Boris and his Government must save English rugby - Andy Goode
There have been measures, such as the furlough scheme, which have helped the sport get through to this point, but it is now on a precipice and sports minister Nigel Huddleston should be looking at doing more rather than telling English rugby to look at ways it can support itself.
A lot of different owners are speaking out and there are numerous different figures flying around, but estimates suggest the Premiership clubs have lost as much as £70million between them in the six months since March.
It has to be pointed out that these English rugby clubs were losing money hand over fist anyway and that isn’t all as a result of coronavirus. But if Exeter are losing £1m per month and the absence of fans is costing Wasps £500,000 per month, clearly that isn’t sustainable for very long at all.
Almost all of the top clubs are reliant on wealthy benefactors and how long is it really going to be before a few of them decide that they don’t want to keep putting their hands in their pockets and footing the bill with little prospect of things improving?
There will never be another Twickers prawn sandwich for BoJo if Ugo gets his way 🥊https://t.co/2CdGUZ3Xpw
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 24, 2020
It only takes a few to pull out and the sport in this country is in huge trouble. The government should recognise how important this is and put a package of support together, even if that means loans that can be paid back over a long period rather than grants.
The problem goes right to the top with the RFU, assumed by many to be hugely wealthy, struggling financially. So much so that it reportedly still wanted to charge Premiership Rugby £500k to stage the Premiership final at Twickenham, despite there being no fans in attendance on October 24.
It isn’t just rugby that is in serious trouble, it’s other sports as well. The average person on the street probably sees all professional sports as having lots of money floating around and thinks they will be alright, but that simply isn’t the case.
There are those who are completely unsympathetic to the Premiership clubs’ plight and say that they have squandered money unnecessarily on player wages and spent beyond their means so why should they receive government help, but you have to see the bigger picture.
It is probably a reality, though, that if the clubs don’t receive help in the form of financial support or fans being allowed back in sooner rather than later, they will be forced to go back to their players and ask them to take further cuts in order to ensure they have jobs in a year’s time.
Much has been spoken about the possibility of Premiership clubs going bust, but grassroots clubs are arguably in an even worse state and we’re talking about the whole game going bust or a significant chunk of it. Lower league and amateur clubs in football are struggling but rugby isn’t even comparable to the round ball game and it’s easy for those outside the sport to underestimate just how perilous the situation is for them.
Below the Championship there is now no prospect of leagues starting up again before January and it could be longer – that is extremely damaging for a lot of people’s mental and physical health as well as clubs’ finances. Everyone has sympathy for the unenviable situation the government finds itself in whereby funds are clearly not unlimited and it has to be asking where you stop when it comes to handing out packages of financial support.
The arts have been supported in different ways and there has been a lot of focus on pubs and restaurants as we know. Sport at all levels now needs help and now is the time for the government to intervene and do its bit to ensure that the benefits of it are still there for all in the years to come.
Clubs at all levels are businesses and a lack of fans in the stadium means money lost in ticket revenue, food and drink sales, sponsorship, hospitality, sales in the club shop and much more. Obviously, getting fans back in grounds somehow would be the ideal solution and it’s a fair gripe that a lot of people have when they question why sports stadiums remain closed to the public but pubs and restaurants are open again.
It doesn’t look like the government is going to change its mind on that, though, and suggestions that testing might be able to be done on the gate and turned around in double-quick time seems a bit far-fetched because of the money involved if nothing else. So, that leaves the sport needing financial aid.
It’s a relief that the top clubs have all made it to this point without going to the wall because there was a genuine fear that one or two might have done already by now. But it’s hard to see them all surviving another six months of more of the same. The game needs help and the benefits it brings to society, the economy and people’s mental and physical health mean it’s worthy of the government’s support in its time of need.
Grim outlook https://t.co/S8Mtjx2EGW
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 25, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Good 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.
16 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.
7 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.
16 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?
4 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.
4 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.
26 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 🤐
16 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
16 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
16 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
16 Go to comments