A revamped RUPA Induction Camp, improved player services and player development offerings, and greater leveraging of RUPA networks were among the tangible outcomes unearthed as Player Development Managers (PDMs) from the five Australian Super Rugby franchises and the Australian Rugby Sevens program headed to Camperdown last month for two-day all-RUPA-staff planning and reviewing sessions.
The RUPA Induction Camp, held in Coogee in December, sees all players entering their first season as a fully contracted Rugby professional come together for two and a half days as a collective. The Camp includes presentations from the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), RUPA, RUPA’s partners and a number of guest speakers, and is designed to help prepare RUPA’s members to achieve excellence on and off the field.
While it is universally praised by the participants, refreshing the Camp to reflect the digital age and maximise the surroundings in which it is held were high on the agenda. Other conclusions drawn from the brainstorming session included highlighting cultural diversity workshops through song and food, a directive to make all sessions more interactive and a fresh approach to involving other current and past professional players.
Another of the directives of the sessions was to establish a real understanding of the ways in which RUPA staff can help one another despite the geographical distance that comes with being stationed throughout the country and without breaching player confidentiality.
Samantha Cox (Western Force), Robin Duff (Brumbies), Lachlan McBain (Waratahs), Gina Rees (Rugby Sevens), Matthew Smith (Reds) and Cameron Yorke (Rebels) are all RUPA employees who are based out of their respective teams’ professional setup. At the heart of RUPA’s directives is to support our members to be better people, better players and to live better lives, and these six RUPA employees and the six based out of RUPA Head Office are all working towards this shared goal.
While all the PDMs are regularly involved in RUPA staff meetings and speak with RUPA staff daily, the opportunity for them to travel to RUPA Head Office and spend time with their contemporaries from throughout the country represented a great chance to brainstorm ideas and share experiences and feedback. As with our Past Players Forum earlier this month, the predominant focus of the sessions was to look at ways in which RUPA can better tailor and implement our Player Development Program (PDP).
The purpose of the PDP is to provide a nationally consistent player development program to support and promote RUPA members engaging with education, vocational and personal development opportunities, whilst pursuing and achieving excellence in Rugby. This is in order to support elite performance during, and effective transition beyond, their playing career. The PDP is also tasked with providing the necessary support mechanisms from a player welfare and mental health perspective, as well as assisting the Player Services arm of RUPA.
