Club rugby is left in perilous state as vital sources of revenue dry up
FRIDAY night and the end-ofseason awards bash at one of English rugby’s 2,000 clubs was in full swing.
Bill Sweeney, chief executive of the Rugby Football Union, got the party started with a Q&A session.
Ben Earl, capped by Eddie Jones in the Six Nations, told of his pride at being made an honorary life member of the club where his journey began.
Beer was drunk, toasts were made, memories shared. And nobody left home.
Like every other rugby club in the land, Sevenoaks have moved online. Their doors are locked, their revenue streams disabled.
“This is the biggest crisis and challenge rugby has ever faced,” admitted Steve Grainger, RFU rugby development director. “You’d have to go back to World War II for anything comparable.”
Sevenoaks reside in level five of the English rugby system and have a policy of not paying players. Their pitch is council-owned and they lease their clubhouse.
The club have also obtained a £25,000 grant – with the help of former star Tom May and Covid Help founder Mike Chester. But they remain concerned.
“We’ve cut costs and we’re all right to keep the engine ticking over,” said commercial director Roger McKerlie.
“But the longer this goes on, the harder it’s going to be for everybody. And that’s too unpalatable even to think about.”
Just how hard was spelt out by Grainger (below), who said: “The DNA of our sport is contact between people and social gatherings in our clubhouses that generate revenue – and these are the two things we are not allowed to do at the moment.
“The majority of clubs say there is no immediate crisis, but the next three months is when revenue is raised through beer festivals, BBQs, dinners and concerts – and all that has gone. If some of it can’t be reignited, while we’ve still got decent weather, the fear is we’ll be in a very different position.” May (below), who won two England caps, agreed: “This crisis has the ability to demolish grassroots sport – there may well be clubs that disappear.”
He has put numerous clubs in touch with Chester, who has helped them obtain nonrepayable business-rate grants of between £10,000 and £25,000. A further 78 clubs have accessed Sport England grants totalling £477,000. “Help is available,” added Chester. “But you need to apply for it.”
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