Private schools vital to the survival of the game
EDDIE Jones drew a sharp rebuke from the RFU following his comments that private schools could be damaging elite rugby in England. The RFU responded to his comments by saying. “The RFU is hugely appreciative and supportive of the role both the independent and state school sectors play in introducing boys and girls to our sport and in our player pathway.”
To paraphrase a well-used idiom, “They would say that wouldn’t they?” While just over seven per cent of the population attend private school, more than 50 per cent of every recent England squad have attended a private school at some point in their education.
Private schools go out of their way to attract young rugby players, even offering scholarships to state school pupils purely because of their rugby abilities. Within the current England squad there are a number who have attended a private school as a result of a scholarship for their rugby ability.
Some may say how can it be a bad thing to offer a place at a private school that would otherwise not be available to them? I agree but, as with any business, the private schools aren’t being altruistic. Elite rugby is a game that historically has predominately involved those that could afford to take time off work and have a disposable income, i.e. relatively wealthy, hence the great divide when the game split to form Rugby League.
Even so, private schools have always been of the upmost importance to the survival of rugby as a game with many dedicating the time and effort to improve the game. With many state schools only flirting with rugby to then abandon it when the threat of injury and legal action showed its face, or sadly the chance to raise some cash by selling off playing fields, the importance of the private schools’ participation cannot be overstated. However, this has awarded them a status within the game that has provided them with certain privileges including roles within the England Rugby Football Schools Union (ERFSU), which includes roles in player selection and competition invitations.
The schools pathway for young rugby players has always suffered from a broken selection policy where it was usually the teachers from the private schools who were the selectors and would pick their
own players. In the amateur days, it was merely for kudos of having school age internationals and to attract parents who had “ambitions” for their children.
I remember talking to a parent at one of my son’s county trials who told me he moved his son to differat
ent private schools depending which school had the selector for that particular age group. Needless to say his son was picked to play as a schoolboy international. This also carried on to some degree in university rugby, where the rumour was many of those playing in the varsity matches between Oxford and Cambridge were only accepted by the colleges for their rugby ability and took “special courses” like Land Economy at Cambridge, or Law at Oxford.
It was also rumoured and appeared to be true, that a player was guaranteed an England cap if they achieved a Blue. Fortunately
the time, the senior county pathway would often dispose of those chosen to play schools county rugby as it was a known fact that many were picked for the school they attended rather than the rugby they played. A look at the records shows that very few England schools players actually made it through to the senior international game, which in its way supports what Eddie Jones has said. As much as we all thought that professionalism would level things up it has actually made things worse and encouraged many private schools to increase links with Premiership academies. This means that if you want to more or less guarantee your teenage rugby playing child a place in a Premiership academy and a chance of a professional contract, you have to send them to the ‘right’ school.
Even though a place at an academy is no guarantee of a contract, this is the only pathway now available for young players wishing to climb to the top of the game.
With no elite players taking part in county rugby and no selection pathway outside the Premiership clubs, players not in a Premiership club now have little or no chance of playing international rugby for England, despite their abilities.
“Very few England schools players made it through to the international level of the game”