Will England rugby anthem be banned?
FOR more than 30 years, England rugby fans have sung Swing Low, Sweet Chariot to spur on their team.
But in a clear nod to the Black Lives Matter movement, the Rugby Football Union is considering asking supporters to stop singing the ‘African-American spiritual’.
The song is believed to have been written by a slave called Wallace Willis in the mid-19th century. It was linked to the freedom movement that helped black people escape Southern slavery.
Swing Low is thought to have been sung at Twickenham for the first time in 1988, during England’s game against Ireland.
At the time, a struggling England side had not scored a try at Twickenham for two years, but won the game 35-3 thanks to a hat-trick from black winger Chris Oti.
A section of the crowd began singing the song in an apparent tribute to England’s first black player for more than 80 years, and it caught on around the ground.
While the song’s links to slavery make it questionable if directed at a black player, it may have been considered a positive act at the time as it came when black players were routinely abused at football grounds – often by their own fans.
Footage emerged this year suggesting the song may have been first sung at Twickenham in 1987, when another black player, Martin ‘Chariots’ Offiah, was playing in the Middlesex Sevens tournament.
Current England lock and former Harrow School pupil Maro Itoje, who is of Nigerian heritage, said the song was ‘complicated’.
The 25-year- old said: ‘I don’t think anyone at Twickenham is singing it with malicious intent – but the background of that song is complicated.’
Now the RFU is contemplating urging supporters to drop the anthem from their repertoire.
A spokesman said: ‘The song has long been part of the culture of rugby and is sung by many who have no awareness of its origins and sensitivities.
‘We are reviewing its historical context and our role in educating fans to make informed decisions.’
Former England captain Will Carling, who played alongside Oti in the game in 1988, said: ‘If you hadn’t been in the middle of the game, you might have thought, “bit inappropriate, really” when Chris has just scored a hat-trick.
‘Can you imagine if that started up now at Twickenham for the first time? All hell would be let loose. But I really don’t believe there has ever been any connotations about it being sung.’
Speaking in 2017, England player Mako Vunipola – who is of Tongan background – apologised to anyone offended by the adoption of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot as the national side’s anthem but wanted supporters to carry on singing it.
The Saracens prop said he was unaware of the historical context of the song and had only ever associated it with support for the England team. Speaking after two
American academics questioned the use of the song, Vunipola said: ‘I’ve always taken it as just the English song, really. I’ve never thought of it as any more or less than that.
‘Watching games when I was younger, when you hear it come on it’s obviously something special and when you’re on the field and hear it, it gives you a bit of a lift, so I never really thought about the meaning or if it’s from slavery.
‘I had no idea about that. If the fans want to sing it, then let them sing it, but obviously if people find it offensive, then sorry.’