Unheard of Riches at the Head While Dying at the Roots

Whenever have the performances of the England Rugby Union team attracted so many column inches of newspaper space, so much time on our radio and TV stations, and the players lauded on the many sports web sites? Never, but rightly so, for the squad and especially the coach, Eddie Jones, have captured the attention of the wider sporting public by the quality of their approach to international competition and especially in the Six Nations Tournament. Alongside such an attraction the elite national professional league is being played out before large crowds at the likes of Leicester, Bath, Harlequins and other clubs, multi-millionaires are backing such ventures, and the players are being rewarded with payments beyond the wildest dreams of previous stars of both codes of rugby.

Why then, despite the honest endeavours of the many RU Development Officers who organise all manner of events and efforts to attract youngsters to the sport, are the amateur clubs in many areas of the country going in to extinction or losing up to half of the teams they once fielded, with the consequent loss of revenue to support the finances for the very existence of the club? Why are more and more ex-players, especially in their Twenties, now often playing more games on a mobile phone than on a rugby pitch? And I am led to believe that the problem is not only confined to rugby union, but also to rugby league, cricket, and amateur football.

It is a fact that, owing to many changing factors in a variety of state schools, team sport and weekly matches of all ages against other schools are nothing like as prevalent as they once were two or three decades ago. For all the enthusiasm of the vast number of youngsters playing in Mini or Junior teams on a Sunday morning it is more difficult to enthuse the participants and retain their interest than it is for a group of dedicated teachers who are dealing with the youngsters and instilling a sport in them up to six days a week – and seven days a week if there was a Sevens competition on the calendar!

Congratulations to those in rugby union, rugby league, cricket, football, and all sports who are striving to promote excellence at the top of their game; but more support and ideas are needed to help retain players and increase revenue, if the clubs in the lower truly amateur leagues are ever to prosper again.

Ray French, Feb. 2017