JEFF PROBYN
A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME
Why is rugby so keen to raise issues and set out to change things when the need to is questionable?
First, is there a need to change shirt colours because some fans are colour blind, even though many of the teams have played in those particular colours for years?
As there are roughly only around seven per cent of the population who suffer from various types of colour blindness, it seems rather an extreme reaction to force teams to change their shirt colour when playing other teams.
The chosen colours, green and red, are for the largest group but there are many people who suffer a different range and are World Rugby going to help those groups?
Add to that an almost identical percentage who suffer blindness and sight defects. Surely World Rugby won’t be introducing a sound system allowing those fans to know which team have the ball and where approximately on the pitch play is taking place.
This may sound ridiculous but given the current efforts of rugby to show how inclusive it is, nothing would surprise me.
The RFU have set up a diversity and inclusion advisory group with the purpose of changing the perception of the sport as something that mainly wealthy white men take part in.
There is a simple reason why rugby has that image – it is mainly played in public schools, with a majority of schoolboy county players also originating from the same schools and therefore a majority of academy places going to public school boys.
Add the fact if a young player from a state school makes the grade, he is liable to be offered a scholarship at a Premiership-affiliated public school.
Unfortunately for the RFU, the majority of the Premiership players originate from the public school system which helps to perpetuate the point.
There have been efforts over the years to increase the participation of those from a lower social economic back ground such as Jason Leonard’s inspired All School Programme, but even if that introduces more players to the game they soon leave with no apparent pathway to the top.
It’s interesting that Kyle Sinckler is one of very few current England international players to attend a state school making his career a role model for young players still dreaming of an international career.
“Diversity and inclusion chair Ugo Monye attended a fee-paying school”
Even the diversity and inclusion group lacks diversity with chairman Ugo Monye having attended Lord Wandsworth school (a feepaying school) and like all other group members is involved in commerce at board level in one form or another.
This shows a lack of social economic diversity in the make-up of the group who may not understand the difficulties of taking part in a sport, any sport, when coming from a socially deprived community.
There is also no representation of the second largest minority group in the country who make up around seven per cent of the population.
A large proportion of the Asian population come from India and Pakistan but despite their numbers and the fact there are some players in grassroots rugby, there has never
As far as I am aware this has not happened in America, where just the removal of the name add-on seems to have been enough to satisfy all those concerned but Wasps have magnified the issue by threatbeen a single Indian/Pakistani player who has played international rugby for England.
In fact I wonder why there aren’t any players from those two countries as I know it is popular there and includes women’s teams. It will be interesting to wait and see what ideas the diversity and inclusion advisory group come up with.
And now a daft issue to raise its head; the names of the Premiership clubs and the symbolism used by fans to show their support.
Before the game went professional rugby clubs were just called a name: Bristol, Northampton, Sale, Worcester, Newcastle, Leicester and of course Exeter, but now that’s not enough.
Now we have Bears, Saints, Sharks, Warriors, Falcons, Tigers and Chiefs to entertain us with some fans taking to show their support by dressing in a particular way to demonstrate their link to a particular club.
This has gone on for years with little or no complaint from opposing fans (other than when a costume blocked the view of the game), or administrators, but suddenly that’s all changed.
Since a number of American sports teams have taken away the superfluous name add-on that had caused some protests by native American Indians, there has been a call to ban Exeter Chiefs fans from wearing head-dresses. ening to ban any Exeter fans wearing head-dresses at their Coventry stadium.
As far as I am aware there have been no complaints from any native American Indians living in Coventry or anywhere else in England but that has not stopped Wasps from taking action.
I can’t help wondering if we next get a call to ban Northampton from calling themselves ‘Saints’ as I’m pretty sure they haven’t been canonised by any Pope. Maybe also Newcastle might be caught out by the ornithologist society and Bristol and Leicester by the World Wildlife Foundation?
All in all, it would be better for clubs to go back to just using their pre-professional names and let fans dress any way they want to, so as to get on with the game.
