'We're powered by generators, our toilet sewers collapsed... we've got a great set of matching posts, the uprights are broken on both'
The charm of grassroots rugby can have its drawbacks on a fresh October morning. Last week Ugo Monye found himself at Erdington RFC with a shiny new plaque tucked under his arm, preparing to present a small club with a significant award. The realities of life at the grassroots quickly struck home.
“We couldn’t even offer the guys a cup of tea,” laughed Andy Trueman, community officer at Erdington RFC, the small club located a few miles north of Birmingham. “We’ve not got a lot. We are powered by generators, we’ve got no mains electricity.
“Our toilets, the sewers collapsed. We’ve got a great set of matching posts… the uprights are broken on both of them. We’re on a field that is accessed by people and dog walkers and as a result of that pitches get soiled. We had a double-decker bus which we don’t use at the moment with Covid, but that’s converted with showers on it and a little rest facility. It’s very, very basic.”
Yet for a small club Erdington are making a big impact. Monye was in town to present Erdington with the inaugural Gallagher Rugby club of the season award, recognition that came on the back of their Changing Lives Through Rugby initiative.
“The Erdington constituency is the fifth most deprived in the UK,” Trueman explained to RugbyPass. “Our bordering constituency, which is right next to the rugby club, is Hodgehill, the third most deprived. So they really are the bottom of the scale in terms of wealth in the UK.”
? From 100+ to 6 great finalists to just 1 ….
And @ErdingtonRugby is revealed as our winner and 1st ever Gallagher Rugby Club of the Season! ???
??? ???
An amazing win, an amazing club – watch their reaction as @ugomonye springs the surprise >#GallagherRCOTS pic.twitter.com/7uWr46bblo
— Gallagher UK (@GallagherUK) October 9, 2020
The focus of the initiative is to offer an outlet for kids in an area where the attraction of crime is always sitting at the front door. As part of their work in the community Erdington provide volunteer outreach support to local police, offer coaching sessions in schools, have developed a mental health assessment tool and run an after-school club which targets pupils with behavioural issues.
For many of the kids involved, the lifts to training and hot meals provided are a welcome part of the package. “It’s about trying to keep kids on the straight and narrow,” Trueman continued.
“In the Erdington area, there’s a lot of dysfunctional families, and if kids aren’t given that right level of care, attention and community within the family, they seek it elsewhere and they go to find the gangs, or the gangs find them.
“What we offer as a rugby club is we replace that. We offer them a community. We offer them somewhere where they have got role models. They have got that at the rugby club. They have got security. We feed the kids after training.
“If they’ve got problems, they can ring us up – we will deal with those issues. We are trying at the moment to get some of our older kids placements in colleges. We’re doing that and we’re doing it because we care.”
Former England and Harlequins star Monye, a member of the judging panel for the award, was hugely impressed by what the Erdington club have been achieving. “One of most stand-out things was, it’s a challenging area socio-economically and Erdington do so much with so little. It’s the authenticity about who they are, what they are, and what they are trying to deliver.
“I met a brother and sister who get on two buses and travel an hour to get there. Part of that is because they love being there and the other part is that it gets them off the streets for a couple of hours. That’s what we’re dealing with.
“I often think rugby in this country… because it has this elite tag, that we only speak to a certain demographic of people and we often neglect the fact that it can change people’s lives. Erdington absolutely do that.
“The top of the scale of course has got this linear public school pathway into the game… academy, the Premiership, England. But at a grassroots level, where everyone starts, it can have a far greater impact on people’s lives than picking up trophies. These guys are doing incredible things.”
All this from a club which had to completely rebuild just a few shorts years ago. In 2003 Erdington’s clubhouse burned down and the club was forced to close its doors. They reformed with no facilities or players in 2016, but the new members quickly rolled up their sleeves and began making their presence felt in the area.
At the heart of all their good work is an emphasis on inclusivity. Erdington welcome players of all backgrounds, something reflected in the makeup of their teams, and Monye believes it is an area rugby is slowly getting better at.
“The game of rugby is really welcoming, but it doesn’t always stretch its arms out – you have to be in that bubble first. But we are making great strides. We have made far greater strides in the last six months than we have in the 20 years I’ve been involved in the game.
“The fact that people are having conversations about it [inclusivity] is a great starting point. I mean, at the top end of the game, we haven’t even had an anti-racism programme in the 25 years the game has been professional.
“It’s good to see from the top of the RFU, they put out a big statement regards to diversity and inclusion. Premiership Rugby did the same. It’s one of those topics which you can probably never do enough, but that shouldn’t ever put you off from wanting to do more. It’s great to see that there is a willingness and an understanding, and it’s being acknowledged that we have got a good way to go.”
In Erdington’s case that willingness to embrace diversity has helped the club thrive, although lockdown has thrown up some fresh challenges. “Most of what we have done has been funded by West Midlands Police and private sponsors,” explained Trueman. “The private sponsorship side of it is drying up. A lot of companies that have supported us have suffered through Covid themselves.
“Then with the initial big lockdown we had, we managed to keep in touch with the kids through social media groups, etc, had a laugh and a joke, kept winding them up about when rugby would start again. Obviously we have stuck to the rules coming out of the RFU and we have restarted training.
“It’s like a pressure cooker lid lifting. The kids have loved coming back down again, but we’re still lacking that contact element which a lot of these kids need. So hopefully things get better, start to relax, and when we come out of lockdown we will start flying again as a club.”
On his visit, Monye learned that Erdington is currently home to over 100 U18 players, a squad of over 50 senior males and a mixed gender touch rugby team. Not bad for a club which only reformed in 2016. “We’re not a rugby club, we’re a club that plays rugby,” Trueman continued.
“That ethos is good in terms of if you’re starting fresh in an area with nobody bought into the sport. I mean, a lot of our kids don’t watch rugby on television. They will quite happily come and tackle people on a field and throw a ball around, but they are not bought into the game per se whereas in traditional rugby communities you’ll find people who live and breathe rugby, and have done since they were children.
“So part of what we do is try and get people into that community spirit, get down to the club, and then they take the rugby as part of it.”
??Wasps are backing us are you??? https://t.co/YDS4mvBxab
— Erdington Rugby Club (@ErdingtonRugby) September 1, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
3 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
34 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
5 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
5 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
5 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
34 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to commentsThis 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”?
35 Go to commentsWow, didn’t realise there was such apathy to URC in SA, or by Champions Cup teams. Just read Nick’s article on Crusaders, are Sharks a similar circumstance? I think SA rugby has been far more balanced than NZs, no?
2 Go to commentsBut 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.
34 Go to commentsIt could be coincidental or prescient that the All Blacks most dominant period under Steve Hansen was when the Crusaders had their least successful period under Todd Blackadder and then the positions reversed when Razor took over the Crusaders.
34 Go to commentsDefinitely sound read everybodyexpects immediate results these days, I don't think any team would travel well at all having lost three of the most important game changers in the game,compiled with the massive injury list they are now carrying, good to see a different more in depth perspective of a coaches history.
3 Go to commentsSinckler is a really big loss for English rugby.
2 Go to commentsThanks 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
34 Go to commentsNo way. If you are trying to picture New Zealand rugby with an All Blacks mindset, there have been two factors instrumental to the decline of NZ rugby to date. Those are the horror that the Blues have become and, probably more so, the fixture that the Crusaders became. I don’t think it was healthy to have one team so dominant for so long, both for lack of proper representation of players from outside that environment and on the over reliance on players from within it. If you are another international side, like Ireland for example, sure. You can copy paste something succinct from one level to the next and experience a huge increase in standards, but ultimately you will not be maximizing it, which is what you need to perform to the level the ABs do. Added to that is the apathy that develops in the whole game as a result of one sides dominance. NZ, Super, and Championship rugby should all experience a boom as a result of things balancing out. That said, there is a lot of bad news happening in NZ rugby recently, and I’m not sure the game can be handled well enough here to postpone the always-there feeling of inevitable decline of rugby.
34 Go to commentsNo SA supporter miss Super Rugby - a product that is experiencing significant head wind in ANZ - the competition from rival codes are intense, match attendance figures are at a historical low and the negativity of commentators such as Kirwan and Wilson have accelerated the downward spiral in NZ. After the next RWC in 2027 sponsors will follow Qantas and start leaving in droves.
3 Go to commentsLike others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
34 Go to comments