Empowering the RFU to Shape the Future of Rugby
We helped the RFU board forge clarity and collective commitment on problems to solve and cultural transformation.
Context
Opening New Paths for Rugby’s Growth
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) faced a pivotal moment: eager to grow rugby’s reach, enhance talent pathways, and reshape perceptions among new audiences, the Board sought fresh, bold approaches to innovation. Yet, despite strong discussion and ambition, progress was often held back by unclear priorities and fragmented perspectives.
To break through, RFU engaged Studio Zao to design and facilitate an innovation session that would unify the Board around actionable priorities—addressing four major strategic challenges from audience expansion to cultural shifts—using structured ideation and assumption mapping.
Approach
Turning Debate into Strategic Focus
The session surfaced a crucial insight: the Board’s abundant ideas and ambitions had outpaced clarity on what should come first. Leveraging structured tools, we helped the Board distill broad challenges into targeted, actionable innovation areas, turning high-level debate into sharp strategic focus.
By integrating diverse viewpoints—from grassroots rugby to technical experts—we fostered a common language that transcended silos, enabling the Board to shift from individual standpoints to collective clarity and shared ownership.
Encouraging ‘whitespace’ thinking, the process gave leaders permission to consider radical ideas beyond incremental change, while also establishing a practical framework to rapidly test assumptions and move towards implementation.
The session laid a critical foundation for RFU’s innovation journey—creating alignment on high-potential initiatives such as fan-driven pro-am tournaments and multi-sport talent development pipelines, setting the stage for sustained investment and long-term transformation.
Impact
What Drove Real Change
Structured Facilitation: Applying methodical ideation and assumption mapping tools ensured productive, focused dialogue.
Cross-Functional Engagement: Inclusion of multiple perspectives fostered shared understanding and collective ownership.
Balancing Vision with Pragmatism: Encouraging bold thinking alongside frameworks for rapid validation accelerated progress.
By enabling the RFU Board to align confidently on bold innovation priorities, this session energized rugby’s strategic future—turning ambition into clear, actionable pathways that promise lasting impact.