League Two game was grand day out

I READ with no small satisfaction the reports last week of how Bill Sweeney and Simon Massie-Taylor were lambasted by the DCMS select committee for their disastrous management of the RFU and Premiership Rugby.

I suspect most supporters of the game will have felt the same. Sweeney may have inherited the parlous position left behind by Ian Ritchie when he decamped to the Premiership after gifting them the bulk of the World Cup profits, but that is no excuse for still not having put together a viable and clear plan to take the RFU forward and stop the decline in playing numbers. That of course would have involved the RFU acknowledging that success for England starts at grassroots clubs, who genuinely need their support, but instead they ignore them, myopically focusing their attention on the Premiership, and paying huge sums of money to a time-expired coach who has failed to bring any lasting success.

On the letters page another aspect of the RFU’s failure was highlighted in a plaintive missive from Richard Milnes, that being the unreasonable expense of the RFU’s Twickenham experience for England supporters. Having paid over £700 for four seats from which you needed a TV screen to watch large parts of the match, he had every right to feel somewhat aggrieved.

My own option for that afternoon was to go to a League Two match, where I was in a welcoming club house, served an excellent lunch in convivial company, with drinks at sensible prices, and then watched a thoroughly entertaining match from a covered place with an excellent view .... and no irritating beer-carriers or bladder-emptiers to contend with.

The bonus of my option was that I had a most enjoyable afternoon, which cost me only £32 and that money went straight to the club who really need it.

I will wager that Richard Milnes took the same option as me the following Saturday and had a far better afternoon.

So, who needs Twickenham to enjoy their rugby? ...think on it RFU.

Stephen Shires