3 Premiership clubs will take the knee this weekend, with huddles, V shapes, a heart shape and t-shirts also planned
English rugby’s Gallagher Premiership teams will show various forms of support this weekend after other sports recently joined in worldwide protests against racism following the May death in America of George Floyd.
Floyd died after a police officer knelt on his neck, sparking worldwide protests that were followed by English Premier League and Championship football clubs displaying their solidarity in a number of ways, including players and officials taking a knee before kick-off of every match during the reconvened season in June and July.
With the Gallagher Premiership now set to resume after a near 23-week lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, there had been speculation as to how the dozen clubs would approach the racism issue in this weekend’s restart fixtures.
Under the banner of Rugby Against Racism, it has now been confirmed that three Premiership clubs – Harlequins, Leicester and Wasps – will collectively take the knee prior to kick-off in their respective matches.
Bath have planned a huddle, Northampton a circle, Bristol will form a heart shape, Gloucester and Worcester will form V shapes, while London Irish, Sale and Saracens will wear special t-shirts in the build-up to their games. Table-toppers Exeter have also voiced their support of the campaign.
'As a black player, you get pigeon-holed. You’re either an athlete and you’ll get stuck on the wing or he’s big, let’s stick him in the second row' @Harlequins wing @natenate174 talks about gaining coaches' trust, his ACL, BLM & more, with @heagneyl ???https://t.co/qxaJxTQeXM
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 2, 2020
Speaking ahead of the round 14 fixtures which begin in London with the Friday night meeting of Harlequins and Sale, a Premiership Rugby statement read: “As rugby returns this weekend, it does so with added purpose and determination to tackle the major issues that sport and society are facing.
“Premiership Rugby today commits to making English professional club rugby a more diverse, welcoming and inclusive environment for our staff, players and fans while also supporting societal change.
“We are committed to building on our work through initiatives like Project Rugby to support black communities, as well as plans to further enhance work in LGBTQ+ rights, gender equality and to improve the access to our sport for those from low socio-economic groups and those with disabilities.
“For the start of each game in the first round of Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Premiership Rugby is proud to support our clubs and players as they show respect for black lives and racial equality. Time will be given before games to honour equality, under the banner of Rugby Against Racism.
“All of our clubs will be taking action this weekend to mark their commitment to racial equality. Some of those actions include: Bath will show their commitment to racial equality at the weekend, forming a huddle in unity shortly before kick-off.
“Bristol Bears will form a heart-shaped formation before kick-off, with the 23 players in the formation representing every player, staff member and supporter of the club. The club explains that the Bears culture is about ‘love for our teammates and love for our community’. They are honoured to represent a team and a city that is unique, diverse and multicultural. The Bears culture promotes equality and the club are fully in support of rugby against racism.
“Exeter Chiefs are proud to be part of a fully-inclusive sport that does not discriminate against race, colour or creed. Ahead of our restart fixture against Leicester Tigers at Sandy Park, the Chiefs will be showing their full support for Rugby Against Racism.
“Gloucester and Worcester Warriors will take the same approach for their match with both clubs supporting Rugby Against Racism and their players acknowledging the moment in a V. Harlequins will be supporting Black Lives Matter with the squad taking a knee.
"We will judge our success not on the wearing of a t-shirt"https://t.co/Km0b0lzIE2
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 12, 2020
“Leicester Tigers will take part in the competition-wide acknowledgement of Rugby Against Racism ahead of kick-off in Round 14. The matchday squad will, as one, take a knee during the period allocated ahead of the match getting underway.
“London Irish will show their commitment to racial equality when the Exiles travel to Bath this weekend. The players will wear Rugby Against Racism t-shirts in the pre-match warm-up, as well as showing their commitment shortly before kick-off at The Rec.
“The Northampton Saints squad will support Rugby Against Racism when they host Wasps this Sunday at Franklin’s Gardens. The 23-man matchday squad will wear t-shirts with the message. Prior to kick-off, the players will form a circle formation which they have chosen to signify the importance of inclusivity and togetherness for everyone in the game.
“Sale Sharks stand together in the face of all discrimination. To demonstrate this, the entire Sale Sharks matchday squad will be wearing Rugby Against Racism t-shirts when the team run out this weekend at the Twickenham Stoop.
“Saracens will show their commitment to racial equality. The players will wear Black Lives Matter t-shirts in the pre-match warm-up, as well as showing their commitment shortly before kick-off. Wasps will be supporting Black Lives Matter with the squad taking a knee.”
A working group comprising of black players from across the league, along with Ugo Monye and James Bailey, added: “Together, we the players stand united in the fight against racism, and we are proud to support the positive message that Black Lives Matter. We are not endorsing a political ideology. We are uniting as players to combat racial discrimination, in our sport and in society.”
In addition to Premiership Rugby endorsing the statement regarding racism from the working group comprising of black players, the league’s governing body have also committed to the following actions:
- Work to improve the representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) players on the RFU level 3 coach education and referee course, along with mentoring opportunities from current DORs and match officials;
- Premiership Rugby staff and BAME players to be sponsored as candidates for Sporting Equals LeaderBoard programme to ensure there is a pipeline of board-ready candidates representative of society as a whole;
- Confirm the continuation of Project Rugby – which is run with England Rugby and Gallagher – to increase access to the sport for young people from a BAME background. In the last four years, 13,500 young people from BAME backgrounds have been introduced to the sport by Project Rugby;
- Review of recruitment practices and the measurement of protected characteristics in the staff and playing group, so that future progress can be appropriately tracked;
- Engage with BAME players to build protocols ensuring all our professional players feel safe and protected.
Premiership Rugby CEO Darren Childs said: “Improving inclusion is vital for the progress and popularity of our sport and there is an urgent need for change. I wholeheartedly support the measures set out in our Rugby Against Racism programme and will be making sure these measures underpin Premiership Rugby’s strategy to make a tangible positive difference in our sport and society.”
RPA CEO Damian Hopley added: “Positive dialogue is continuing with the aforementioned player group and we look forward to working closely with PRL, the clubs, RFU and other stakeholders to deliver tangible progress around opportunity, leadership and education.”
A familiar face will be absent this weekend https://t.co/JiA8EvL3EP
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 12, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
late hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to comments