The International Rugby Board is committed to the development of rugby throughout the world, as part of its regional policy and to facilitate the development programme the IRB has decided to appoint Regional Development Managers (RDM) in each of the regions:

• FIRA-AER covering Europe
• ARFU covering Asia
• FORU covering Oceania
• CAR covering Africa
• PARA covering the Americas

Due to the differences in size and scope, some regions will have more than one RDM. At present there are only two RDMs in post - one covering the whole FIRA-AER region and the other being responsible for both FORU and ARFU. It has been agreed that, subject to financial considerations, the number of RDMs will be increased significantly.

The IRB is seeking to appoint: 1 additional RDM in Europe (FIRA-AER) to work alongside the existing RDM; 2 RDMs for Africa (CAR); 2 RDMs for the Americas - 1 to cover South America (CONSUR) and the other  to cover the North America and West Indies (NAWIRA); 1 RDM for Asia (ARFU).

The IRB’s regionalisation policy is designed to encourage and foster a spirit of co-operation between the individual unions in a region while also assisting with the development of competitions. On a broader scale the IRB is also active in promoting competitions which cross regional boundaries. Their Development Department plays a pivotal role in co-ordinating and managing development programmes throughout the world. It has a particular responsibility, together with individual unions, for training and developing coaches and referees. These coaches and referees, in turn, are responsible for the game in their own countries. The more mature unions have an important part to play in assisting with development and it is anticipated that this will continue to be the case as they provide the experienced coach and referee educators who are an integral part of the system. More details of the posts will be available shortly.