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Friends in rugby, There is little doubt that 2016 will be remembered as a very special and game-changing year for our sport as rugby sevens made a glorious Olympic Games debut.During six unforgettable days in Rio, our men’s and women’s stars showcased the very best of our sport and its character-building values to an unprecedented global audience.On the field, Australia’s women and Fiji’s men were worthy champions – our first gold medal winners in 92 years – and played some breath-taking rugby along the way, but rugby was the true winner. Their golden exploits inspired a new generation of participants and fans with an independent report after the Olympic Games estimating that our sevens stars attracted a minimum of 16.83 million new fans across six markets, demonstrating the power of competing on sport’s greatest stage.Bill BeaumontWorld Rugby ChairmanA GAME-CHANGING YEAR FOR RUGBYOff the field, we won many friends within the wider Olympic family and we look forward to Tokyo 2020 with great enthusiasm. Sevens has been a major driver of global participation and fan-base growth and in 2016 we welcomed almost two million young players through our Get Into Rugby mass participation programme, operating in 129 nations, while total global participation increased by 800,000 to 8.5 million men, women and children.Record growth delivers opportunities and challenges in equal measure, and as we grow we must ensure that our values are at the heart of all we do. At a time when sporting integrity is rightly in the spotlight, sport must promote good governance, integrity and inclusivity.We are committed to protecting our players through the highest standards in player welfare, anti-doping and anti-corruption and ensuring that player opinions are at the heart of our decision- making processes. We also welcomed Georgia, Romania and the USA to our Council as we continue to implement new representative and agile governance structures and look forward to welcoming more unions in the future.I look forward to working with you all in 2017 and what promises to be an exceptional and exciting year on and off the field as we look forward to Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland, confirmation of the pools and match schedule for Rugby World Cup 2019 and the announcement of the host of Rugby World Cup 2023.WORLD RUGBY COUNCIL MAY 2016Back row: R Sapias (Oceania Rugby), I Kono (Japan), G Davies (Wales), B Robinson (Australia), S Tew (New Zealand), J O’Driscoll (Ireland), P Parfrey (Canada), P Whelan (Ireland), J Spencer (England) Middle row: F Gaetaniello (Italy), J Roux (South Africa), C Barbieri (Sudamérica Rugby), A Buchanan (Wales), O Morariu (Rugby Europe), T Gregory (Asia Rugby), B Pulver (Australia), M Dodson (Scotland), P Camou (France), B Gosper (Chief Executive Officer)Front row: A Bougja (Rugby Africa), J Jeffrey (Scotland), A Pichot (Argentina), O Hoskins (South Africa, Vice-Chairman), B Lapasset (Chairman), B Beaumont (England), B Latham (Rugby Americas North), J Laurans (France), M Robinson (New Zealand)YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 WORLD RUGBY 03CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME
