Ponsford to join World Rugby as Women’s High-Performance Manager
The RFU can confirm Nicky Ponsford will join World Rugby as Women’s High-Performance Manager on a two-year secondment.
Starting in July 2021, Ponsford, a highly respected and successful performance manager in the women’s game, will support unions as they deliver their women’s high-performance programmes and assist in the development of international standard training environments, structures and practices as they prepare to compete in qualifiers and at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in October 2022.
Having played in England Women’s first ever Test match against Wales in Pontypool in 1987, Ponsford earned 50 caps for England and was part of the front row for the England side that won the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 1994.
She joined the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW) in 2002 as Head of Women’s Performance before it became part of the Rugby Football Union in 2013. In that time England finished as runners-up on home soil in 2010 and then won a second Women’s Rugby World Cup in France four years later.
Ponsford has been responsible for the England squads at Senior and U20 level and the player pathway. Ponsford was also the team leader for Great Britain’s Women’s Sevens team at Rio Olympics in 2016 and was appointed chair of the European women’s rugby commission in 2018.
In the last four years, she has been instrumental in the launch of the Premier 15s, England’s elite domestic women’s rugby competition and the introduction of full-time contracts for England Women’s 15-a-side internationals.
The appointment comes as World Rugby’s Executive Committee reaffirmed its commitment to supporting RWC 2021 qualified teams and those still within the qualification process, by approving an additional £600k to the initial £2m Rugby World Cup High Performance preparation fund, announced following the postponement of the tournament earlier this year.
Ponsford said: “I’m really looking forward to starting this secondment with World Rugby.
“To have the opportunity to work with World Rugby to help develop and grow the international women’s game is a really exciting prospect and I can’t wait to get started.
“Having worked at the RFU for almost 20 years, I have developed strong relationships across the global game and am looking forward to strengthening those further.
“With the World Cup taking place in October 2022 and WXV calendar set to start in 2023 this is an exciting time for the game.
“Naturally, I am sad to be leaving England Rugby for this period, especially as the Red Roses embark on their World Cup journey and the Allianz Premier 15s heads into its fifth season but I think the game in England is in a really good place and am confident that it will continue to move from strength to strength with the drive from within the RFU.
“There are fantastic people involved across the women’s game in England both at international and domestic level and I will miss working with the players and staff involved.”
RFU Director of Performance Rugby, Conor O’Shea said: “We’re all delighted for Nicky who thoroughly deserves this opportunity.
“I’m really pleased for her and think it is a great fit and perfect timing both for Nicky personally and us as an organisation.
“One of our key strategic aims is to grow the women’s game and for that to happen we need to ensure the international game is growing in the same way so this secondment is perfect, we know how much value this will add to World Rugby and the women’s international game as a whole.
“Nicky will obviously be sorely missed for a couple of years but she’s not exactly going too far.
“It’s been very collaborative and Nicky, Joe Schmidt (World Rugby director of rugby and high performance) and I have discussed at length and are all in agreement it’s the right move for all parties.
“We feel that in terms of the structures and programmes we have in place for next season and the people that are involved with the Red Roses, Allianz Premier 15s and pathway teams we’re in a good place.
“We will look to ensure there is a performance role for the time Nicky’s away which we’re not going to look to fill like-for-like. You’re not going to replace a one-off, someone like Nicky with unique experience who has been there since day one.
“For all parties, this secondment is a win-win for where we need the game to go.
“We’re very confident that this will not interrupt any preparation for the Red Roses to achieve their aim of winning the World Cup next year and Simon Middleton, Nicky and I have sat down and discussed the period leading to New Zealand 2022.”
