Community Rugby Newsletter - March 2025

Season 2025 is almost here!

On Tuesday, March 18, Get into Rugby was launched on Channel 9’s Today Show with Get into Rugby Ambassadors, Max Jorgensen and Faith Nathan. The launch marks the beginning of an exciting season, with over 4,500 participants already registered for the new program.

Rugby Australia also proudly announced Funlab as an official partner for Community Rugby. Funlab is the parent company for brands such as Strike Bowling and Holey Moley and as part of the partnership all junior club participants who register for the 2025 season will receive a free activity voucher to use at any Funlab venue across the country.

The Gold Blooded Tour continued to roll on through March with only Western Australia and Tasmania to be visited over the next two weeks.

We also celebrated International Women’s Day and took the opportunity to highlight how much the sport means to some current and future stars!

Finally, as the 2025 rugby season nears, please remember the importance of ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for all players, coaches, and participants, promoting respect, dignity, and fairness across the game.

Michael Procajlo - Director, Community Rugby

Gold Blooded Tour

QLD Gold Blooded Tour

SA Gold Blooded Tour

ACT / SNSW Gold Blooded Tour

NSW Gold Blooded Tour

NT Gold Blooded Tour

VIC Gold Blooded Tour

Game Development

Get into Rugby

In the early hours of Tuesday, March 18, Get into Rugby was launched across Australia, thanks to Channel 9's Today Show.

Rothwell Park, Concord provided a scenic location, welcoming buddying Get into Rugby participants from across Sydney.

Joined by Get into Rugby Ambassadors, Wallaby #984 and Waratahs flyer, Max Jorgensen and Australia Women's Sevens star, Faith Nathan, participants had the opportunity to showcase their skills on national television. Thank you to everyone who attended the launch and made the morning so memorable, and a special thank you to Briars Rugby Club for hosting.

The Game Development team continues to work closely with associations to ensure a positive and successful season ahead. For more information on Get into Rugby, please click the button below.

CLICK HERE

Funlab Launch

We are excited to announce that Rugby Australia has signed Funlab on as an official partner of Community Rugby for 2025.

FunLab is the world's premier creator of competitive socialising experiences, including fan-favourite venues Holy Moley Golf Club, Hijinx Hotel, Archie Brothers, Cirque Electriq and Strike Bowling. Funlab's eight brands can be found worldwide, with over 50 locations across Australia, New Zealand and USA.

The core values of Funlab aligns with that of community rugby, which is that fun is at the heart of everything we do.

Every junior club participant who registers for the 2025 season in under 8's to under 18's in Australia will receive a free voucher to the value of 1 x activity to use at any Funlab venue across the country*.

Inclusion

Rugby Australia proudly celebrated International Women’s Day on Saturday 8 March, sharing a powerful video across our digital channels, in stadium at Super Rugby Women’s matches and by broadcast partners, to highlight the incredible contributions of women and girls in our game.

To maximise the impact of this message, we strongly encourage clubs and associations to download and share the video through their own platforms. By actively promoting this content, clubs can showcase their commitment to inclusion and visibility, helping to grow the game for women and girls at all levels.

Learn more about Women & Girls Rugby: Women's Rugby | Rugby Australia

Rugby Australia International Women's Day Video

Club Development

Community Club Health Check

To best support Rugby clubs across the country, Rugby Australia together with the Australian Sports Commission have developed a Community Club Health Check in the Game Plan platform. The questions are designed to identify your clubs’ strengths and challenges, from which your Club Development Manager can provide you with targeted support.

Visit https://gameplan.ausport.gov.au to complete the survey.

The Health Check will be completed via the ASC Game Plan Platform under the Assessment tab.
If you have any login issues please contact [email protected]
The Health Check consists of 25 questions and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete

Should you have any questions about the Rugby Australia Community Club Health Check or Club Development in general, please reach out to your local Club Development Manager.

NSW – [email protected]
ACT & Southern NSW – [email protected]
South East QLD –[email protected]
Greater QLD & NT – [email protected]
VIC – [email protected]
WA – [email protected]
SA – [email protected]
TAS – [email protected]

Need help with Governance at your club? The following links can help support you with tools to progress towards your goals

ClubHub.Rugby – an online resource to help Australian community Rugby clubs improve administration and governance
Sport Governance Education & Training – Australian Sports Commission short courses and resources on effective governance

Coaching

Coach Update: Season Kick-off and Key Resources

As the new season approaches, it's crucial for all registered coaches to ensure they have up-to-date accreditations. Smart Rugby and Season Ready (COACH) accreditations are mandatory, providing coaches with the essential tools to stay at the forefront of their coaching journey. Go through RX to the Learning Centre to complete these programs.

National Webinar Series

The National Webinar Series continues to grow, with Webinar 2 scheduled for tonight, Monday, 31 March 7pm - 9pm AEDT. If you’ve missed any previous webinars, don’t worry! Head over to the Coach Hub, where you’ll find all the past webinars, with three years’ worth of content available to help enhance your coaching knowledge.
Go through RX to the Coach Hub, to find all our digital resources.
Training Sessions – Make Them 'REAL'

As training sessions build momentum, ensure your sessions are REAL:
Realistic: Tailored to your group’s needs
Enjoyable: Fun with clear, purposeful outcomes
Active: High participation, no waiting around
Learning: Every player should walk away learning something new

Remember to get your FREE 8-week training plans (U8-U18) in the Coach Hub and start your season on the right note.

Best of luck as we kick off the season!

From the Rugby AU Coach Development Team.

General Reminder

It’s an exciting time of the year with many rugby seasons around the country about to commence.

Rugby Australia and all our Clubs, Associations and Unions, are committed to ensuring that all rugby participants can enjoy our great game in a safe and inclusive way. Each one of us has a role to play within our rugby community to ensure this occurs – whether we are a player, coach, referee, club administrator or spectator.

We believe that everyone has the right to enjoy rugby and be treated with respect, dignity and fairness no matter their background, sexuality, gender or identity. This means fostering a rugby environment free from discrimination, harassment, bullying and abuse, aligning with Rugby Australia’s Core Values of Discipline, Respect, Integrity, Passion and Team Work.

Let’s concentrate on what brings us together – rugby – and not what differentiates us from one another.

If you would like to know more about your responsibilities and rights and what is in place to ensure your enjoyment of our game, please visit Rugby Australia’s website for a list of our policies and methods for reporting a concern.

Yours in Rugby