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Ugo Monye: Nursery worker 'put out four cigarettes down my spine'

By PA
BT Sport pundit Ugo Monye (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Ugo Monye has revealed the harrowing personal tale of suffering a racist assault when he was just two years old. The former British and Irish Lion admitted he felt compelled to tell his story in calling for change in English rugby.

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Monye has challenged rugby’s power brokers to usher in a new era of diversity at board level, not just on the pitch.

“I believe it’s my responsibility to tell my story,” the former England and Harlequins wing told BT Sport.

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“I can’t speak on behalf of the black community, but I can tell my story. The first time that I encountered racism I was two.

“One summer my mum, she dropped me off at a nursery. My key worker, the lady that was looking after the nursery, she actually put out four cigarettes down my spine.

“It’s not something I’ve spoken about before because it’s obviously not very nice, but it’s important for people to try to understand.

“You’re two years old. It was directed at me for one sole reason, and that was because of my skin colour. Racism comes in so many different forms, overt, covert; some people call it ignorance.

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“As much as I’m saying rugby has an issue with racism, I think it’s got a bigger issue with class.

“We’ve got a very successful game, the Gallagher Premiership, I think it’s the best competition in the world, our England team is thriving.

“But numbers are dwindling, participation levels in our game are going down. So how do we address that? How do we fix it? For me, we’ve got to take the elite part out of the game.

“I don’t necessarily think rugby has a massive race issue, I think it does in terms of representation.

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“On the pitch, the England team, 30 per cent of that team comes from what we’d call BAME backgrounds; that’s incredible. But when you look at executive level, boardroom level; it’s just not there, we’re just not there. And I think that needs addressing.”

The Premiership returned on Friday night after the coronavirus shutdown, with England’s top-flight clubs choosing their own anti-racism messages.

Leicester and England prop Ellis Genge admitted he had no one to talk to about the racist abuse he suffered as a youngster rising through rugby’s ranks.

“I was abused quite a bit growing up playing on the track, rugby-wise,” said Genge. “I didn’t really have anyone to speak to, I actually didn’t have anyone to speak to about it at all.

“From my experiences when I was growing up, especially travelling to some of these clubs, these kids probably don’t go to school with any black kids, no black people in their family, Asian, anything.

“I wouldn’t say it was because these kids were genuinely racist, I’d say it was because I think it was just a bit of a shock for them to see anyone of any type of colour.

“It’s about opening up and having those conversations about whether or not you feel comfortable speaking about that to each other. Has the game opened up the doors for different minorities to be involved? I’d say not.”

Maro Itoje admitted seeing black players excel in rugby helped give him the confidence to chase a career in the sport.

The Saracens, England and Lions lock conceded the game has more to do to combat prejudice.

“Being a black person, a black man, is fundamental to my identity,” Itoje said.

“It’s helped me shape the way I view the world, it’s helped me understand myself, especially being a black person in England; you’re always one of the few in a predominantly white area.

“So you always stand out, even if you don’t want to. As a child, all you want to do is fit in. When you see someone who looks like you, when you see someone who you can draw a connection to, it makes you believe that ‘oh, I can do that too’.

“Rugby is a great sport and has a great culture, but it also needs to be vigilant. We need to be proactive in making sure that rugby is truly an inclusive sport.”

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Jon 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 12 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.

21 Go to comments
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