QBE and the Rugby Football Union worked in partnership to recruit and train 2,015 new Level 2 rugby coaches by 2015 through the QBE Coaching Club. This programme will positively impact 50,000 players and deliver more than one million coaching hours by 2019.
The QBE Coaching Club programme, an initiative to recruit and train 2,015 new Level 2 rugby coaches, has reached its milestone. The programme was established by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in partnership with QBE to ensure the game in England has enough quality coaches to welcome new players and encourage them to stay within the sport.
Former England Head Coach, Stuart Lancaster, commented:
"The 2,015 QBE new coaches will have a fundamental impact on grassroots rugby in this country. It’s a fantastic initiative and an incredible legacy to leave."
A positive impact
Thanks to QBE’s commitment and investment, the initiative has increased the number of Level 2 coaches in England by 25 per cent. The 2,015 coaches trained through the QBE Coaching Club will positively impact 50,000 players across the country. Over the next four years more than one million hours of coaching will be delivered by QBE coaches, which if being paid for would equate to £20 million. As 96 per cent of coaches work alongside other coaches, it is expected that there will be a knowledge transfer from the 2,015 QBE coaches to over 4,000 other coaches across the country.
"2015 was such an exciting year for rugby and we’re delighted to have achieved our target, working with QBE, of recruiting and training 2,015 new Level 2 coaches," said RFU Rugby Development Director Steve Grainger. "We put this programme in place back in 2012 because coaching is a crucial factor in developing, sustaining and increasing participation in our sport. With the World Cup in England, the spotlight was on rugby and we wanted to ensure that we had enough coaches in place to deal with an influx of new players into rugby."
What the coaches said
Hannah Haywood, a Level 2-qualified coach thanks to the QBE Coaching Club, said: "Coaching has always been a passion of mine. I decided to take the QBE Coaching Club course when the ladies' team at my local club were struggling to find a coach. I decided to become qualified and coach the team myself. The 2,015 for 2015 initiative is great. As the course has been funded by QBE, it means it’s so much more accessible to those who would like to learn how to coach and help teach the next generation of players.”
Sophie Goldschmidt, RFU Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer, said:
“The QBE Coaching Club achieving this target is a fantastic result. This is a great example of how businesses can work together with national governing bodies on initiatives that have real impact on the community game."