Rugby union is at a crossroads, from the grassroots game to the Six Nations

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/10/rugby-union-crossroads-grassroots-six-nations

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The final two weeks of the Six Nations Championship should be a celebration of all that is great about rugby union in the northern hemisphere. Instead, regardless of who wins the title, the argument about precisely where the sport is heading, on and off the field, is intensifying. Almost 20 years after the dawn of professionalism, fresh battle lines are being drawn.

The Harlequins director of rugby, Conor O’Shea, hit the nail squarely on the head at the weekend when he raised the most important question of all: what kind of game do people want?

“If it is a sin to want to play rugby, and not just kick-chase and put pressure on the defence, then I think the game has a massive question to ask itself,” said O’Shea, echoing the view of the New Zealand coach, Steve Hansen, that modern rugby was in danger of becoming boring to watch.

With a World Cup looming this is not an ideal moment, PR-wise, for the coach of the world’s best team to suggest spectators might prefer to bring along their knitting to the tournament this autumn. Ultimately, though, it is all part of a fundamental debate that has to happen. For the sake of rugby’s long-term health and prosperity, now is the time to look beyond vested interests and decide how life can best be improved for all in future, particularly those struggling on the sport’s geographical peripheries.

In domestic terms, Newcastle Falcons are a perfect case study. Their managing director, Mick Hogan, believes the capacity crowds about to fill Twickenham for the next two weekends mask a range of uncomfortable issues. The World Cup will be washing up on the geordie shore this autumn, but Hogan still reckons the authorities in England are far too Twickenham-centric. “Every single England game, every major final, every sponsor launch and every meeting takes place in London. The sport is wider than just that.

“Imagine if you committed to taking one of the England games or major finals away from Twickenham. Imagine the impact that would have.

“Developing a sport is not just about how many kids you coach. I understand the counter-argument that we get a lot of money from hosting big events at Twickenham. That’s fine. But if that money’s going into a black hole with fewer people playing the sport, it’s a false economy.”

Hogan even argues the Rugby Football Union should hand over the development of the community game to people such as him, with years of experience of selling in a tough environment, for the collective good. “I understand there will be sharp intakes of breath but the question is: ‘Can we do it better?’ I think everyone would say yes. The game hasn’t really kicked on at community and participation level like it could have done.”

On Sunday, to underline his point, 61 teams and almost 1,000 kids from across the north-east poured into Kingston Park for a regional Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup festival. The Falcons have a good relationship with the local county setups but believe more can be done, particularly now they can use their new artificial pitch all year round.

“I’d love Newcastle Falcons to get the licence to develop the sport at all levels in Northumberland, Durham and Cumbria for the next five years,” proposes Hogan. “This venue could be the hub for all of it. Development is not just about coaching kids … ultimately, more professional club involvement would create better, more sustainable community clubs. We would benefit massively here if the community game gets stronger.”

No surprise, either, that Newcastle would also welcome discussion on the suspension of automatic relegation from the Premiership. Hogan supports a 14-team league – “It’s not like it turned professional yesterday and you’re closing the door before people have had a chance to realise their dream” – and questions the argument that relegation creates interest.

“I’ll throw one back at people who say that promotion and relegation must remain,” said Hogan. “Let’s have it in the Six Nations as well. If it’s that sacrosanct, let’s do that.

“If you’re telling me I’m cutting off the dreams of clubs in the Championship, I’d say we’re cutting off the dreams of other national teams in Europe. There’s an argument to say Georgia and Romania would pose a difficult challenge for Scotland and Italy. So why don’t we test that?”

The RFU, as one might expect, sees things differently. It points out that it invests £30m annually in the grassroots game in England and argues that an “increasingly difficult marketplace” makes growing player numbers a big ask. Clubs of all sizes, though, will tell you times are getting tougher, full stop. Few would disagree with Hogan in at least one respect: “We’re now at a pivotal time for the sport, with the World Cup coming up and the game being professional for 20 years. How can we manage the ambitions of everyone?

“People want to see decent rugby. When you’re trying to sell the sport to what is essentially a new market they want to see lots of action.”

Which brings us back to Hansen and O’Shea. When the marketeers and the game’s leading coaches are both singing from the same sheet, it is short-sighted to ignore them. If the game wishes to broaden its appeal significantly, simply doing things the way they have always been done is not the answer.

ISLAND CASTAWAYS

A depressing story from New Zealand reports that provincial sides in the ITM Cup will not offer contracts to players who might be picked to play for a Pacific Island nation at this year’s World Cup. The cash-strapped provincial unions say they cannot afford to hire players who could miss the entire competition if they are called up by Fiji, Samoa or Tonga.

The net effect, of course, would be to make it even harder for the islands to field their strongest teams and, potentially, could have major ramifications for their competitiveness in future. Young players who admit to wanting to represent, say, Tonga, would effectively be making themselves unemployable in New Zealand. Over to you, World Rugby.

ONE TO WATCH...

The Wales versus Ireland game will tell us definitively whether the Irish are the side for all seasons they appeared to be in Dublin against England. Above all else, though, this is a week to stand and applaud Paul O’Connell on the occasion of his 100th cap for Ireland.

At his best he has transformed games through his sheer presence and example alone, always a sign of a genuine Test legend. If Wales wish to deny the 2009 Lions captain one last grand slam opportunity, they will have to do it the hard way.