Interest Sought For IRFU Spirit of Rugby Leadership Programme

The IRFU Spirit of Rugby Leadership Programme is continuing this season with an opportunity for clubs to offer training to the next generation of male and female volunteers in their club.

This season, there are two parts to the Leadership Programme, an online club mentoring programme for experienced volunteers and a Club Leadership programme open to active volunteers.

Those who complete training at club level will have an opportunity to apply for National Leadership and Mentoring opportunities in future seasons.

Club Leadership Programme

The Club Leadership programme is open to male and female active volunteers with 2 seasons involvement in the club.

The aim of the programme is to develop the volunteers’ ability to lead change and influence others. It does not focus on their rugby knowledge but rather on how to best work with others to make the best use of that experience.

It will be a blend of online modules and face-to-face training allowing volunteers to do some of the work in their own time. The face-to-face days will be run on a provincial basis with 20 places available in each Province.

There are 7 units of learning, 2 of which will be in person, where volunteers will get a chance to share best practice and network with those in similar roles. The dates for each province are below with an application form for club members.

Club Leadership

• 20 places available in each province
• 2 online modules to be completed before attendance at in person workshop.
• Topics to be covered include, Self-awareness, Delivering Under Pressure, Leading Teams, Influencing Skills and Change Management
• Applicants can apply directly, or clubs may nominate volunteers, applications are signed off by Club Committee

Programme dates:

1. Saturday 5th November & Saturday 18th Feb (venue in Munster TBC, 10am-4pm)
2. Sunday 6th November & Sunday 19th Feb (venue in Connacht TBC, 10am-4pm)
3. Saturday 19th November & Sunday 12th Feb (venue in Leinster TBC, 10am-4pm)
4. Sunday 20th November & Sunday 26th Feb (venue in Ulster TBC, 10am-4pm)

If you would like to apply for the Club Leadership Programme, please contact Spirit of Rugby Programme Manager Anne Marie Hughes annemarie.hughes@irfu.ie

Online Mentoring Programme

Clubs are being offered a chance to get involved in an online club mentoring programme.

• The aim is to train experienced volunteers as mentors to support new or inexperienced volunteers within the club.
• The programme is completely online, with a specific aim of building confidence among female volunteers.
• It is open to experienced club members who wish to develop confidence and competence among inexperienced volunteers.
• Clubs can identify experienced members who, having taken part in the online training, would have time to offer support and share their experiences with mentees.
• Mentors can choose their volunteer or clubs can assign volunteers to mentors.

Once your club has recruited mentors, IRFU will issue licences to the club and volunteers can access the training programme. The programme is completed in the participant’s own time, but all participants will be invited to a Leadership Conference in May 2023 to meet volunteers who have participated in Spirt Leadership programmes across the provinces throughout the 22-23 season.

If you would like to apply for the Online Mentoring Programme, please contact Spirit of Rugby Programme Manager Anne Marie Hughes annemarie.hughes@irfu.ie