WORLD RUGBY IS SO ACTIVE

The situation

In a Rugby World Cup year, the spotlight was on every element of the game – team selection and performance, laws and refereeing, and most importantly, player welfare. Concussion in rugby has been receiving significant media attention, with high profile incidents fueling the debate around the safety of the game at professional and community level, particularly around children playing rugby. World Rugby’s number one priority is player welfare, including concussion, and they have a whole host of initiatives designed to tackle player welfare concerns, whether these be law changes, the use of technology or educational initiatives to make the game as safe as possible. In fact they are leading the way when it comes to player welfare, and we were tasked with helping them to demonstrate and communicate their commitment not only to concussion but to player welfare more broadly.

The solution: context and balance

• We put the story into context to communicate the real statistics through a media and online campaign
• We took the story beyond the sports pages to a broader group of stakeholders including parents and healthcare professionals, those who are involved day to day in the grassroots game
• We worked with trusted external experts to communicate the benefits vs. the risks