Stage 1 of the Leadership programme is made available to 1 male and 1 female active club administrators, with 2 seasons involvement in a club, ideally those on the Club Executive Committee. Previous attendees include Directors of Rugby, Chairs and Presidents, Hon. Sec and Treasurers. 30 are invited to go on and complete Stage 2 of the programme, while a specific Female Accelerator programme is open to high performance players and support staff. 

The programme is a blend of online modules, zoom sessions and personal executive coaching. This allows participants to do some work in their own time while also getting an opportunity to share best practice and network with those in similar roles, during group sessions online. The executive coaching sessions are to maximise the volunteers understanding of their leadership style and how behaviour impacts the environment. Course fees to the value of £4000 are covered by the IRFU and session are led by the highly renowned Jo Hopkins Consulting, https://www.johopkinsconsulting.com/home, Topics covered include Self-awareness, Delivering Under Pressure, Leading Teams, Influencing Skills and Change Management. 

Along with specific Leadership Development outlined above the IRFU created a Women’s Rugby Network to provide a space for women in the game to connect and share experiences. It was initially launched for International Women’s Day in 2023 to support women working in a predominately male environment, to provide a community of support to confidence when there are challenges for women that are different to their male counterparts. Recognising that many of the coaches, staff and volunteers in the game are male and that information specific to the women’s game is important to male coaches and staff, it was decided to create a network for those working across the women’s game. The Women’s Rugby Conference in September 2024 provided an ideal platform to speak about Allyship, especially by men, and so the Women’s Rugby Network evolved to include men and women and all working across the women’s game. 

Join the network 
•    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14356293/
•    WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/F2YjcHjSaojKIjoXS9Br3V

In November 2017 the IRFU formed a Youth Council consisting of members from across each of the 4 provinces.The Council is actively involved in shaping the future of the game through various initiatives and events. The focus on addressing issues in youth rugby and providing practical solutions to enhance the experience for age-grade players. The council welcomes current players and volunteers to share their opinions and ideas, ensuring that their voices shape the future of Irish Rugby. Some of their projects are listed below. For more information on the below documents, or to apply to the Youth Council please contact the IRFU Youth Council Co-Ordinator: meadhbh.lewis@irfu.ie

• Consulting with young people
• Youth Consultation Findings (2019)
• Covid-19 and Rugby - an overview (2022)
• Youth Volunteer Award (2023)
• Erasmus - Empowering Female Rugby Players in Ireland (2025)
• Erasmus - Empowering Youth Voices in Irish Rugby (2026)

Announced on August 12^th, International Youth Day, the aim of the programme is to provide those aged 16-24 with the opportunity to be recognised for their volunteering work within their club, school, or university.

The award is completed through online modules and a number of practical hours completed within a rugby club.

Participating volunteers will require an IRFU GAINLINE account to access the course content. This can be set up by following the link below:

LINK TO IRFU YOUTH VOLUNTEERING AWARD

There are three tiers to the IRFU Youth Volunteering Award.

• Bronze – Complete two core modules and one development module
• Silver – Complete two of the remaining core modules and one of the remaining developmental modules
• Gold – Complete remainder of core & developmental modules and accumulate 12 hours of practical hours.

The full list of Youth Volunteering Award modules are:

Core Modules – Coaching, Refereeing, Athletic Development, Performance Analysis, Medical & Player Welfare, Public Relations.

Developmental Modules – Anti-Bullying, Anti-Doping, Formats Of The Game.

After completion of the gold tier, participants are awarded a certificate & award pack and a booklet of resources/templates.

Click here to choose your modules and  start on your youth volunteer journey. 

To contact the IRFU Youth Council or to report any issues with the process, email here.