World Rugby have blamed the “global economy” for having to retrench more than 10% of their staff following a “strategic review”.
The Daily Mail reports that around 35 “fringe staff” in areas like communications, marketing and branding have been told they will lose their jobs.
Reporters at two websites owned by World Rugby – RugbyPass and Rugby Dump – are also in the firing line.
After highlighting the “growth of interest” in rugby and record attendances at both the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics Sevens, CEO Alan Gilpin explained why World Rugby – which has invested millions of pounds into women’s rugby – had to cut costs.
“Our sport does not operate in a vacuum, and we have experienced the same headwinds in terms of the global economy and competition for eyeballs as have other sports – meaning that we must adapt and evolve the way we operate to be more focused on audience and commercial outcomes while preserving our high-priority support of player safety and welfare, and the integrity of our sport,” said Gilpin.
“Regrettably, in order to reach the stretching targets we have set ourselves, and to be in the best condition as an organisation to capitalise on them, we have had to make some tough decisions in terms of prioritisation and stopping or recalibrating some activities.
“We have now entered a short period of consultation with the colleagues affected by these decisions.”
