The Worrying Decline of English Rugby

I'm big fan of your work and rugby, so I was keen to hear your take on the state of the game in England (and globally). It might not quite be 'adapt or die' just yet, but it's not far off…much can be learned from cricket!

An important point, IMO, relating to players going abroad for money is that to play for the England national team, you need to be playing in England. This is clearly artificially pushing players into playing in England during the peak of their career. My belief is that if this artificial hurdle wasn't in place, the Premiership would fall off dramatically. The organic, natural competiveness of the Premiership is not there. So I think the problem of English rugby being in a bad spot might actually be worse that what you are describing.

2nd point, The north of England is generally more focused on Rugby League, rather than Rugby Union. That explains, or partially at least, why there are fewer Union teams in the north of England.

New subscriber, great vid, love the channel, can’t wait to see it grow more

love the vid, great analysis.

Something I didn’t cover in the video is the marketing, (or the lack of marketing) for Rugby’s stars! Is the onus on the RFU, the individual rugby clubs or the players themselves to promote the best talent? If you’d like to add to the discussion leave a comment below or join the conversation at http://www.thelongplay.co.uk. Thank you for watching the video 🙏🏾

You briefly touched on it but yes, Rugby as a whole is awful at social media fan engagement and marketing itself even to its own existing fanbase let alone a potential new/casual fanbase. When the Premiership and Champions Cup finals were taking place they were barely promoted on their social media channels.

It's probably why you're seeing World Rugby always mentioning attracting new fans whenever any new law or competition (Nations Championship) is launched. Because they recognize that the sport is currently facing an existential crisis in terms of relevancy with the current generation.

Rugby in England has made no effort to try and grow in state schools-where the majority of people come from. Relying on private schools was a bubble waiting to burst

Raglife™️ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏉 🇬🇧

I think a really great player to mention here would have been Louis Reece-Zammit who is the 23 year old star Winger for Wales and has left rugby to play in the NFL

It has always baffled me that Twickenham can sell nearly 90,000 seats, all at top dollar, for every match, even a barbars match. Yet for Women's internationals, they close the third tier in the stadium. And furthermore, you can to Allianz and watch Sarries Tigers, two of the top teams, and still see empty seats in a small stadium, in north London, in a rich area (although the ground is notoriously hard to reach by public transport). Yet, with a well marketed top clash held at Spurs for Sarries Quins, they can sell that out no problem. The difference in all of them is marketing and social sells, imo. And for all the lost talents knocking about on council estates across the land, it makes me sad for the future of the game. Makes me sadder for all the internationals who care more for the cash then playing for England. I don't blame them one bit. They need to secure their futures, that matters more than caps. England are losing some top players and it just improves French rugby by having them there instead. We've seen what's happened to Wales, something needs to be done. The RFU needs to hand all their profits to all the teams up and down the leagues. And it needs to do way more to improve the women's game, like cricket has done. The WXV had like 5,000 fans to watch the two best teams play, one of them was the host nation, even fewer for the last WC final rematch. No one is pushing it. Bill Beaumont needs to stand down. Get someone vibrant with some ideas in there. Everyone slagged the Hundred when they brought that in in cricket, attendances through the roof, children turning up and then choosing to play and it's a big money spinner for the counties that have teams. We need a similar attitude with rugby.

Covid hastened the sport's decline, but fundamentally the RFU has been mismanaging it for years now – mostly because of greed and elitism.

They turned on Eddie when he warned them that they need to develop the game more in underprivileged areas, softening the rules a bit for overseas players to still represent England, and easing/removing the salary caps so that the market could drive advertising directly.

I also think that the RFU needs to go on a marketing blitz like SA Rugby did – there simply aren't enough clinics, school visits, and public appearances to actually allow England's rugby heroes to increase the exposure of the game. If the game traditionally appeals to the upper middle-class, and the country is seeing the largest decline in that demographic in decades, then the marketing needs to be recalibrated.

Siya Kolisi coming from living in a shack to being the Springbok captain literally transformed the prospects of the game in South Africa, England needs to get more public exposure for players like Ellis Genge who came from a rougher background and can appeal to a far wider audience.

The problem is the sport in itself, it’s more athletic than an actual sport. There isn’t much nuance or tactics to it.

Great video!

9:15 – expansion of the premiership is all very well, but Newcastle Falcons are already flushing themselves down the toilet. There's a big issue here – even in the heartlands of Rugby Union, the crowds you get are very small, and the stadiums themselves are similarly small. Saracens capacity at the StoneX is 10K. It's laughable when Millwall FC have a capacity of double that, and are way off top flight football. With the current business model, rugby needs people who don't mind giving their millions and never needing to see that cash again.

Its because Springboks keep winning.

As a Munster and Ireland supporter and player in a lower competition club side it is not up to the URC club teams to bail English clubs out.

The problem is unlike the IRFU branches who had long established provincial teams which come from the four provinces which used to be higher kingdoms English clubs went from being owned and run by local branch types with committees to being owned like top soccer clubs.

At least you have been fair and not said anything like no one cares about rugby (8 and a half million so registered players and high attendances and viewership at least with the URC, 6 nations and RWC disproves that), just that rugby union has always had its strongholds (Limerick, Cork, Suburban Dublin, Wicklow, Welsh Valleys, Southwest France, much of the English southwest, New Zealand, Western and Eastern Cape of South Africa etc and parts of the English midlands). The onus is on unions to grow the game and get it into places it never existed before places like the Liberties, Tallaght, Clondalkin Irish Gaeltachts and most of the Irish countryside. Appears to be working in Ireland with clubs in the Gaeltachtaí, Liberty Saints RFC in D8, Tallaght RFC and Clondalkin RFC, An Ghaeltacht Rugbaí etc.

We are starting to see that with Tom Ahern, Edogbo brothers, Jamie Osborne, etc. More needs to be done but when the likes of those three grassroots Dublin clubs start providing most of the players to their local province then things will be definitely changing.

Rugby union for me is an exciting sport to watch with the varying ways to score with last minute drop goals or penalty kicks in do or die matches are just as exciting as last minute tries. Also cross pitch kicks like the one Jack Crowley as outhalf kicked to Calvin Nash to score a clean running try adds to it.

It is also the history with the 6 Nations having a lineage going back to 1884 and the likes of the Calcutta cup and Triple Crown being some of the oldest contests in sports history. The derby matches and their history no matter how old. The stadiums like Thomond Park with a fantastic atmospheric crowds or Landsdowne in the 2022-2023 URC semi final or 2021-2022 Munster vs Toulouse Heineken Cup quarter final. The summer test series Or when Ireland beat the All Blacks for the first time in 2017 and the first time in New Zealand in summer of 2022. For me the 2022-2023 Munster vs Stormers URC final is one of the greatest club matches, as you mentioned you are a Man United fan before Munster won that final Munster had won in an older format of that competition in 2011 that was the last time before that final that Munster won silverware and they entered their wilderness years bouncing coaching ticket to coaching ticket poor performance to poor performance.

Things like how at least here in Ireland players names are kept off the jerseys. Speaking of jerseys rugby union teams have played in the same kits since their founding or for a very long time. Also who does not like hooped jerseys which are most common in rugby union.

It is the fact that extra time is rare, that Munster vs Toulouse quarter final being an exception. The interesting points race and conceding penalties in your 22 on a torrent rainy night leaving you behind the opposition.

At a regular club level the level of fun and the inclusivity regarding shapes and sizes (still rings true at top flight but to a lesser extent these days). If you are large, strong and heavy you can be a prop or hooker if a bit lighter and more of a runner then a lock if you are quite a good runner but still larger but not as large and strong a flanker if not that a 8 man. Good at concentrating and good with your feet an outhalf, if you are a very fast runner a wing etc.

When it comes to grassroots rugby is quite simple you just needs socks, boots, shorts, gum shield and jersey.

I agreed on the social media clips plenty of people have been posting them for years. 14,15,16 year old club and test clips.

I think the RFU should invest and promote the lower leagues as the local team. For christ’s sake the standards there have come on leaps and bounds there.

I know this is focussed on the English pro ane, but from a grassroots perspective, the game isn't sustainable in its current form either.

The big focus on the 3pm Saturday kickoff and a booze-up in the clubhouse afterwards doesn't fit in with the more sober Gen-Z or with Dad's wanting to be more hands on with ther kids. When I became a new Dad it became depressing leaving my toddler at lunchtime and coming home to him already fast asleep. And I'm a referee! I can only imagine what it's like for the players who are getting beaten up every week as well.

Every time I get a survey from the RFU I say that kickoff times are the main reason I haven't engaged with the game more. If ganes started in late morning and were finished with a lunch at the clubhouse that's a massive barrier to engagement removed. And it gives more time for the people who do have the freedom to stay at the clubhouse to watch the Prem/International games and put more money into the club. Not a single club near me seems to have picked this up.

And the thing is, most clubs still do really well at a junior level, and more and more women are playing. Rugby is just as much of a 'family' sport as it ever has been, but most clubs fail to adapt to modern living.

And this doesn't even touch on the legit fears people hae over concussions.

It can’t be turned around. The English with their wah wah mentality and red trousers, just don’t get it. So few actually go to prem games each weekend. For me, you have to tie me down to stop me going to castres or Toulouse at the weekend, and at worst I’ll trip down to Montpellier for some sun and a game.

The galosh clubs are too stuck up their own arses, and the players think they’re gods. Here in the south west of France, you’re having a beer with the players and coaches after the game. In England the players stay away from the supporters. Owned first game was against castres and he got hell on the pitch but was loved afterwards, he’s a legend in France we love the legends, even if they’re English. I had a very quick chat with him, he loved the fan connection.

The English are infected with woke bs, and constant false allegations of systematic racism, again total bullshit. Twickenham has been sanitised to the point of being no fun. Don’t need to go again.

Just copy the French system!🇿🇦