Performance Pathways, and devise dynamic marketing campaigns among other goals.

They will also be appointing a Women’s Strategy Implementation Lead, who will report to IRFU Chief Executive, Kevin Potts.

ADVERTISEMENT

A lack of commitment to the women’s game from the IRFU has been widely criticised in recent years. The recent plan comes after the 15s team secured a place at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 and WXV 1 for 2024 with an emphatic third-place finish in the Women’s Six Nations.

Since the appointment of Scott Bemand as head coach, the team were also victorious in the inaugural WXV 3 competition in 2023 which included a record-breaking 109-0 win over Kazakhstan on their way to sealing the overall title.

Ireland women’s sevens will compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics later this summer in what will be their first appearance at the Games. They finished seventh in the HSBC SVNS Series this year, picking up a gold medal in Perth.

Related

Potts said: “We are at an exciting phase in the history of Irish Rugby as we approach our 150th anniversary season. We should be proud of the ongoing success and strength of our game, with more participants and more fans than ever so I am delighted to release our strategic vision for Rugby in Ireland.

ADVERTISEMENT

“This plan, forged from the inputs of so many, is a solid expression of our collective vision, of the values of Irish Rugby and how they will form the basis for its development in the years ahead. Our vision is simple – Inspire, Connect and Thrive.

“Inspiring more people to play, support and volunteer in rugby; Connecting more people and communities through Rugby; and ensuring we provide the environments to enable all players, coaches, referees, volunteers and staff to Thrive through Rugby.

“The acceleration of our Women’s game is a major priority. With an Olympic Games just weeks away, and a Rugby World Cup firmly on the horizon in 2025, the potential to drive this aspect of Rugby in Ireland represents a major opportunity for the IRFU.”

IRFU Strategy & Projects Manager Kate Binchy added: “We are very fortunate to have a huge network of highly engaged and collaborative rugby stakeholders across our Provinces, Clubs, Volunteers, Staff, Supporters, Partners and our Players.

“They have all contributed to the development of this strategy, with over 5,000 people offering their views during the consultation process. Going forward each year as part of our annual report we will update on the ambitious KPIs that sit behind this plan and the targets we are striving for.

“This diversity of opinion and level of collaboration, ensures that all constituent parts of Irish Rugby have been heard and we hope will now align on the collective vision and roadmap which is reflected in this plan.”

Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 tickets

The Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 is coming to England. Click here to buy tickets.

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

B
Bradley Tyler 23 minutes ago
Mick Cleary: 'England are back among the heavyweights.'

Through their deep expertise and stable standing by the side, META TECH RECOVERY PRO team supports your vision and points out the way to your goals, catering to your unique tastes. For those who come across the opaqueness of financial investment issues, there are only two ways of retrieving wisdom and knowledge, respectively. The first, the Prudent Approach, includes seeking information through others' experiences, especially if your money has not been stolen or you have not lost access to your bank accounts. The second, the Costly Approach, however, requires learning through personal investment mistakes and the very tough lessons that come with them. Now, if you are among these people, then checking the report is the best option as only META TECH RECOVERY PRO, a fiduciary official, can be able to assist you out of the trouble without your prior knowledge. One of the ethical obligations of a fiduciary is always to treat the client's needs as the priority, and in this respect, I can give my example as to the fact that my saved amount of money was credited to the bank by Meta Tech Recovery Pro only after consistent assistance. Legal responsibility, ethical character, and a result-oriented mindset are the features of META TECH RECOVERY PRO, which all go to show that no matter what your case is, be it a hacking or recovery problem, you will certainly come to a resolution. META TECH RECOVERY PRO outperformed by clearly showing all the necessary steps that needed to be done to recover my assets and vividly describing different possible scenarios for the recovery. As a result, I managed to retrieve my funds. I give META TECH RECOVERY PRO a thumbs up. for help via:

Metatech@Writeme.Com

contact@metatech-recoverypro.com

WHATSAPP+1 (469) 692‑8049.

Thank you.

19 Go to comments
R
Rebeccakirby 1 hour ago
Peato Mauvaka cops ban for headbutt on Scotland star

Months earlier, I’d sunk $156,000 into what I thought was a golden opportunity, an online cryptocurrency investment promising sky-high returns. The website was sleek, the testimonials glowing, and the numbers kept climbing. But when I tried to withdraw my profits, the platform froze. Emails went unanswered, support chats died, and my “investment” vanished into the digital ether. I’d been scammed, and the sting of it burned deep.Desperate, I stumbled across Alpha Spy Nest while scouring the web for help. Their site/reviews didn’t promise miracles, just results, specialists in tracking down lost funds from online scams. Skeptical but out of options, I reached out. The process started with a simple form: I detailed the scam, uploaded screenshots of transactions, and shared the wallet addresses I’d sent my crypto to. Within hours, they confirmed they’d take my case.What followed was like watching a high-stakes chess game unfold, though I only saw the moves, not the players. Alpha Spy Nest dove into the blockchain, tracing my funds through a maze of wallets designed to obscure their path. They explained how scammers often use mixers to launder crypto, but certain patterns like timing and wallet clustering, could still betray them. I didn’t understand half of it, but their confidence kept me hopeful. Hours later, they updated me: my money had landed in an exchange account tied to the scam network. They’d identified it through a mix of on-chain analysis and intel from sources I’d never grasp. After 24 hours, i got a message, my funds were frozen in the scammer’s account pending review. Alpha Spy Nest had apparently flagged it just in time.  After some back-and-forth, the exchange with the help of Alpha Spy Nest reversed the transactions, and $145,000 of my original $156,000 hit my wallet. The rest, they said, was likely gone forever, siphoned off early. I never met anyone from Alpha Spy Nest, never heard a voice or saw a face. Yet, their methodical precision pulled me back from the brink. My money wasn’t fully restored, but the recovery felt like a win, a lifeline from a faceless ally in a world of digital shadows. If you find yourself in the same situation, you can also reach out to them via: whatsapp: ‪+15132924878‬

33 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Ex-England back-row relieved Borthwick has 'moved on from the big guys' Ex-England back-row relieved side have 'moved on from the big guys'
Search