Hopefully by spring all levels of game will return
At last it’s over and we can begin to look forward to better times ahead as 2020 slides away and a new year opens its door. With virtually an entire season lost by clubs across the country, the new year brings hope that by mid to late spring we may at last be able to get back to playing at all levels.
The year 2020, in rugby terms, has had its ups and downs with (thankfully) the top club level being able to continue to bring rugby to an audience of fans including newcomers who may have been watching the sport for the first time mainly because of lockdown.
Although the standard of some of the games was questionable, at least it was out there bringing the game alive again.
We also had the unique experience of a new competition with the Autumn Nations Cup and a different pool format containing some new teams as a possible idea for a future upgrade of the Six Nations, should a replacement ever be needed.
The Nations Cup was a ray of sunshine in an otherwise cloudy year of stale and stalled rugby, held back by virus restrictions.
This was the first time outside of a World Cup that Tier 2 nations have been seen live on TV playing against our Six Nations teams.
The chance of seeing the Tier 2 nations competing against Tier 1 teams is something I think should take place regularly but is unlikely. This is partly due to player welfare with a potential to increase the number of games, and partly because they would not be able to generate enough money, either from tickets or TV, in comparison with the giants of the southern hemisphere.
The end of the Nations Cup also gave rise to one of Eddie Jones’ more ridiculous statements, which brought a wry smile to my face. When assessing England’s performance this season, he said that England had won the Six Nations and the Nations Cup, something that no other team had done before.
He could have added, ‘or will do again’, given that it was a one-off competition which is not likely to be repeated unless the world fails to contain the virus before next autumn.
The shame is that in past years England had both the Saxons (England A) and the England Counties XV to play these teams on a regular basis and although they may not have had big audiences, they provided the much needed experience for up and coming players and the chance for Tier 2 teams to test themselves.
Unfortunately, the RFU can no longer afford the luxury of these development teams and must rely on the Premiership to provide development and opportunity to young players.
With the season roughly at a halfway point we are still yet to see a plausible framework for the start of the game at grassroots level any time soon. In fact I doubt that we will see a start until the beginning of next season in the autumn of 2021, by which time it may be too late to save a lost generation.
As I have said before, rugby is a habit game that needs to be played on a regular basis, but that’s not all. Much of the game at grassroots level is dependant on volunteers to do the mountain of work that is needed to put teams on the field each week.
These people have busy lives outside of the game but dedicate the time which is required because of the love of ruby and community, but also for something to do in what spare time they have.
With a year off they, along with parents of mini and juniors players seeking something else to do on a Sunday morning, or the older players approaching the end of their playing days, may have discovered other things to occupy their interests. This lost generation could have a dramatic impact on the game going forward, so it is beholden on World Rugby and the Unions to get all levels of the game back on the field.
Even if it’s just the club’s first teams playing proper rugby, having the club open will encourage all.
If that involves helping to fund testing at all levels, it would be money well spent in saving the game from a massive decline in playing numbers and volunteers.
Some of you may have noticed that last week I wrote that World Rugby, the RFU and RPA should set up an injured players’ fund to help pay for medical care for players with long term head injury consequences.
This is despite the fact there is already an injured players’ fund that was set up and run by the RFU doing a brilliant job of caring for players who were injured while playing or training for the game.
Whether a short-term injury or a life-changing catastrophic injury, the fund provides long-term financial help and medical support for the few players injured while involved in playing or training.
The difference is that the new fund, should it ever come to fruition, is unlike the RFU’s current funding which, as far as I know deals only with players whose injuries occur while playing the game. The new fund would provide for players whose injuries manifest themselves only a number of years after they have stopped playing.
The year 2020 wasn’t a good one for any of us and the start of 2021 doesn’t look too good either. Let’s hope that by late spring we can look back at this time as a fading memory.
“Tier 2 nations taking on Tier 1 should take place regularly but is unlikely”