Sir Ian McGeechan has helped develop the RFU Coaching Academy

• 50,000 coaches can access unrivalled new online resource
• High quality support for every level and area of the game
• Rich in video and responsive to the latest trends
• Making rugby ready for Rugby  World Cup 2015

Developed with British & Irish Lions head coach Sir Ian McGeechan and actively endorsed by England’s senior coaches, the RFU Coaching Academy www.rfuca.com provides support for those coaching every level of the game – from children picking up a ball for the first time to the highest echelons of the adult game.

It contains all the materials for the RFU’s three major qualification courses, more than 40 Continuous Personal Development (CPD) modules, foundation units for junior rugby, and an archive of technical material, all supported with rich online video content.

Knowledge exchange is at the heart of the Academy which means the expertise of the RFU’s Sports Science, Medical and Coaching departments is being shared with the game – a holistic approach that adds information about medicine, nutrition and lifestyle to the technical and tactical core.

The online platform also allows coaches to plan and manage their own sessions and enables the Coaching Academy team to respond quickly by sharing the latest innovations with an active online community.

“Supporting and developing our 50,000 coaches will create better and more enjoyable game for everyone at every level,” said Gary Henderson, the RFU’s Head of Game Development.

“Our objective is to improve the expertise of our coaches at all levels nationally by complementing our face-to-face programmes with value added content and advice via the internet. We believe the resources they can now access will greatly improve their performance.

“Hosting the next Rugby World Cup offers a tremendous opportunity for the continued long-term growth of our sport. We want to make sure rugby is ready for 2015 and the Coaching Academy will play an important role in achieving that goal.”

The RFU is working in partnership with Global Sports Coaching and its www.rugbycoachingdrills.com website. Following a pilot scheme and regional trials the 50,000 RFU qualified coaches and United Kingdom Coaching Certificate holders registered on RugbyFirst have now been invited to access the site.

The Coaching Academy resources also underpin the free RFU Coach Licensing programme being rolled out nationally next season.

Maintaining licensed status gives access to a wealth of resources and the only requirement is for coaches to complete three CPD modules over a three-year period.

“We’ve been investigating the potential for a coach licensing process over the last two seasons regionally and the feedback we’ve had has been positive and constructive,” said Henderson.

“One of the reasons for that is the development of more than 40 CPD modules to help grow expertise of coaches in specific areas and being able to promote and share that online in the Coaching Academy enhances a very positive process.”