in collaboration with

15-year Challenge of the AustralianRugby Union to implement a newNational Competition

Complex transformation success culminating inCapgemini’s ASE DesignShop®

“This is an historic occasionfor this sport. We have

overcome ten years of adversityto reach this point and we really

couldn’t have done it withoutthis process or Capgemini.”

CEO, Sport National Governing Body

The SituationThe Australian Rugby Union (ARU), theNational Governing Body, needed toaddress several significant trends in itsecosystem so that the sport maintained astrong profile and continued success.These included bridging gaps at state andclub levels facilitating clear paths fromschoolboy to national rugby.

The national side (‘Wallabies’) had fallenfrom world-ranking leader in the mid-1990s to fourth. Other major Rugby-playing nations had taken significant stepsto bolster national competitions andaccelerate talent development programs.

Various initiatives over some 15 years hadgone nowhere. The ARU was keen to findlasting solutions. It took a bold step toseek independent help from anorganisation with strong credentials ofroot-cause analysis, supported by methodsto turn findings into winning solutions. Itwas time for Capgemini.

The SolutionThree months of comprehensive planningand research was undertaken with over1,000 stakeholders. This culminated in a3-day DesignShop® to bring together 70of the most senior CEO/Chairmen (whorarely spoke or collaborated), senioradministrators, current and past WallabyCoaches and players, for the betterment ofAustralian Rugby.

The leaders shared, discussed and resolvedtheir business issues. The result was anamazing level of alignment andenthusiasm for a radical shake-up of theecosystem across Australian rugby.

“The information we have had access to inthis DesignShop has been the mostcomprehensive work that we have donesince we moved to being a professionalsport” CEO, Sport NationalGoverning Body

Capgemini AustraliaTelecom, Media & Entertainment SectorConsulting ServicesTransformation ConsultingAccelerated Solutions Environment

Approved by:Gary Flowers, CEO, ARU

Jill Davies, Strategy Director, ARU

James Hunter, Vice President, Capgemini

The ResultMajor achievements included designing acompetition structure within the existingplaying window, iterating and validatinggovernance, and securing commonunderstanding of risks and issues to address.

Key achievements included competitionvision, structure, criteria, investmentapproach, player development andcommunity involvement. Deliverablesincluded a first draft of the plan to realisethe vision in 13 months and a signedCommitment Statement to deliver thecompetition.

“This is the biggest change we have hadsince the game went professional – it wasan excellent process.”Chairman, Sport State Governing Body

How the ARU and CapgeminiWorked TogetherThe ARU had driven several majorattempts to develop a nationalcompetition, using Boards, White Papers,workshops and CEO forums. Over aperiod of 15 years none had succeededand had cost the ARU and AustralianRugby millions of dollars and significantloss of credibility.

When Capgemini was engaged, it wasclearly the last chance! It was critical tosecure strong buy-in and support from adiverse and disparate group ofstakeholders. Three months of planningand research involving over a thousandpeople demanded strong collaborativemethods. The joint team constructed a“Knowledge Base” in 10 weeks thatincluded survey results, draft financialmodels for competition structures, casestudies of global and local competitorsand thorough analysis of the game at alllevels since the advent of professionalism.

The ensuing three-day DesignShopbrought 70 key stakeholders tounderstand root causes, devise strategiesand build lasting solutions. The groupgained insight into the current playerpathway, designed a specific component ofthe future state pathway, and devisedcriteria for player development and teamselection.

A framework for a new nationalcompetition included players, numbers ofteams, duration and frequency. Throughiteration, the group validated competitiongovernance including structure, criteria,high level cost/benefit analysis and potentialimpact to the existing sport ecosystem.

The approach comprised three phases:

Scan—The group played a Game Theory-based simulation to look at themselves asone sport rather than a group of competinginterests. This was followed by atradeshow to compare the current sportingsystem with others and apply lessons.Gaps between current and future stateswere studied before individuals designedtheir new competition.

Focus—Two representatives from thesports broadcasting community presentedtheir commercial perspectives, and modelswere developed including financials,contracting process, player movement,commercials (including sponsor andbroadcasting), overall structure, criteriaand minimum standards for participants.

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Telecom, Media & Entertainment the way we do it

Copyright ©2006 Capgemini. No part of this document may be modified, deleted orexpanded by any process or means without prior written permission from Capgemini.

Capgemini, one of the world’s foremost

providers of Consulting, Technology and Outsourcing services, has a uniqueway of working with its clients, called the Collaborative Business Experience.Backed by over three decades of industryand service experience, the CollaborativeBusiness Experience is designed to help our clients achieve better, faster,more sustainable results through seamless access to our network of

world-leading technology partners andcollaboration-focused methods and tools.Through commitment to mutual successand the achievement of tangible value,we help businesses implement growthstrategies, leverage technology, and thrivethrough the power of collaboration.Capgemini employs approximately 61,000people worldwide and reported 2005global revenues of 6,954 million euros.More information is available atwww.capgemini.com

About Capgemini and the Collaborative Business Experience

In collaboration with

From amateur beginnings to today'shighly professional organisation, TheAustralian Rugby Union is the NationalGoverning Body for the sport inAustralia. It provides a launching pad

for the highly successful Wallabies tomake Rugby Union one of the biggestcrowd drawers of any sport inAustralia.

Act—The final test provided impetus forthe group to clearly understand obstaclesto overcome and build final outputs beforelaunch. In addition to meeting objectivesand garnering strong buy-in, the groupcreated a single vision of the competitionand what it would achieve over five years.

Capgemini and the ARU then jointly ran aNew Competition workshop whereBusiness Plans were shared and a MasterImplementation Program was built, agreedand finalized by all key stakeholders. Theextent of the collaboration and alignmentacross Australian Rugby in six shortmonths was truly transformational whichbodes well for the future of the Wallabiesand rugby as a sport across Australia.