World Rugby House, 8-10 Pembroke Street Lower, Dublin 2, D02 AE93, Ireland. T: +353-1-2409-200 E: [email protected] Programme Report World Rugby On behalf of World Rugby, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone involved in the outstanding achievements of the Impact Beyond 2019 programme. When the World Rugby Council awarded Rugby World Cup 2019 to Japan, we believed that it had the potential to be a powerful game-changer for rugby in Asia, the world’s most populous and youthful continent. In order to convert this potential into reality, the innovative Impact Beyond 2019 programme was created. The programme is closely aligned with World Rugby’s mission to grow the game globally and make a positive social impact through the power of rugby, leaving a long-lasting and sustainable legacy from our flagship event. The World Rugby programme, run in partnership with the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU), Asia Rugby and 22 unions, has delivered truly impressive results. It was right at the heart of a very special and record-breaking Rugby World Cup 2019 and surpassed all expectations by achieving an incredible 2.25 million new rugby participants across Asia, including more than one million in Japan. Rugby is more than just a game and as part of the Impact Beyond programme more than £2m was pledged in a fantastic show of solidarity from the global rugby family to support ChildFund Pass It Back, the principal Rugby World Cup 2019 charity partner. Funds raised are transforming the lives of over 25,000 vulnerable children in disadvantaged communities across Asia through an integrated life skills and rugby curriculum. Meanwhile, from India to China and Hong Kong, through the Philippines, Malaysia and Nepal, the global Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour inspired and engaged future generations and brought rugby into local communities with the iconic Webb Ellis Cup finishing its 19-country worldwide journey with a three-month domestic tour of Japan. The success of Impact Beyond is testament to the hard work of everyone at Asia Rugby, the JRFU and the unions, and my special thanks and appreciation goes to the many thousands of volunteers who regularly give their time and energy to support rugby programmes around the world. They are the unsung heroes of the sport. With the Olympic Games coming to Tokyo in 2021 we will be continuing our efforts to ensure Impact Beyond inspires many more fans and new participants to get involved with the game we love, both in Asia and across the globe. Sir Bill Beaumont CBE DL Chairman, World Rugby 2 3 Japan Rugby Asia Rugby First of all, Rugby World Cup 2019, which was held in As President of Asia Rugby, it is with pleasure that I reflect on a very successful Japan for the first time, drew to a close successfully thanks Rugby World Cup 2019. Not only was the first Rugby World Cup in Asia a success to the support from the rugby family all over the world. We for Japan but it was a success for all of Asia. would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has The build up to the event from 2016 onward, when the Impact Beyond 2019 given us warm support not only during the tournament but also programme was launched, united the Asian rugby unions into an Asian rugby over the past 10 years. family. Our unions, from the smallest to the largest, embraced the opportunity The overwhelming excitement of Rugby World Cup 2019 Japan has had a to be part of the legacy of RWC 2019. Asia Rugby unions engaged in 63 Impact significant impact on the world through the Impact Beyond 2019 programme, Beyond projects, of which over 90 per cent were completed by the end of 2019. which World Rugby, Asia Rugby and the Japan Rugby Football Union have been Our flagship project, Project Asia 1 Million, saw 2.25 million new participants working together on. engaged in the four-year period. One of the most remarkable aspects of the In this programme, which has the central role in the union’s strategic plan to project is that 40 per cent of the participants were girls or young women. develop and promote the game, various efforts were made in cooperation with With this amazing platform to build on, Asia Rugby is now focused on each other by the local prefecture rugby unions, the local governments of the building the legacy further through our focus on retention. Our focus remains RWC 2019 host cities as well as the official team camp bases, Rugby World Cup rugby awareness and engagement as well as focusing on building strong 2019 Organising Committee and the Japan Rugby Football Union. For example, and sustainable long-term player pathways. Asia Rugby, its management, more than 769,000 children have experienced tag rugby at their elementary contractors and working committees are identifying and targeting schools across Japan, while more than 26,000 children participated in the opportunities with a hands-on approach to ensure that our unions are “National Rugby Introduction Days” in 2019. equally and fairly given the right attention in assisting them to build, There were many other different promotional initiatives as well, including many develop and grow their rugby community, on and off the field. events held in collaboration between the local governments and the local unions at the tournament’s Fanzones and other places. We were able to see so many smiles from children who began to have an interest in rugby. Qais Al Dhalai In addition to the above domestic initiatives, we have been engaging in “Asian President, Asia Rugby Scrum Project” activities, such as the dispatch of coaches and international exchange programmes in other Asian countries. On 20 September, 2019, we invited 48 children from 26 different countries to the opening match of Rugby World Cup 2019 between Japan and Russia. We found that we could deepen the relationship between Japan and other Asian countries through Rugby World Cup. We, the Japan Rugby Football Union, will continue to devote ourselves to make the most of the IMPACT brought by this Rugby World Cup in Japan to grow further participation in rugby. Last, but by no means least, I would like to thank World Rugby as well as other stakeholders for their continuous support for Japan rugby. Mr Shigetaka Mori President, Japan Rugby Football Union 4 5 What is Impact Beyond 2019 Key pillars The four key strategic areas for Impact Beyond 2019 were: World Rugby believes in using its major events’ influence and exposure to create a sustainable legacy in hosting unions and regions. GROWING THE GAME IN JAPAN It is part of World Rugby’s responsibility to harness the inspirational 1 / power of rugby to deliver tangible and long-term impact far beyond a TARGET: More than 200,000 active participants at all levels in Japan competition’s length. ACHIEVEMENT: More than one million new participants in Japan Impact Beyond is the blueprint towards securing a meaningful legacy and the 2019 programme was designed to maximise GROWING THE GAME IN ASIA the opportunity created by Rugby World Cup 2019 within 2 / TARGET: Over one million new players in Asia with a total Japan and across Asia. It provides a framework in which of two million players by 2020 various development initiatives come together to build a sustainable future, driving rugby’s growth ACHIEVEMENT: 2.25 million new participants across Asia and promoting its core values. 3 / GROWING THE BROADCAST MARKET IN ASIA TARGET: More rugby widely available on all platforms Impact Beyond 2019 programme ACHIEVEMENT: Record-breaking RWC 2019 global audience brochure, published in 2017, of 857 million can be read here 4 / GROWING THE GAME GLOBALLY TARGET: Maximise the impact of the RWC 2019 to grow the game globally to over 11 million players ACHIEVEMENT: Increase of 61 million global rugby fans, two thirds of growth in Asia (Nielsen data) 6 7 144 million 2.25 million rugby fans in Asia new participants in Asia since 2016 1.18 million 43.1% participants in Japan of new Asian participants are girls/women 769,000 22 Japanese schoolchildren Asian unions experienced tag rugby in 6,616 elementary schools involved in with 14,552 tag teachers trained Impact Beyond 2019 Webb Ellis Cup visited 25,000 7 countries in Asia vulnerable children helped through Childfund Pass It Back as part of Rugby World Cup 2019 in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Timor Leste and the Philippines Trophy Tour WORLD RUGBY IMPACT BEYOND 2019 | Programme Report 9 GROWING THE GAME 1 IN JAPAN Back in 2016, the Japan Rugby Football Union developed its strategic plan to grow the game under the vision of “Big Try” and it had been working on the teachers has Impact Beyond 2019 programme for Rugby World Cup 2019 as well as further reached 14,552. In development of Japan rugby beyond 2019. addition, 1,420 adults participated in FIVES, a tag The Impact Beyond 2019 programme had five targets, including four pillars rugby event for adults held in the of the growing the game in Japan – Rugby for all/Get Into Rugby, investing in Fanzones. people, enhancing RWC partnership and strengthening the rugby link in Japan – as well as the Asian Scrum Project. The Impact Beyond 2019 programme, which the Japan Rugby Football Union has A lot of support and cooperation was offered by many stakeholders, such as been putting its continued effort into, brought prefectural rugby unions and local governments of the RWC 2019 host cities a significant change in the previous promotion and to these programmes.