Rugby denied real talent by class system, says Genge
ENGLISH rugby is still operating a class system and missing out on a wealth of talent because faces do not fit.
That is the powerful message from England prop Ellis Genge who has laid out in an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday how he believes the sport struggles to accept working-class backgrounds and only works properly for privately educated youngsters.
While revealing his own difficult background with his uncle in jail for murder, 23-year-old Genge has opened up about battling prejudice throughout his career. He is adamant that more needs to be done to tap into pools of council-estate talent that has previously been wasted. ‘It’s something I want to
speak about because my whole career I’ve felt like I can’t express my opinion,’ said Genge.
‘I feel like, in rugby, people aren’t allowed to be themselves. They’re so false and that stops our sport from growing. It breaks me.
‘When I was 16, 17, 18, I never made any of the age-group teams. I feel that’s because my face didn’t fit. I’m not white middle class… I’m working class. I don’t want to put it down to race — I don’t think it’s about that — but I’ll put it down to culture. The way people are raised and brought up. There’s that private school mould. It’s stopping the game from progressing and it’s painful. I have friends working on scaffolding sites back home who are quicker than Jonny May. That’s where football and those other sports have cracked it. Is rugby really grass-roots?
‘When I was younger, I never felt comfortable sitting in the clubhouse having my chips and sausage because I just felt everyone was looking at me thinking: “Who the f**k is this”?
‘If I turned up at a rugby event wearing a gold tooth and a chain I’d be judged straight away. Why should I be judged?
‘Because of the way I look, the way I act, where I’m from, I get looked at differently to someone white and privately educated. What about attitudes towards people from working class backgrounds? More people need to speak up. If we’re building from the bottom up then something needs to be done.’