We need to get more alternative opportunities
EDDIE Jones has had opprobrium heaped on him after his claims that players developed in independent schools lack the resilience, skills and game knowhow to deal with adversity and pressure at the highest levels of the game. He clearly wants to see more players come through from backgrounds like Ellis Genge. Does he have a point?
He certainly has a point about England selection throughout the rugby development pathway as it is dominated by the private school system. For the first time since 2019 England U18 are touring South Africa this month with a squad of 26 players – 19 of whom have been educated privately which is one short of the record set for this tour in 2018. Five players are from ACE colleges and two are from grammar schools. One of which is in the top 10 state schools in the north and the other in the top 50 grammar schools in the country. Not one player is from a state comprehensive school. In the 10 years that the U18 group have undertaken this tour, the average numbers in the touring parties from independent/ grammar schools is 15, the average number from ACE colleges is nine (the number from ACE colleges has dropped every year since 2013) and the average number from state comprehensives in that time is two.
To put the numbers in context the school demographics in England look more or less like this every year: Overall school population: between 8 and 9 million. Numbers being educated privately: 650,000 (approx 7 per cent). Numbers in full time education 16-plus: 3,800,000 (approx 18 per cent of those in private education).
On average 60 per cent of England U18 teams over the past 10 years have been selected from approximately 18 per cent of the school population. Apart from a handful from ACE colleges nothing is coming from the remaining 80 per cent. There has to be world class talent in this huge group so why is it slow to come through or even worse never coming through. I am not suggesting bias in selection towards the private sector. When selecting international age group squads, I am sure educational background is not a factor, but I am more concerned about why so little talent is coming through from such a massive section of our school population.
This problem is much more nuanced in my view than a private v state sector argument. In my teaching career, I taught in a state comprehensive for 10 years, an independent school for 22 years and at an ACE college for seven years. To criticise independent schools rugby programmes would be viewed as breathtaking hypocrisy on my part and rightly so. Without the work that they do and the opportunities they provide in terms of facilities, coaching and playing, I don’t know where the players would come from, given the reliance of England teams and academies on their products. I do not accept either that rugby players educated privately are less able to cope with adversity at the highest levels of the sport just because they are products of that system. A popular myth, among many, when I coached Colston’s was that all I was interested in was winning to the detriment of player development. I never refused a challenge from any establishment on the basis of their potential to defeat us, no matter what sector they came from. We travelled all over Britain, Ireland and overseas to test ourselves in tough environments. We did lose games, but it made us much more resilient when it came to domestic competition and when the boys progressed into representative rugby. The boys derived huge benefit from these experiences at the time and for their future development.
Being a good rugby player in an independent school gives you a significant advantage over your state school counterpart and from the time they enter the academy system they can be on different development trajectories even though they may be equally matched in terms of ability. In some independent schools rugby coaching by qualified coaches can be available for five days per week in great facilities, with a quality fixture every week up until at least Christmas and beyond. On top of that they will attend their Academy DPP sessions once a week. In contrast, the state school player may well have no access to rugby coaching or fixtures at school. If they belong to a club they might have one training session during the week where attendance numbers are not guaranteed and possibly play a fixture of variable quality at the weekends. They would also attend DPP sessions once per week.
The private sector has provided and should continue to provide fantastic opportunities for some boys to develop their rugby potential. However, not all boys and girls are of course suited academically, socially or culturally to private education so that is why the ACE colleges were a great step forward as an alternative development programme. At Hartpury College the U18 programme which I headed up for a number of years helped develop players such as Dan Robson, Elliott Stooke, Billy Burns, Ellis Genge, Jonny Hill, Lewis Ludlow, Ross Moriarty and Mike Haley. They all came from state school backgrounds and had not played beyond the equivalent of county rugby at 16. All of these players are now full internationals.
In 2011 and 2013, the U18 tour party to South Africa contained more ACE college players than those from independent schools. Subsequently, however, funding was withdrawn, the ACE Final was moved from Twickenham, the profile of the programme was lowered and consequently the numbers of ACE players representing England at U18 level have dropped significantly and once again the squads are dominated by the private sector. ACE colleges demonstrated that with adequate funding, good coaching, strong competition and expert support services that here was a system that could develop rugby players just as well as the private sector, if not better.
We shouldn’t be ‘blowing up’ the private school system as Eddie Jones has mooted, but we do need to provide more in the way of quality alternative opportunities for boys and girls to develop. The ACE programme showed that it can be done, but it is not the only way.
Looking at the composition of the 2022 U18 touring party to South Africa where 78 per cent are from the private sector and zero from the comprehensive schools sector, it does not give rise to the view that things are changing for the better and our over reliance on the excellent work of many private schools will continue and it does give some credence to the criticisms put forward by Eddie Jones.
A combination of what the private sector has to offer along with more quality alternative state or governing body programmes, would be very powerful.
“We shouldn’t be ‘blowing up’ the private school system”