One of the main attractions at the IRB (now World Rugby) World Conference was how “Protecting the Integrity of Rugby and Promoting Inclusion” of the sport can aid it in being protected from various threats. These threats cover match-fixing, drugs, equality and corruption that affect all sports, and rugby’s main governing board addressed these concerns ahead of a key few years for the sport on a global stage.
A huge issue is the use of drugs within the rugby community, whether it is to aid training, mask injury or just taken recreationally. It was discussed initially as to whether drug taking should be criminalised and if it was a sensible avenue to pursue. A zero-tolerance policy is already enforced, but would it be too harsh an action to criminalise drug taking within the professional game? However does it send the right message out to those at amateur level or young aspiring rugby players that if you take drugs you may not be prosecuted because it comes within the realms of ‘taking supplements’. There is definitely a boundary separating supplements and drugs, and the professionals on stage (such as Fiona Coghlan, former Ireland Captain) highlighted that it is down to the individual what they put in their own body, whether it be a supplement for nutritional value or a drug to seemingly give an advantage above other players. Nevertheless, with rugby being a team-sport, it cannot be ignored that in some circumstances drugs may be taken in a social situation. Peer pressure can be witnessed in many situations, so surely it’s not too far fetched to imagine this happening in groups of ambitious players who may be led into thinking it can give them the edge? Comparing it with other games, rugby does not contest with a great amount of doping problems, and in the grand scheme of all sports it is not necessarily a main culprit in drug-taking scandals. It seems that stemming the issue early on has so far been successful, and that regulating supplements at an elite level (where it has the support and means professionally to be regulated) filters down so that players at lower levels of the game understand the importance of anti-doping.
The discussion swiftly moved onto match fixing, and the general consensus was that corruption in a game greatly diminishes the value of achievement. Ronnie Flanagan of the International Cricket Council suggested that rugby should consider using the five pillars used in cricket that ensure an effective approach to anti-corruption. These five pillars are education, code of conduct, vigilance, intelligence and investigation. Ahead of next year’s World Cup, delegates agreed that it is vital for these steps to be used in some form to aid a successful campaign. Therefore it was announced that players and officials will be educated using online programmes and courses so that they know what to look out for, and anti-corruption officers will give instruction on what to do if match fixing is suspected. Officials will be provided with the same support as players as well as conform to the same jurisdiction. In a world where social media can have an effect (in regards to possible leaking of inside information), the sport of rugby is not safe; the pure nature of the sport leaves it open to match fixing, but by following these plans during an important time for the sport, hopefully corruption can be reduced.
Another central part of the talk was about inclusion and equality within rugby. With 1.5 million women and girls playing rugby worldwide, the reflection in the hierarchy of World Rugby has a lot to be desired. Yes, the panel on stage was split 50-50 male and female, but within rugby as a whole, it was admitted that there needs to be more promotion to get women involved in rugby both on and off the pitch. The growth of women’s rugby has been phenomenal, this year’s World Cup in France being of great importance by bringing attention to the game on a global stage. However these vast advancements put pressure on the governing board to keep up – resulting in the implied thought being ‘watch this space’.
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