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Professional rugby's 25th birthday warning: 'You need a blockbuster narrative to keep fans interested'

By PA
(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Brett Gosper believes that rugby union has “come a long way very quickly” as it reaches 25 years as a professional sport – but the World Rugby chief executive has also outlined some of the future challenges that will need to be met.

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It is a quarter of a century on Wednesday that the late Vernon Pugh, in his role as International Rugby Board chairman, declared it an “open” sport. The timing of that announcement, if not the decision itself, caught many by surprise.

And two-and-a-half decades later, countless pages have been written – many celebratory such as Rugby World Cup’s success and the continuing growth of women’s rugby, but also sorry sagas like the Harlequins ‘Bloodgate’ disgrace in 2009 and recent salary cap scandal surrounding Saracens.

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In an interview with the Guardian five years ago, former England fly-half and ex-Rugby Football Union professional rugby director Rob Andrew described rugby going professional in 1995 as being “like the Wild West”.

And while rugby has sometimes had a tendency to press the self-destruct button during its professional era, it is also a virtually unrecognisable sport on and off the pitch since that August weekend afternoon in Paris 25 years ago.

“Twenty-five years, while it is a long time, in professional sporting history it’s a tiny piece of history,” said World Rugby boss Gosper. “If you talk to people in other federations in professional sport, they would be quite shocked that rugby has only been professional for that period of time, given things like the World Cup and leagues around the world.

“There is kind of a feeling that when the outside world is looking in, we have come a long way very quickly, given that it is only 25 years. Super Rugby and the European Cup were introduced at that time, which added a huge dimension of visibility and attractiveness to the sport.

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“And international rugby over the period has grown hugely in terms of the size, scale and fanbase. There were only about one million people playing rugby in those days. There are about 9.5m now, and the World Cup has grown to be the third-biggest sporting event on the planet.

“We have only really been measuring our fanbase since 2013 and it has grown 30 per cent since then to about 405m people. Eighty-eight per cent of people feel it is a more exciting sport than five years ago and about 82 per cent feel it is safer than it was five years ago.”

The World Cup has grown in size and revenue with each staging, and Gosper readily recalls South Africa’s 1995 triumph and the unforgettable images of Nelson Mandela presenting Springboks skipper Francois Pienaar with the Webb Ellis Trophy.

The Mandela influence in South Africa in 1995, it was the first time that Rugby World Cup transcended the sport itself and it laid the ground for probably what was really the first ‘super’ World Cup from a commercial and ticketing perspective in Australia in 2003,” Gosper said.

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“And moving it to a place like Japan last year demonstrated the variety of a global event in its full version. We had 2.04billion video views in the Japan World Cup, which is Olympic in scale. While I won’t say that Japan was the coming of age, it was certainly the confirmation that this property (World Cup) is a massively-global property.

“You can take the World Cup to new territories, and you should, in order to grow the sport. The inclusion in the Olympics (since Rio 2016) and the effect that has had on gaining new fans has also been substantial. The Olympics should not be underestimated as a recruiter of a new fan-base.

“Some of the progress that has been made in player welfare, the management of concussion, in particular, rugby has blazed a trail in that area, while the growth of women’s rugby has been huge. There were more new women-registered players than new men-registered players last year.”

Gosper added that “geography and gender” are among critical areas for growth, while also placing major importance on the players. “The women’s game will continue to grow massively. And the game must also grow in new geographic markets to create the wealth it requires – the US in particular, other parts of South America, Russia, China, other parts of Asia.

“The geographic growth of rugby is inevitable, but it needs to be managed and needs to be accelerated in some cases. Increasingly, the players are at the heart of the decisions that we make, which is a big change over the 25-year period.

“Management of the players between club and country and finding some harmony in the way the club and international game co-exist because they are both critical to the future of the sport is going to be very important.

“It’s about things that will capture the imagination of the emerging young fan. You need a blockbuster narrative to keep fans interested, and the Olympics and World Cup will continue to grow the game into new markets and new territories.”

  • The history behind the momentous decision of rugby union becoming a professional sport can be discovered at the World Rugby Hall of Fame in Rugby, Warwickshire. Admission is free

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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