Irb Rebrands As World Rugby

The International Rugby Board has officially rebranded and relaunched as World Rugby, which aims to deliver on the federation’s mission to ‘build a stronger connection with fans, players and commercial partners, and ultimately engage with new audiences worldwide’.

Bernard Lapasset, World Rugby’s chairman said: ‘Global Rugby participation has boomed by more than two million to 6.6 million players over the past four years, driven by the commercial success of Rugby World Cup, World Rugby’s development strategies and record investment, strong and vibrant Unions and Rugby’s re-inclusion in the Olympic Games.’

‘Today’s launch embodies our mission statement to grow the global Rugby family beyond our traditional family and fan base and reflects the federation’s evolution from Rugby regulator to Rugby inspirer.’

Launching the brand, World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper said: ‘In an incredibly competitive global entertainment and sporting marketplace, Rugby must continue to appeal to those who know and love the sport and its heritage, while attracting, engaging and inspiring those who have no connection with the sport across multiple cultures and languages around the world.’

‘Supported by a new name, a distinctive, optimistic and progressive new brand, and clear character-building values World Rugby collectively has the ingredients and tools to do just that. We want everyone to feel connected with the sport and Rugby’s ongoing success story.’

‘Our new brand certainly stands out and enables us to promote our consumer-facing properties in a way that they will be more appealing and impactful to the sport’s growing global fan base,’

World Rugby has also reportedly given its assurances that the rebrand will have no effect on the next Rugby World Cup in terms of branding or positioning, with everything remaining as it was before the rebrand throughout the event cycle.