End elitism and deliver fan diversity Chris Foy

THE RFU has promised to review the singing of Swing Low, Sweet

Chariot by England fans, but their priority should be to encourage greater match-day diversity.

Twickenham must be the most inaccessible sporting venue in the country when the England team are playing there. With a debenture scheme, sky-high prices and the distribution of tickets through clubs, the public at large have no way in.

As a result the big-Test demographic could be summed up as predominantly white and wealthy.

It is an elitist environment, which reinforces the wider perception of rugby union as a ‘posh’ game.

In keeping with age-old stereotypes, there are plenty of Barbour jackets and the champagne enclosures do a roaring trade. There may be more women present than in the past, but ethnic minorities are as under-represented as they are in the wood-panelled committee rooms — themselves full of portraits straight out of old-school central casting. England’s team is now far more diverse than its support, at least in terms of those spectators in attendance.

It is not just about race but class, too, with an absence of those from disadvantaged backgrounds as well as black and Asian faces. The recent debate about Swing

Low, its origins and meaning — both of which are surely lost on most of those who chant it at matches — are just a tiny element of a profound issue.

Bill Sweeney, the RFU chief executive, has said: ‘ We need to do more to achieve diversity across all areas of the game, including administration.’

That is the key to help the sport shed its cloak of elitism and ensure the paying public becomes as representative and inclusive as the team.

rugby union needs to appeal to all classes and colours and that requires more than one or two token appointments within the RFU hierarchy.

More tickets should be available through public sale or ballot. More of them should be affordable, too. Discounted allocations — large ones — should be made available to inner- city and ethnic minority clubs, schools and community groups.

Maybe make one Test every year a ‘People’s Saturday’ to attract a whole new audience and take England on the road to other parts of the country.

In the short term such initiatives will cost money. But in the longer term, English rugby cannot afford to stay so narrow and aloof.