England men’s rugby team lost to Australia at the weekend, their second loss of the Autumn Nations Series. However, the sport in this country is facing more than just on-field concerns.
A recent report commissioned by the RFU into the ‘Future of Rugby in Schools in England’, found that the sport is ‘approaching crisis point’.
Fans at Twickenham on Saturday outlined a number of their concerns. These included diminishing participation and parents being concerned over head injuries.
We spoke to Alex Spink, a writer at Planet Rugby. He said the perception of parents of young kids is that rugby is a dangerous sport, and unless the sport can do more to convince them otherwise then it does have an existential problem.
Torran MacDougall, National Schools Manager at the School of Hard Knocks, also raised concerns. He highlighted how ‘lots of schools don’t run rugby in the curriculum because they don’t haver the space, or they don’t have the expertise within the PE staff to teach rugby.’
England on their way to defeat vs Australia at Twickenham
What the RFU is doing to fix the problem
The RFU believes that the introduction of T1, a new non-contact form of the game, will help to tackle these concerns. They aim to introduce T1 to 5000 schools in the next four years in England.
Steve Grainger, the RFU’s Executive Director of Development believes this programme can help reinvigorate rugby in schools. He highlighted how T1 can be played on concrete meaning even inner city schools with no grass pitches will be able to play it.
However, Owen Slot, the Chief Sports Writer at the Times believes that the introduction of T1 may actually do more harm than good.
He believes the introduction of T1 will immediately put the idea in parents’ heads that it is a safer game than full-contact rugby. This could mean that parents are more likely to push their children into this variation therefore taking people away from the full version of the game.
The RFU maintains though that they are confident about the future of rugby in England.
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HeadlineRugby Football Union Tackling Future of Rugby
Short HeadlineRugby Football Union Tackling Future of Rugby
StandfirstRFU hope that new variation of the game will stop the sport reaching crisis point.
England men’s rugby team lost to Australia at the weekend, their second loss of the Autumn Nations Series. However, the sport in this country is facing more than just on-field concerns.
A recent report commissioned by the RFU into the ‘Future of Rugby in Schools in England’, found that the sport is ‘approaching crisis point’.
Fans at Twickenham on Saturday outlined a number of their concerns. These included diminishing participation and parents being concerned over head injuries.
We spoke to Alex Spink, a writer at Planet Rugby. He said the perception of parents of young kids is that rugby is a dangerous sport, and unless the sport can do more to convince them otherwise then it does have an existential problem.
Torran MacDougall, National Schools Manager at the School of Hard Knocks, also raised concerns. He highlighted how ‘lots of schools don’t run rugby in the curriculum because they don’t haver the space, or they don’t have the expertise within the PE staff to teach rugby.’
England on their way to defeat vs Australia at Twickenham
What the RFU is doing to fix the problem
The RFU believes that the introduction of T1, a new non-contact form of the game, will help to tackle these concerns. They aim to introduce T1 to 5000 schools in the next four years in England.
Steve Grainger, the RFU’s Executive Director of Development believes this programme can help reinvigorate rugby in schools. He highlighted how T1 can be played on concrete meaning even inner city schools with no grass pitches will be able to play it.
However, Owen Slot, the Chief Sports Writer at the Times believes that the introduction of T1 may actually do more harm than good.
He believes the introduction of T1 will immediately put the idea in parents’ heads that it is a safer game than full-contact rugby. This could mean that parents are more likely to push their children into this variation therefore taking people away from the full version of the game.
The RFU maintains though that they are confident about the future of rugby in England.
After a 17-year-old girl with autism has been suspended for six games, a group known as Twelve O Five is organising the intended Wembley demonstration.
