RFU pledges to avoid errors of 2003 in push to grow game

Governing body ready to capitalise on run to final This time coaches and facilities already in place

The Rugby Football Union is adamant it will not repeat the mistakes of 2003 and is ready to capitalise on the public interest generated by England’s run to the World Cup final.

ITV figures for England’s 32-12 defeat by South Africa peaked at 12.8million (79 per cent of the total viewing audience). Sixteen years after the legacy of England’s 2003 World Cup victory was spurned, Steve Grainger, the RFU development director, described the coming days as the next “golden opportunity” to capitalise on the sport’s newfound popularity.

“This last weekend and next weekend are the big ones,” Grainger said. “Those of us who are in a rugby bubble, getting to a semifinal and beating the All Blacks was great. Reaching the final is when it breaks out and becomes a news story rather than a back-page story.”

In the year after Martin Johnson lifted the World Cup in Sydney, an extra 5,500 children aged between seven and 13 started playing rugby, with another 9,000 following suit over the next 12 months. But the RFU failed to capitalise, providing no extra coaches or mini-rugby facilities, and within 10 years the overall participation rate had fallen from 255,000 to 190,000.

But Grainger insists that will not be repeated, and the RFU is distributing 10,000 rugby balls to grassroots clubs this week in an attempt to ensure more children can play the sport.

“If you go back to the 1990s, mini and junior rugby really was not that prevalent,” Grainger said. “Maybe a few clubs were taken by surprise. Clubs probably did not have the infrastructure in place. There might not have been enough mini and junior rugby balls in place or the right amount of coaches.”

The RFU has been taking steps to ensure clubs are ready this time. The main focus has been on putting enough coaches into the grassroots game through its education programme. There are now 22,000 qualified coaches as well as 100 RFU community coaches who are on standby to head to clubs who need assistance.

“Most of our clubs are used to having 10-15 new people, the big challenge is how they cope if 50 more kids rock up this weekend,” Grainger said. “With the drop of 10,000 balls, it might seem simplistic but, obviously, if a raft more kids turn up then we want to make sure at least there are enough balls in the clubs to get their hands on.

“Our main objective here is not to find the next Owen Farrell or Kyle Sinckler. That would be great and that will come through the pipeline. Our main objective is to expose people to the values of the game, the camaraderie of the game and the welcoming nature of the rugby club. We are also trying to use it as an opportunity to bring adults who have dropped out back into the game. We are also working hard to promote our non-contact offering. A 30-year-old who is watching it for the first time in a pub with their mates and has never played before might not want to play contact, so touch rugby is the perfect introduction for them.”

Whatever the short-term spike in new recruits, the RFU, along with every other sporting organisation, faces a battle just to maintain its

‘Most clubs are used to having 10-15 new kids, the challenge is how they cope if 50 more rock up’

overall playing base. The distractions of modern life mean fewer people are prepared to commit to playing week in, week out throughout the season. The latest Sport England Active Lives Survey shows participation levels in rugby union as flat over the past few years.

Getting rugby to be part of the national conversation will help, but Grainger is under no illusions as to the scale of the task. “Just more people talking about rugby and being prepared to throw a ball about on a park or a beach, rather than a football,” Grainger said. “If you can slowly get more people handling a rugby ball and casually throwing it about and seeing it being played, then you begin over time to normalise it.

“If our overall numbers over a prolonged period can even stay flat then we would be punching above our weight compared to other team sports.

“Clearly you would like to get an increase, but to keep your numbers flat you have to get a lot of people in because the reality is that more people are choosing to opt out and do other things. You have to pour more in at the top end of the bucket to stem the leak at the bottom.”