The Sports Office are working with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to successfully implement our athlete management system for elite rugby (The Rugby Squad) within each of its four provincial teams and their playing structures.
Client Managers Andy Gorski and Stuart Jones have met with athletic performance staff from Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster to further introduce the system. Each province has had the opportunity to configure The Rugby Squad for their specific circumstances
Andy Gorski, Head of Client Service and Stuart Jones, Senior Client Manager, also travelled to Dublin to begin this process with IRFU national teams. The pair met with Head of Athletic Performance, Nick Winkelman, and other key staff.
This support and guidance has been continuous over several months. During initial visits, system configurations and demonstrations took place to ensure compliance with IRFU standards. A workshop session also took place. This enabled staff to give feedback and fine-tune
the system for their own needs, prior to rolling it out to each province.
Stuart Jones commented: “Our implementation visits have been a great success and the meetings enabled all IRFU national team and provincial staff to optimise their use of our systems and tailor it for their needs.
He added: “The provincial teams enjoy fierce rivalries in competitions like the Guinness Pro 14 but, in performance terms, they are a cohesive group which shares the common goal of success for Irish Rugby.”
The IRFU Seven’s staff have already begun to use the system for their global programme. Staff from the Irish under 20s have also been introduced to The Rugby Squad ahead of the World Championships in Argentina this year.
Coaching Workshop at Aviva Stadium
Coaching and performance staff from across Irish Rugby also met at the Aviva Stadium for a workshop outlining the coaching elements of the Sports Office system. IRFU Head of Talent ID, Joe Lydon, began by introducing key player development processes to coaches, assistants and performance analysts. This included discussions relating to coaching sessions, use of data and international player production.
Stuart Jones, Andy Gorski and Client Manager Chris Tuson also hosted a ‘hands-on’ session for coaches to assist them with setting up and using the system.
Full Provincial Roll Out
Andy Gorski commented: “Our sessions were well received and the IRFU staff were very receptive. We believe they will have full confidence in our system, as they begin to use it throughout their structures.”
The Rugby Squad is now being by used by each province and Irish team and has been fully implemented across the organisation. The final provincial visits took place this week ahead of the new season and Rugby World Cup.
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