The development and implementation of a national talent development and selection program for men’s and women’s rugby union has been identified as a key element within the design of the Australian Rugby Union’s (ARU) High Performance Player Pathway and the game’s ability to recruit and provide high level access to as many players as possible. The development of the program will allow Australian Rugby to differentiate and dominate on the back of prioritized factors of competition.
The program has been developed to enhance the identification of Australia’s next generation of high performance men and women players as well as assist in the very competitive market of recruiting the country’s potentially best athletes. The initial development of the program will enable further growth and will be continually refined and added to, to create the very best model for player recruitment, development and selection.
Existing structures at affiliate, provincial and national levels that have served the identification of our best men and women players to date have been built upon in order to create the most effective and inclusive model. The national recruitment and selection system will feed players into the High Performance Player Pathway at all levels and support key stakeholders within the framework of the ARU’s umbrella talent development program – “Rugby’s Pathway to Gold”.
The purpose of the national talent discovery program is:
- To establish a national system to improve the discovery of talent and access provided to all men and women players, and potential players in Australia to the High Performance Player Pathway
- To complement and actively support key stakeholder programs and activities
The key elements of the program to deliver on the above purpose are the implementation of a National Talent Scout Network; a High Performance Discovery Day program; and the subsequent reporting and data collection systems that will provide access and opportunities to all identified players.
Critical to the effectiveness of the national talent identification program is the genuine ability to provide opportunities and access to players identified in the program. The National Talent Discovery Program has important links throughout the High Performance Pathway and the overall Pathway to Gold Program to ensure these opportunities are afforded all players identified and considered talented enough for high level involvement.