A miracle shot An alarming decline
I challenged my son, Oscar, to kick a rugby ball from a tee into a basketball hoop at our local play park. I said: “If you After being involved with a rural grass-roots club for more than 40 years, I’m dismayed at the decline in the game at that level. In the Eighties the club regularly ran four sides with a full fixture list, but we have seen the club decline to now only two sides.
The club has a large junior and mini section, but this season numbers have dropped off and there are no full squads at the older age groups. The fact there is nothing to attract junior players back to the area after higher education is a concern for the continuation of the senior sides.
The most disappointing aspect of this decline is modern players’ commitment. The club has an ageing committee that leads to ‘them and us’ when the issue of club finances are raised, particularly if an expenditure request has been declined. Yet no one amongst the players will put themselves out to organise a fund-raising event to cover the request.
This attitude may be a reflection of current society but if there isn’t a change soon, I fear the number of grass-roots clubs will seriously decline, particularly in rural areas. RW says: Falling playing numbers is a growing issue – see The Rugby Rant, P26.