DAVID SOLE

It has been a challenging week for everyone in the UK, as the Covid-19 pandemic showed no signs of abating and it has affected all walks of life, including rugby, once more.

Hopes of any spectators being able to attend autumn internationals have been dashed.

Brett Gosper, the CEO of World Rugby, suggested that governing bodies were going to be on the brink of bankruptcy if crowds weren’t able to attend Six Nations matches.

In England they have ruled out any grassroots rugby below the Premiership and Championship until January 2021, at the earliest.

Turning to the government for support has not been successful. Across the board, elite sport has been told to “look at ways in which it can support itself” by the UK Sports Minister, and that the focus for support would be directed to “those most in need”.

If fans are not allowed into games for the foreseeable future, that could become quite a long list.

It all makes for a pretty grim outlook for rugby, and one has to ask whether those managing the game have made a good job of dealing with this unprecedented crisis that we are experiencing.

Mark Dodson, CEO of the SRU, has come under some scrutiny since the crisis began in the way that he has managed the problems that the

Those problems are likely to continue for some time yet

pandemic has thrown at Scottish rugby.

Those problems are likely to continue for some time yet.

Without spectators at Murrayfield, the SRU is looking at a £12-million hole in its finances from the autumn internationals alone – something that they would have been hoping would not have been the case after the successful trial attendance a few weeks ago.

South of the border, the RFU were faster to act in cutting their costs, knowing that 2020 was going to be a challenging year even without Covid-19.

That no one will be allowed into Twickenham for the Autumn Nations Cup is a further huge blow to the RFU and its financial position.

Now, with the CEO of World Rugby raising a red flag over the games’ finances, it is clear that no Union is safe from the crisis.

Sure, the leadership of certain Unions deserves to be in the firing line for some criticism. But the scale and length of the pandemic could not have been envisaged by anyone.

Perhaps only the UK, Welsh and Scottish Governments are the ones who should shoulder the blame, given it is they who set the policy to deal with the pandemic.

Perhaps it is they too, who should come to the support of the rugby (and other sporting) communities to help them.

If there is no action soon, it will be too late. The shutters will come down on many clubs across the land for the last time.