Probyn: Brave new world after lockdown? I doubt it
Another week of lockdown and, with no rugby to write about, everybody has been thinking – and they all seem to have come to the same conclusion: Rugby is in a mess. Whatever article, blog or opinion pushed out to fill pages or airspace, everyone agrees that this lockdown has given time to reflect on where rugby is now, and that this is the time for change.
Whether a move back to ‘the good old days’ of county rugby, or just to the dawn of professionalism, or even a new system altogether, there is an emerging vision of what is wrong with the game, why, and how to fix it.
World Rugby have their own problems with political election infighting and are offering more international rugby in competitions for either clubs or countries, depending who wins the vote.
For others, it’s just a refresher in how the game is played that needs addressing, perhaps bringing back some of the old ways, ensuring referees enforce respect of the laws, and hopefully clean up and speed up how the game is presently played.
On that point, in last week’s Rugby
Paper Brian Ashton made a damming indictment of all those coaching the game now by pointing out that the yellow card is no longer the deterrent that it should represent, with points conceded when a player is binned, reduced from 7-10 to virtually none.
Although defence is better organised, the lack of a team’s ability to take advantage of the extra man is a statement of a limited number of attacking options now being offered.
Change, for some, is the dream of going back to the days of the format that served rugby well for over a hundred years, with a re-birth of the county system.
Each of these ideas have their merits and their problems, but it’s just a shot in the dark as to if any would succeed.
I outlined the problems for World Rugby in both their incarnations of either the global club or more international competitions last week, and nothing has changed.
I have no doubt that in the short term we will see an attempt at a number of prestige fixtures offered by all unions as they try and recoup some of the losses caused by the lockdown. I fear that if lockdown continues long term, the conflict that would cause for the domestic club seasons could destroy the game.
Those that talk of improving the game have a very valid point, with many of the modern variations simply failing to deliver the better spectacle that was hoped for at the time of introduction.
The problem for World Rugby is that trialing seems a good idea, but it’s not until it is rolled out proper that everybody starts the process of finding a way to subvert the intention of the new law.
An example: the ability of a scrumhalf to hold the ball at the back of the ruck without being immediately flattened by the opposition was designed to give the scrum-half time to get the ball away quickly and cleanly to his back line. Instead, it has turned into a protracted review of options with the ball in plain sight which, because of the time taken, allows for a realignment of the opposition defence, almost inevitably resulting in a box kick as the only option.
Those who think the clock could go back to the time the game changed and players would, or could, be signed by the union are really living in dreamland.
The clubs will never willingly give up the power they now have, so it would need all the owners to leave the game and the clubs not having the money to maintain payments to players, which would effectively cause the whole of the league structure to collapse. Leading to either leagues having to be restructured or allowed to fade into memory with a return to the pre-1987 game structure.
If the union was to take over with central contracts, the professional game in England would be decimated as would RPA membership, which brings us to the return of the county rugby system.
I admit I am a fan of the county and divisional game, having played for Surrey, Middlesex, Hertfordshire, London Counties and London Division, because without them it is highly unlikely I would have got the chance to play international rugby.
There have been many letters written to this paper asking why the RFU have not resurrected the county game in some format or another and I think there are two main reasons.
First is the fact that money used to fund a county championship, which currently serves no purpose in terms of identifying potential internationals, while not funding grassroots clubs, would be seen by all as a misappropriate use of RFU resources.
If, however, the game did go back to the non-league times, county and divisional rugby would again become one of the best methods of distilling talented players from the vast number of clubs that make up the game in England.
What caused the death of the county game was the formation of leagues, when the best players could progress through the club game to reach the top. Professional club rugby just put the final nail in the county coffin.
The second reason is when leagues were formed the clubs needed to ensure their best players were available for league games so discouraged them from playing elsewhere, and once county rugby could no longer provide a route to the top, fewer players chose to play.
If you add in the extra number of games per season and potential player welfare issues, you can see why it is unlikely county rugby will ever return.
The vision of a brave new world post virus lockdown, is more likely to be the Aldous Huxley version rather than the Utopia proffered by so many.
“Those who think the clock could go back so players are signed by the union are in dreamland”