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England can't afford brand snobbery and Umbro deal is a good one - Andy Goode
England fans can’t afford to be brand snobs at the moment and the RFU should be commended for getting the best deal possible with Umbro. Despite only being announced this week, it’s a good job the contract was likely signed a little while ago as you can almost guarantee it would be less lucrative if it was negotiated in the current coronavirus climate.
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I suspect the union thought it was revealing a bit of good news amid the gloom, but I got messages on Twitter calling it “an absolute disgrace” and “bargain bin stuff” to cite just a couple of examples. Clearly, social media is going to attract extreme reactions, but there does seem to be a negative perception of Umbro and a lot of people reacted negatively because of its association with football.
You don’t spend almost 30 years as the England football team’s kit provider if you are a second rate brand and prior to that successful period in football, Umbro did actually support each of the home nations in rugby and also the British and Irish Lions when they won in New Zealand in 1971.
So, Umbro does have rugby heritage and it is also an English company based in Cheadle near Manchester, albeit now owned by an American firm. You’d think that would make many England fans happy. Everyone is going to have their own opinion and we will have to reserve judgement on the new England kit until we actually see it, but you can be absolutely certain that the RFU will have done their due diligence on this and not just taken a punt.
Signing personal deals is a bit different to unions or clubs agreeing kit deals, but there are still similarities and I can remember taking a whole year to transition from adidas to Reebok in my playing career. A bigger offer was put on the table but I had to be sure that I was going to be as comfortable and kick as well in Reebok boots as I was in my existing boots, so I spent a season training in the new ones alongside the old ones in order to make sure it was right.
Thoughts on @EnglandRugby and their new kit deal with @UmbroUK?! pic.twitter.com/L1Xhot08Qu
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) May 5, 2020
I also had an even bigger offer from Gilbert but I just couldn’t get on with their boots at all so I didn’t take it. Clearly, an Umbro shirt as opposed to a Canterbury one isn’t going to affect performance in the same way but the RFU will have seen prototypes and done their homework.
Some form of committee involving a few England players will also almost certainly have been involved in the process to make sure they were satisfied with the standard of playing jerseys and training kit. A picture of Sam Underhill and Tom Curry wearing an Umbro-branded England top was leaked, prompting a flurry of abuse online, but that was almost certainly just training gear and not something to get hot under the collar over.
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There are a plethora of kit suppliers involved in rugby nowadays and, as a union or a club, you have to put the contract out to tender and go with the best deal on the table. People tend not to like change but switching kit companies is commonplace. I wore everything from Cotton Traders to Kappa during my career and plenty of people had negative perceptions of some of those brands, but it obviously won’t bother the players one bit or have any bearing on how successful they are on the pitch.
Off the pitch, though, it could have a small impact on how successful the RFU is in the coming four years. Obviously, if kit sales end up being down, they will take a hit but it looks like a very good deal on the face of it. England’s previous deal with Canterbury was said to be worth £5million per year, the same as this contract is reported to be worth, but changing supplier isn’t something teams do just for the sake of it, so it was the most financially viable offer on the table this time around.
The RFU have already said that losses could surpass £100m depending on how the current situation around coronavirus pans out and when rugby returns, so these are vital funds for the grassroots game as well as the England senior team. They can’t win really because people are always saying how the RFU and rugby in general are slow to innovate or change and then when this happens people are up in arms because it’s not traditional and it’s just not rugby.
It will be interesting to see what the new England shirt looks like when it is unveiled, although I suspect white and not too dissimilar to previous ones will be the answer. If I was on the players’ committee, though, I’d definitely be lobbying for a return to a baggier fit with long sleeves and a collar!
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Joking aside, where rugby is right now and indeed where the world is right now, £5 million per year for a kit deal is not to be sniffed at. People will have to put their preconceptions to one side.
Comments on RugbyPass
Exciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
9 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
9 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
26 Go to comments