GEOGRAPHY OF THE SPORT OF RUGBY IN ENGLAND
1. Introduction to the problem
The sport of Rugby has a
very long history. This game originated back in 1823 when a young
boy at a school in Rugby,
England picked up a ball during a game of soccer and began to run with it. From there Unions were formed, the International
Rugby Football Board (IRFB) was formed, and leagues were formed. The Board and Unions have to responsibility to define
and uphold rules and regulations of the game, and deal with financial aspects of the game. One of the Unions that belong to the
IRFB is the Rugby Football Union. This is the English union and over the last 5 years there has been much talk about the
Zurich Premiership Rugby clubs leaving the union and signing contracts with their own partnership called the Premier Rugby
Partnership.
2 Statement of my objectives
In my research I am
going to point out all of the positives and negatives that could result
from these clubs leaving the
Union. I am also going to suggest that the groups will eventually come to a compromise by realizing how much there is to lose
if this constant hostility keeps up. England has always been proud of Rugby and it’s players, and in the near future this country
will again flourish both nationally and internationallyin the sport.
3. State of the art overview
http://www.sport.telegraph.com
http://www.irfb.com
http://www.eurosport/rugby.com
http://www.rugbyheaven.com
http://www.sports.com/rugby/six_england.html
http://www.rugbyking.com
http://www.espn.com
http://www.scum.com
The topic of interest that I chose deals with the breaking up of the Rugby Football Union. This is really big right now in
the world of European sports. Therefore almost all of the websites that I found dealing with rugby contained articles pertaining
to my topic. On top of this, I found many articles about players, international tournaments, and the rules and regulations of the
game of rugby. These articles really helped me out because they helped me to better understand the game of rugby before I
wrote about my topic.
4. Area of study
As I previously
mentioned, my main area of study is going to be what benefits and problems
could occur if the Rugby
Football Union is split up. Who will benefit from this, who will this hurt in the long run, and what are some solutions that have
been presented that could help to get everyone back on peaceful ground with each other.
5. Materials or data
All of the data
that I have collected has come off from the World Wide Web. I found
a number of different, and very
helpful websites full of interesting information. Other materials that will be used are pictures found from the Internet.
6. Methodology
My methodology consisted
of searching the Internet first for articles dealing with rugby.
I then found out that rugby
originated in Rugby, England so I decided to narrow my research down to deal with England alone. I searched and found
many articles dealing with rugby in England, but one key topic that continued to come up on all of the websites is what my
topic of interest is. After I found all of the articles that I needed, I read each one carefully highlighting key points so that I
could try to fully understand what the problem was and how those in England were trying to solve it. After reading and
analyzing the articles, I thought about the situation and added my own thought to the topic.
7. Results and discussion
As of right now, there
is no definite answer for England about what will become of the Rugby Football
Union and the
Premier Rugby Partnership. The Zurich Premiership clubs claim that they want to have more of a say in how their sport is run,
and to have funds created for much needed welfare, insurance and educational projects that will help prepare rugby players for
life after rugby. (http://www.sport.telegraph.com). The clubs simply want to be rewarded for their contribution to the success
of the national side by having central revenues redistributed. The final outcome that many would like to see with this whole
problem is to have a genuine and lasting partnership between the union, the clubs and the players. Is this a possibility though
after all of the hostility?
Many from the Rugby Football Union say that they would like to see club owners and their substantial investment in the
sport disappear over the horizon once and for all.
So what are the benefits to the clubs remaining in the Union? English Rugby could be very strong competitors in world
championship games such and the Rugby World Cup. If the clubs remain in the Union that means that some type of deal has
been worked out, the players are happy, and the teams are grouped together in a friendly atmosphere instead of a hostile one.
If the clubs remain in the Union it would also mean that the Union figured out how to fairly distribute revenue so that all of the
players can live off from playing rugby.
If the clubs were to leave the Union and sign contracts under the Premier Rugby Partnership, many problems could be
faced. Without the support of the Union, at least eight of the Zurich Premiership clubs could go bust, thus causing mass
unemployment among the playing, coaching, and administrative staff. (http://www.sports.com) The sport of rugby will also
lose a number of great people that are currently involved in the game. For example, Clive Woodard is the coach for the
international championships. He claims that he will walk away from his England squad and find a new squad from Rugby
league signings, and clubs that are not affiliated with the Premier Rugby Partnership. Woodard claims that these players are
just plain being greedy. Other prominent RFU figures agree with him and claim that “greed, not solidarity, is the motivation
behind the new deal and that the commercial and media imperatives of England captain Martin Johnson, Matt Dawson, and
Lawrence Dallaglio are taking the edge off their preparations for Test rugby.” (http://www.sport.telegraph.co.uk/).
If the clubs do break away from the Union, there will be much chaos. There will be little support for the clubs, influential
figures will walk away from the scene, and Rugby as England has known it will never be the same. Because of this, all sides of
this controversy know that a compromise needs to be made. The clubs are demanding from the Rugby Football Union
one-third of all revenue from international fixtures, with the players to share a third of that sum. Those in the Union claim that
this demand is all about commercial greed, and it isn’t even about 380 club professionals, but rather it is about the greed of an
international squad who has decided to forego the 6,000 pounds that they already receive if they win. There has been talk that
all those who sign with the Premier Rugby Partnership will be banned for life from the sport because they are in violation of
rules from the IRFB. The IRFB has denied this and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of truth behind this accusation, but it is a
good example of how crazy, unorganized, and chaotic things have become over in England.
Francis Baron is the head of the Rugby Football Union. A few weeks ago he, along with the RFU announced an
eight-year plan for English rugby and urges clubs to sign up. The ultimate goal of this plan is to win the World Cup in 2007. In
attempts to try and compromise with the Premier clubs, the blueprint of this plan is to “invest 50 million pounds in a world class
performance plan for elite players, provide 155 million pounds for the games grass roots, guarantee a minimum of 50% of
profits to member clubs and develop a self-financing elite club game by 2002.” (http://www.sports.com). Some believe that
this is a good solution, while others are still turning away. I believe that while this actual proposal might not be the final one that
is accepted by the clubs, it is a good start by way of the union and it is steps like this that will once again unite English Rugby.
Not everyone is going to be 100% happy and content with whatever the final agreement is, but all sides know that an
agreement really needs to be reached soon. A final thought by Francis Baron is this, “It can never be a quick process to get
legal documentation right. The agreement can be signed this week and the funds can be released. We can then move forward
to a very exciting future for English rugby. There will be no future for the clubs or for us with continued bickering.”
(http://www.sports.com).
In conclusion, although after reading all of this information and trying to make sense out of it, it would seem that rugby in
England is in a lot of trouble. This is very sad considering this is the country in which the sport was founded. In spite of this, I
am going to predict that negotiations will be worked out and rugby will go on as it does today in England. All sides of this
issue seem hostile but one thing that the different sides have made a point to say is that there may be no future for rugby with
continued bickering. Neither side wants this as the solution so while it may take awhile, a deal will be made, and rugby will go
one and flourish.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. http://www.sport.telegraph.com
2. http://www.irfb.com
3. http://www.eurosport/rugby.com
4. http://www.rugbyheaven.com
5. http://www.sports.com/rugby/six_england.html
6. http://www.rugbyking.com
7. http://www.espn.com
8. http://www.scum.com