Founded in 1879, the Irish Rugby Football Union is the governing body for Rugby Union on the island of Ireland. They are dedicated to promoting the sport of rugby and its values at every level of the game, from professional and international teams to school and club teams. 

Responsible for managing all aspects of the sport, the IRFU focuses heavily on education—both in-person and online—to train and update players, coaches, referees, volunteers, and even the general public.

THE CHALLENGE

The IRFU needed to distribute engaging, customized training for learners across Ireland

The IRFU serves hundreds of clubs and tens of thousands of players across the four provinces of Ireland. Beyond rugby technical training, they also educate their learners on various other topics, including strength training, coach CPD, players’ mental health, compliance-related issues such as anti-doping regulations, and more. 

The COVID-19 pandemic ignited their journey with Articulate. However, after pandemic restrictions ended, the IRFU’s need for e-learning only expanded further. With such a broad scope of learning topics, they are constantly creating and distributing information in efficient, engaging ways, both in-person and online. And working within a wide geographic area with a variety of different learners, they need their training to be highly flexible, allowing ease-of-use for those both on and off the field.

THE ANSWER

The IRFU has expanded their use of Articulate 360 for more efficient and holistic course creation

“Our approach to education across the organization is to give people what they need, when they need it,” says Colin Moran, the IRFU’s National Training and Education Manager. By continually expanding their use of e-learning with Articulate to complement their in-person learning, the IRFU consistently and efficiently enriches the learning experience.

Recently, they’ve expanded their use of Articulate with HR and internal training efforts. They’ve added seats to their account—allowing several provincial HR managers to create their own internal training relatively quickly and easily with Articulate’s templates. One HR manager was able to create 10 onboarding modules in the span of just a few weeks. 

“From an education delivery point-of-view, Articulate has significantly improved the efficiency of how we operate,” says Moran.

Using Rise 360, the organization has made a move toward microlearning so that learners can absorb industry updates in a matter of minutes. For example, following a new safety regulation in the sport to lower the tackle height, they released an engaging microlearning course to educate not only team members, but also the general public about the update.

Meanwhile, they use Storyline 360 for more customized content and tutorials, including branching questionnaires that deliver personalized results.

UNLOCKING HUMAN POTENTIAL

With Rise 360 and Storyline 360, the IRFU sparks in-depth knowledge of rugby and passion for the sport

By combining their in-person training efforts with e-learning, the IRFU has vastly expanded the amount and scope of their content offerings. To gauge success, they rely heavily on surveys to center the voices of their learners, which are sent immediately after the end of a course and three months afterward. 

“The vast majority of people are overwhelmingly positive about the lasting effects that these courses have had,” says Moran, noting that satisfaction ratings regularly reach the mid-nineties. 

By creating courses that resonate with their wide audience, the IRFU is not only deepening learners’ expertise with the support, but also expanding curiosity and engagement around rugby in general. 

“Courses should engender fascination with learning and a fascination with the sport, whatever your role is,” says Moran. This ties back to their core goal to support the values of the sport at every level of the game, all while providing learners with the specific educational paths they need.

The Irish Rugby Football Union uses Rise 360 and Storyline 360 to provide engaging, detailed rugby education, instilling curiosity and deep knowledge in learners across Ireland.