I was alarmed to read in The Guardian earlier this week about the results of a recent survey which showed an alarming decline in the number of people participating in rugby over the last five years.
The survey – conducted between May 2019 and May 2021 with a total of 172,970 respondents – concluded that, as of May 2021 approximately 95,000 adults in England Played Rugby union twice a month, compared with a figure of nearly 260,000 in 2016.
That’s a pretty catastrophic drop in numbers by anyone’s book and, while Covid-19 has undoubtedly played its part, in reality the decline in participation at grassroots level has been in motion for decades, with clubs who could once field 4th or 5th XVs on a regular basis barely managing to scrape together a 1st team some weekends.
Societal and family pressures have been part of the story, as have concerns about injuries, particularly brain injuries in the last couple of years, but I am convinced that is the relationship between the elite game and the community game that has been the root cause.
The RFU, by its action in cutting funding to the community game, has made its stance clear – its focus is very much on the England team and professional rugby.
As a result, the chasm grows wider and wider between the top end of the game, and the dwindling number of amateur players who want to play regular rugby at their local club, pay their membership fees and spend their money at the club bar.
Let’s not beat around the bush here. The numbers suggest that grassroots rugby in England is in crisis and, the way things are going, rugby is headed towards a future where participation will be limited to those at the elite (or perhaps semi-elite) level – much like in the US where American Football is played only at professional or college level. Recreational rugby – other than perhaps touch or other non-contact rugby – will become a thing of the past.
It is the RFU’s duty to address this and to prioritise the health of the grassroots game if it wants to preserve and grow participation. I am not convinced, however, that it has the will to do so.
