TONY Dunkerley rightly flags the issue of falling senior men’s playing numbers in his letter last week, but I fear that his proposal to increase the number of league matches played by 1st teams is not the solution.
This is treating the symptom of inactive clubhouses, while neglecting the disease itself – the loss by many clubs of 2nd and 3rd teams, which, if as widespread as he indicates, is the real problem. I fail to see how responsibility for this can be laid at the door of the RFU.
In many cases, it is an undue focus on a club’s 1st team that has led to the demise of l...