Irish woman gets prestigious IRB post

IRELAND’S Susan Carty has been appointed to a major post in international rugby following her work with the Irish Rugby Football Union — the first ever women’s development manager for the global game.

Carty, 31, is qualified for the requirements of this dynamic job in one of the fastest growing sports in the world, having previously been responsible for development of the women’s game in Ireland.

“I started about six years ago, and my main interest has been development and governance of the game,” explained Carty. “In Ireland, once we achieved integration at provincial level, then we moved to national level and when the national team was taken over by the IRFU, our resources grew.”

Played by over 200,000 registered players worldwide, the growth of the game is highlighted by the 83 unions who participated in the qualifying process for the first ever Women’s Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai next March. One of Carty’s early assignments was the IRB Conference on Participation Rugby. “It was great to take part in this exchange of views and ideas with the leading development practitioners in the world,” she said.

“It is clear that many issues we have debated, like the need for the unions to develop strategies for the participation level in the game, the health and safety, the facilities, teaching and coaching, the recruitment of volunteers are all the same in the global game, regardless of region, country, language or sex,” she pointed out.

IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset said Carty’s appointment was in response to recommendations from the 2007 Conference on the women’s game.

“Susan will be working closely with our 116 member unions and six regional associations to ensure the key goals of the IRB Women’s Strategic Plan are implemented, and in particular to provide assistance to developing unions in enabling them to grow the women’s game,” said Lapasset.