A force for good: rugby’s impact transcends the field, uplifts societies
The Mastercard ‘Future of Rugby’ report uncovers the sport’s social impact in driving inclusivity, health, education, the fan experience and sustainability

It has been a long time since the late Nelson Mandela uttered the immortal words: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.”
Resplendent in the same green-and-gold number 6 jersey worn by Springbok captain Francois Pienaar, to whom he was about to hand the 1995 Rugby World Cup (RWC) trophy at a packed Ellis Park Stadium in Joburg, the then-South African president was spot on.
The Springboks’ victory in their maiden appearance at the RWC went a long way towards helping SA — a country that was just moving into a democratic dispensation after years and years of apartheid — forge national unity.
Reflecting on that historic win, Brian Habana, who himself would go on to become a rugby legend, role model and a sought-after ambassador of international brands such as Mastercard, said the RWC can give “a sense of hope, a sense of dignity and a sense of what is potentially possible”.
The 1995 RWC is just one example of how the impact of rugby goes beyond the sports field — it has the potential to be a “force for good” in society globally. “The Mastercard Future of Rugby” report, based on research conducted by Mastercard in collaboration with the University of Bath in England, confirms this much.
“[The sport of rugby] is proud of its values and character-building attributes of integrity, passion, solidarity, discipline, respect and its inclusive ethos as a sport for all. From the grassroots right through to the elite level, these values help rugby contribute towards better societies, and ultimately a better world, says professor Keith Stokes, rugby science specialist and lead author of the report.
Released ahead of the 2023 RWC in France, and marking the 200th anniversary of the sport, “The Mastercard Future of Rugby” report highlights how the game has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception. Today “rugby is one of the most popular global sports on the planet, attracting participants from all walks of life, of every shape and size and from every corner of the globe”.
Along with a 17% increase in the participation in this year’s RWC, the report forecasts a 10% growth in global followers and fans of rugby by 2025.
...rugby is continuing to innovate to attract more people into the sport, demonstrating its positive influence in society and taking a lead on key issuesKamini Redhi, marketing & communications, vice president, Mastercard Sub-Saharan Africa
“Since Mastercard first began supporting rugby in 2008, we’ve seen the unprecedented growth of the sport — with greater inclusion on and off the pitch. It is remarkable how the game has evolved to embrace new players, new playing formats and new audiences. This has seen us expand into various initiatives over the years including supporting women’s grassroots rugby,” says Kamini Redhi, marketing & communications, vice-president for Mastercard Sub-Saharan Africa.
While the 200th anniversary of rugby is a chance to celebrate all that has been achieved, says Redhi, more importantly it’s an opportunity to “build on that to propel the sport forwards into the decades ahead”.
“That means rugby is continuing to innovate to attract more people into the sport, demonstrating its positive influence in society and taking a lead on key issues.”
With that in mind, “The Mastercard Future of Rugby” report uncovers the sport’s social impact by identifying five areas in which it acts as a “force for good”— inclusivity, health, education, the fan experience and sustainability — and how it can continue to drive lasting and meaningful change going forward.
Inclusivity: ‘a sport for all shapes and sizes’
The Mastercard global ambassadors — among them Habana — who were interviewed for the report all highlighted the importance of inclusivity in driving the future of the sport.
As Sally Horrox, director of women’s rugby at World Rugby, says, “rugby is a sport for all shapes and sizes”. It’s a game underpinned by a culture of solidarity and respect, which provides all individuals, whatever their background, the opportunity to learn new skills and forge camaraderie both on and off the pitch.
The rapid growth of the women’s game is a great example of efforts to make the sport more inclusive in recent years. The number of registered female players has swelled to an all-time high of 2.7-million — an increase of 28% since 2017.
Other examples are the growth of mixed ability rugby, deaf rugby, visually impaired rugby, and the work World Wheelchair Rugby is doing to promote and grow wheelchair rugby; this sport is now being played in about 40 countries across the world since its inception less than 50 years ago.
Going forward, it’s clear that a focus on inclusivity offers elite and grassroots clubs the opportunity to bring the game to a more diverse group and to grow the rugby family.
Health: creating healthier nations
“The Mastercard Future of Rugby” research confirms that playing rugby can contribute to keeping people more active and healthier. And because it has so many adaptive forms, rugby is one of the most accessible sports to people of all ages, abilities, interests and resources.
Rugby has always been perceived as an injurious sport, which may hold some back from participating. However, almost all players around the world play at the community or grassroots level, and the risks of injury here have been consistently shown to be much lower than in the elite forms of the game.
WATCH | Mastercard takes a look to the future of rugby as the game celebrates its 200th anniversary.
Furthermore, there are ongoing extensive efforts by unions and World Rugby to mitigate injury risk. This includes programmes such as Activate — an injury prevention exercise programme developed at the University of Bath in partnership with England Rugby — which has been shown to reduce injury rates and is being rolled out across the globe.
Now rugby is beginning to be viewed as a safer sport than it was in 2021, with a 10% increase in fans in emerging markets believing the sport has been made safer.
Beyond boosting physical health, playing rugby also offers mental health benefits. Player associations and rugby-based charities are also leading the charge in destigmatising mental health through the sport, particularly among men.
Education: improving educational outcomes
Across the world, rugby is being used as a force for good to drive better educational outcomes and empowerment, in particular for young people. The ethos of rugby makes the sport an important driver for character building and education, instilling values of respect, tolerance and discipline.
“The Mastercard Future of Rugby” report found many examples of fantastic “sport for development” programmes, but explained that it was difficult to quantify the impact of projects beyond powerful stories. Importantly, where programmes have been evaluated, there is strong evidence of the benefits of using rugby as a vehicle for change.
The report suggests that even more should be done to champion small-scale projects that are already making a difference such as SA’s Vusa Rugby & Learning Academy.
The academy provides academic support, meals and sporting opportunities to the youth of Langa township in Cape Town. Through introducing these young children to rugby “and all the discipline and life skills that come with it”, it aims to enable them to build their confidence and “develop the passion, skills, knowledge and motivation to become successful adults”.
Fan experience: evolving fan engagement
World Rugby’s commitment to growing the game’s global influence among fans has led to a 32% increase in interest in emerging rugby nations — two-thirds also see the game as more exciting. Over 800-million people around the world already follow rugby — that is more than 10% of the global population.
Integral to growing the positive impact of rugby around the world is to develop and evolve fan engagement.
A recent development in this regard is World Rugby’s uniform policy, which prevents two competing teams from wearing a dark colour, and has seen the Springboks swap out their famed green-and-gold kit for a patterned one in a shade called “hyper jade” for some 2023 RWC matches.
This policy is informed by the desire to ensure fans with colour vision deficiency — a condition that affects about 300-million people worldwide and makes it difficult to differentiate between certain colour combinations — “can have a more positive experience when it comes to taking part in and watching rugby”.
This year, we celebrate 200 years of rugby, and it's an important moment to reflect, challenge and harness the pioneering spirit of our beginnings to shape a bright future for the sportAlan Gilpin, World Rugby CEO
Developing new technologies and engagement through social media content are enhancing and augmenting the fan experience and this will continue, with one eye on changing patterns of how new generations of fans consume sport.
In the future, wherever people watch rugby, they will do so in more immersive ways. In stadiums, this will include enhanced live analytics available to all; at home, this will include the rollout of virtual reality (VR) technology; and in the community, this could include experiencing matches together, screened using player holograms.
Sustainability: responding to existential climate threats
There can be no denying that the biggest challenge facing global society is the changing climate. As a result, elite and community rugby are threatened by extreme weather events, with many already noticing the impact — particularly in the Pacific Islands.
Rugby can play a positive role in responding to climate change, with World Rugby leading by example by being one of the first international federations to sign the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework and launching its own World Rugby Environmental Sustainability Plan 2030.
Based on its research, the report predicts that by 2027, 50% of clubs in elite competitions around the world will be signatories to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, each pledging ambitious actions.
Recommendations from the World Rugby Environmental Sustainability Plan 2030 are already being put into action. Last year, SA Rugby collaborated with the Centre for Regenerative Design and Collaboration (CRDC) on The Bag that Builds — a project benefiting the environment and society, which won an International Olympic Committee (IOC) climate action award. This project saw the plastic waste generated by fans, players and operations staff during RWC Sevens 2022 being recycled into bricks used to construct social housing.
Alan Gilpin, World Rugby CEO, has the last word: “This year, we celebrate 200 years of rugby, and it’s an important moment to reflect, challenge and harness the pioneering spirit of our beginnings to shape a bright future for the sport. From promoting inclusion and diversity to fostering a sense of community, rugby has the power to bring people together and create positive social change. This fascinating “Mastercard Future of Rugby” report does more than simply bring this to life, it demonstrates that we have the passion and expertise to move forward in shaping a better game and set a positive example.”
This article was sponsored by Mastercard.
