As England slowly emerged from the Covid pandemic, grassroots rugby union was in a precarious state. Lockdowns had broken the habits of rugby players and also families who might have once spent a weekend day at the local clubhouse socialising with friends.
The focus on professionals who are suffering from early onset dementia had also shaken the sport, leaving some lawyers to speculate whether it could be the beginning of the end for the game.
But the Guardian has spoken to clubs across the country who reported that there are signs the sport is coming through a difficult period – at junior levels at least. Now the World Cup, which starts on Friday evening, could give it a timely boost.
The RFU, the national governing body for rugby union in England, has acknowledged that some adult male clubs are struggling to achieve the numbers they have in the past, accelerated by nearly 18 months of no contact sports during lockdown. But the youth game appears to be thriving.
Stephen Ward, the chair of Sedgley Park Tigers RUFC, founded in 1932 in Greater Manchester, says: “At the younger end we’re very lively. We’ve got lot of kids coming into the game – we’re full up in just about every age there. The problem is senior rugby. There’s been a real tail-off in adults playing the game, female and male.”
Ward says this is down to a range of issues. “There’s a tail-off in people playing sport full stop. I know cricket clubs are struggling, football is struggling. We just thought people would come back after Covid. They haven’t, they found other things to do. But it’s not just a Covid hangover now, it’s a long-term malaise.”
He says it is not just an issue at Sedgley Park: his side had been scheduled to play a “big club” this weekend but the opponents were unable to field a full team for the match, so it has been cancelled.
Ward says: “When I used to play we had six sides, all clubs had four sides. I bet there’s only a handful of clubs in Lancashire with four sides.”
He says the issues around concussion and dementia are not “massive”, although parents have shown more interest since reading reports.
“The concussion thing is certainly an issue for younger players, under 18. Most of it is parent-led – they read the headlines about an international player who had concussion, got dementia, they think ‘right we should stop playing’, which of course is not true.”
Just outside Bristol, in north Somerset, Aimée Kelly, previously women’s and girls’ coach at Old Bristolians RUFC and now helping with the team’s under-11s boys’ side as well as providing some coach education, says interest across the board continues on an upward trend from the pandemic.
Kelly, who also works for the local premiership team, Bristol Bears Community Foundation, says Covid forced people to break habits and think differently about contact and injuries.
“It looked a bit hairy for a minute, but people are glad to be back to it. It’s about reintroducing the culture,” she says.
With regards to the concussion issues, Kelly says recent changes in rules concerning tackle heights, which are being rolled out first at grassroots level this season, have mostly helped to reassure concerned parents about any risks to health.
“Rugby has so many incredible things about it, it would be silly to write it off because of that,” she says. “There are so many things happening in order to mitigate the risks, the community is active around that. We did a coaches training session the other night and we talked about the change in tackle height, and the response is largely positive. The game is moving on, it’s evolving.
“It will change how we play, it will change the tactical side of the game and it will become a lot more open. This is the way to look at the changes more positively.”
Howard Wilkinson, the chair of Marlborough RFC in Wiltshire, says interest in rugby is in rude health at all levels, particularly after the senior team were promoted to a higher tier last season. The youth section has 280 players signed up, which in a town of about 5,000 is strong.
On concussion, Wilkinson says it has not been an issue for his club. “What has positively affected our business is parents are coming and being more demanding. They understand that we know what we’re talking about, they see that our coaches are properly qualified. It does mean that we assure our parents that what we’re doing is correct. We make sure it’s done properly.”
Funding through sponsorship remains a struggle for smaller clubs, although Wilkinson says his club’s success has helped drum up support.
“The more people who come and watch rugby, the more people buy coffees and beers and bacon sandwiches at the bar. We’re a small business, so day-to-day income is really important. So the more popular we are, the better looking we are, promoting and playing at a higher level, that will have a positive impact.”
An RFU spokesperson said: “Whilst the minis, juniors and women’s game of rugby is thriving, the adult male game is facing similar challenges that we see in other unions and sports.
“There are still many adult male players who want to play 25 games a season; however, an increasingly large number of players want to play less often. Therefore, clubs need increased squad sizes, which is having an impact on the number of teams.
“Covid and 18 months without contact rugby also accelerated these challenges. Last season we identified 160 clubs which had low match completion rates and through targeted intervention and support we helped to increase completion rates by 16%.
“Over the summer we had over 5,000 people attend 182 tackle-safe workshops and we have already got 13,000 bookings for rugby training courses this season. The age grade season also kicked off last weekend and clubs are reporting good numbers.”
