Preparations for men’s and women’s Rugby World Cup 2027 and 2029 in Australia continue to gather pace with key executive team appointments within the Local Operating Company (LOC), the World Rugby majority-owned joint venture with Rugby Australia.

Leading figures in major global sports event delivery, Jane Fernandez (Executive General Manager of Operations) and Michelle Enright (Executive GM of Business) have joined the Sydney based team under Managing Director Chris Stanley, reflecting a mission of delivering game-changing Rugby World Cups.

Both have significant experience in the major events hosting landscape and reflect the mission of events that will give rugby the springboard to attract and retain a new generation of fans within an historic golden decade of rugby in Australia.

Jane Fernandez joins from the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia New Zealand where she was Chief Operating Officer, a key role in the successful delivery of an event that was hailed as transformative, elevating women’s sport to new levels. Jane also has significant sport and major event experience having held the position of General Manager, Sport for the Australian Olympic Committee and Tournament Director of the AFC Asian Cup 2015.

Michelle Enright is no stranger to successful global events, joining from the ICC T20 World Cup where she was the Chief Executive Officer for the men’s tournament in 2022 and Chief Operating Officer for the world record-breaking women’s event in 2020.  Previously, Michelle was the Head of Finance and Administration for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, Corporate Services Director for the FIFA U20 World Cup New Zealand 2015 and GM of Business Operations for High Performance Sport New Zealand.

In addition to these two key executive roles, other recent appointments include Scott Muir (GM of Events Services), Nick Duke (Head of Venues), Ally Dirkis (Head of People and Culture), Simone Papirnik (Head of Team Services) and Alicia Keogh who moved across from the Rugby Australia bid team into the Rugby World Cup Projects Manager role.

Managing Director of Rugby World Cup 2027 Chris Stanley said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Jane and Michelle to a growing and talented Rugby World Cup 2027 and 2029 Australia hosting team. To attract talent of this calibre shows both the ambition and attraction of events that will be the jewels in the crown within a golden decade of rugby in Australia, events that will cement rugby and its values into the hearts and minds of Australians.

“The appointments also represent a shifting of gears as we get into the detail of operational planning for Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 within an important year in our hosting lifecycle. Fans can look forward to some big decisions this year regarding the qualification process, further details on the competition format draw timing and confirmation of the host cities and venues.

“All of these milestone moments will underpin the successful delivery of the tournament and we are delighted to be accelerating our preparations with exceptional, talented and experienced appointments who share our excitement and vision for what will be game-changing Rugby World Cups.”

A joint venture and collaboration between World Rugby and Rugby Australia, the Australia 2027 and 2029 organising company is chaired by Sir Rod Eddington and majority owned by World Rugby’s Events and Media arm, which is responsible for the delivery of all Men’s and Women’s Rugby World Cups through to at least 2033 and designed to ignite rugby interest, fan, participation growth and value.