1. Governance and Management

Most rugby organisations throughout the world are constituted as not-for-profit organisations, and thereby consist of a membership. Their aims are to provide opportunities to play and to develop the game. The organisation’s income is in the main, dependent on donations, grants, membership fees and any commercial opportunities that may arise for investment in the sport.

Some examples of rugby organisations are as follows:

• Educational establishments, Rugby Clubs, Provincial Rugby Unions, National Rugby Unions, Regional Associations and World Rugby.
• There are also rugby event organisers, e.g. Super Rugby, European Professional Rugby Clubs Ltd, URC, Six Nations, SANZAAR.

There are also other stakeholders involved in the game, e.g. Government Sports Ministries, National Olympic Committees, International Olympic Committee, etc.

Rugby organisations need to be suitably governed with appropriate frameworks in place to ensure they can function correctly. it is vital that they they consider the following areas below:

Constitution and relationship with members and stakeholders.

This is related to the constitution and governance framework of the organisation and its relationship with its members. The establishment of periodic contact points such as: general assemblies, committee meetings, national conferences and technical workshops, as well as relationships with national and international institutions.

Development of the Board.

This is related to the different aspects of the Board of the organisation: their purpose and role, structure, recruitment and orientation, their succession plan, meetings, work rate, process of (self) evaluation, and ethics.

Organisational design and performance.

The monitoring of organisational performance; preparation of general management tools (strategic and operational plans, schedules, calendars and reports) and management of the quality of the services provided.

Strategic and operational management.

The coordination and internal communication of the operational team, the development and monitoring of plans and actions of the organisation and staff to ensure productivity and efficiency in all areas, including proper management of the flow of information and communication.