USA Rugby Board Initiates HP Review

World Rugby have offered to assist with the overarching High Performance review process in conjunction with the USA Rugby Board of Directors and independent High Performance experts, which will be supported by the National Office. The goal of the overall project will be to examine three principal areas:

a)  What is our strategy for developing world class teams in our Men’s and Women’s 15s and 7s programs?

b)  What organizational structures does USA Rugby need to achieve this objective? What talent needs to be in the organization?

c)  What is the culture of USA Rugby national teams? How is it expressed in the organization and how does it reflect in our play on the pitch?

Ahead of the review, General Manager of High Performance Dan Payne will step away from his current role and re-focus his attention on more specific projects as part of the review process.

As part of the assessment, there will be campaign debriefs and reviews for both the Women’s and Men’s Eagles programs, reviewing data from preparation periods and results from the recently completed Rugby World Cup and qualifying campaigns, respectively. These will be fed into the wider review process, guiding the development of full job descriptions and hiring timelines for the Head of High Performance and head coaching roles. One essential requirement for USA coaches in the future is they must be full-time residents of the U.S. during their coaching tenure and engrained in the Eagles development pathway.

With three and five-year Rugby World Cup windows facing the Women’s (2025) and Men’s Eagles (2027), respectively, pathway development across USA Rugby Junior National Teams will be prioritized. This includes augmented and robust development structures with appropriate funding levels to achieve the needed performance objectives for both the Men’s and Women’s programs. New funding sources will need to be developed to support these efforts.

Project Accelerate

In January, World Rugby will meet with USA Rugby to work on the next phase of “Project Accelerate.”

Project Accelerate is a targeted initiative by World Rugby to fast-track the development and performance programs of the women’s game in high potential unions. With the women’s international competition structure laid out through The Pacific Four Series and WXV, along with an expanded HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series slated to being next year, USA Rugby will work with World Rugby to develop specific growth metrics and support for the Women’s fifteens and sevens programs, from grassroots to senior national team, with the goal of future success at the Olympics and the World Cups.

Young concluded, “We’re committed to charting a path which will bring American rugby to the forefront of international competition over the course of the next decade, a path we understand goes far beyond national team operations. The global rugby landscape is changing rapidly and will improve further with new competitions and a regular structured calendar. From the results this fall, it is clear we have not kept pace with the rest of the world.

Now, we must find ways in which the United States can innovate and capitalize on its natural strengths in order to excel both on and off the field. This will all tie in with the wider growth plan that USA Rugby will present to World Rugby in May as part of the Rugby World Cup hosting process.”