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'When England won the World Cup in 2003, it was barely a footnote in my life, it wasn't an important factor at all'

By Online Editors
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Maro Itoje has claimed that rugby in England must do better to break out from its traditional recruitment grounds and expand its horizons to include other areas of society away from the private schools. Rugby’s ethnicity has come under scrutiny in recent weeks following the race protests that broke out in the United States following the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis. 

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Itoje, who is many peoples’ favourite to skipper the Lions on their 2021 tour to South Africa, now believes rugby must do more in black, Asian and minority ethnic communities in England if it truly wants to become an inclusive sport.    

Having played in the World Cup final last November, Itoje was encouraged by how the make-up of the England team has changed in recent times compared 2003, a final that he didn’t notice as a nine-year-old growing up in London as rugby wasn’t generally a topic of conversation among the wider public at the time. 

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Former England back row Neil Back reflects on the 2003 World Cup in the RugbyPass Rugby World Cup Memories documentary series

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Former England back row Neil Back reflects on the 2003 World Cup in the RugbyPass Rugby World Cup Memories documentary series

The English team 17 years ago had just a single non-white player, Jason Robinson, and while that situation had since improved, Itoje wants much more to done to evolve the sport even more in the years ahead. Speaking on the BBC Rugby Union Weekly podcast, the 25-year-old said: “In terms of reaching communities that rugby hasn’t reached before, it’s two-fold.

“Part of the reason why rugby hasn’t been able to do that is because they have a (private school) system and it seems to be going alright, they still produce quality players, they still produce a lot of successful teams. But you say rugby is an inclusive sport, the challenge is for it to be inclusive for all, not just inclusive for the people who fit the bill.

“What do I mean? The school you go to has a huge impact on the likelihood of success because what academies do is academies want to watch the best teams. If the best teams are private schools, the players from those private schools will then get put on the academy.

“That’s not to say it is impossible for people who go to state schools to make it. There are countless examples of individuals in state schools who can make it. But what the RFU and the PRL could do better is actually looking to include the whole of society, try and reduce the barriers of entry, try and take programmes out to these communities, programmes out to these schools who can’t maybe afford the funding or the coaching etc, etc to allow these kids who may not have experienced rugby the chance to see what rugby is all about. 

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“To be honest, if we are going to be balanced there is also a different side to the coin. A lot of these people, a lot of these communities – I’m talking about black communities, I’m talking about Asian communities within the UK – rugby is not really a thing in their minds. 

“If they are coming from the African continent, football is probably the sport they would be most associated with. If they are coming from Pakistan it would probably be cricket. What that means is that rugby to them is not a sport they are encouraging their children to go and play. It’s not a sport that they are having conversations with their children to go out and play. 

“Even myself, I didn’t know what rugby was up until I was 11. I remember when England won the World Cup in 2003, it was barely a footnote in my life, it wasn’t an important factor in my life at all. Rugby has a bit of a harder job to attract those type of communities because those communities don’t have a history of the game, but it is definitely something that can be changed.

“To be fair it is moving in a positive direction. If you look at the squad in 2019 for the final a third of the team came from different backgrounds, communities etc, etc. Obviously, I want to be clear that selection should always be based on merit. 

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“No one is looking for a hand-up or looking for an ethnicity selection. That’s not what we are saying, but what I am advocating for is for rugby to be more inclusive, be more integrated into the societies that it is not necessarily embedded in.”

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Jon 3 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 6 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 7 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

28 Go to comments
T
Trevor 10 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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