News

Modcomp helps the Rugby Football Union roll-out an administration system to clubs around the country.

The most modern administration system in British sport has gone live at the Rugby Football Union (RFU). RugbyFirst is a game-wide, internet-based tool to help run rugby at all levels with the details of more than half a million coaches, referees, players and volunteers held on a single system.

After considerable development effort, the system became operational for the RFU and the Rugby Football Union for Women in October 2006.

Recognising that the roll-out of such a widely deployed system requires a considerable change management process, the RFU turned to Modcomp to assist with the management, planning, design and implementation of a programme to ensure that knowledge of the system was cascaded through the clubs around the country.

Lise Land, Modcomp’s senior associate consultant, led a project which kicked-off with her designing an effective strategy for implementing the skills enhancement programme. Once the strategy was accepted, Lise and her team began preparing a training campaign, designing and writing materials, producing a series of quick reference guides and finally delivering training for designated `champions’ who would take knowledge of the system out to super users in the clubs. Lise also managed the procurement and delivery of an eLearning package on behalf of the RFU.

Steve Elliott, Head of IT at the RFU said, “The strategy proposed by Modcomp was intuitive and realistic, and I’m pleased to say that the implementation was effective and thorough. The work of Lise and her team clearly contributed to a successful project. The RugbyFirst system is vitally important for the future of rugby in England and, as with all major organisation-wide applications of this kind, will be most effective if it is used by all stakeholders. I believe Modcomp have made a significant contribution to ensuring that the system will be quickly adopted and widely used”.