Kingstown College Coaching Magazine vol.5 2019/2020

68 Coaching Magazine Vol.5
Mentoring Irish Rugby
Players for Life After Rugby
What happens when your sporting career ends in your 30s? In this article, Master
Coach Paula King describes the unique relationship between, IRUPA, the Irish
Rugby Union Players’ Association and the Institute of Directors (IOD) and the
partnership they created to launch their Business Mentoring Programme.
This article describes the unique
relationship between, IRUPA, the Irish
Rugby Union Players’ Association and
the Institute of Directors (IOD) and the
partnership they created to launch their
Business Mentoring Programme.
IRUPA was founded in 2001 to help to
promote and protect its members both
during and after their careers. It first began
offering services in the area of player
development with the appointment of
a Player Services Advisor in 2008. Today
the association runs a nationwide Player
Development Programme and has five
Player Development Managers (PDMs)
around the country, facilitating player
development at all levels. IRUPA is the
collective voice of players on all issues and
through its Executive Board it advocates
for player welfare within the Irish Rugby
Football Union (IRFU). Its members are
supported across a range of issues, from
contract disputes to career development.
The mentoring system launched with the
IoD is one example of IRUPA aiming to help
further in the development of all young
men and women playing professional
rugby in Ireland.
The IoD is the representative body
for over 2,300 directors and senior
executives within the private and public
sectors in Ireland. From chief executives,
managing directors and senior executives
to board members and chairpersons, the
IoD membership covers the breadth of
industry, ranging from start-up companies,
SMEs and not-for-profit organisations