RUGBY UNION

English rugby has faced its fair share of turbulence in the past two years. But the sport is still popular and growing, especially on a global level. SportsNation looks at the future of the sport and the plans the RFU has for increasing participation

It hasn’t been the easiest 20 months or so for the sport of rugby union. The long-standing, rumbling concerns over concussion risks among players reached a crescendo in 2023, when former players brought legal action against the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and World Rugby – accusing the organisations of negligence in their failure to protect them from brain injuries. The lawsuit coincided with the RFU’s controversial decision to lower the legal tackle height to below the waist across English community rugby, as part of efforts to try and make the sport safer across its grassroots. While welcomed by some as a genuine attempt to support player welfare – notably reducing head impact exposure – it was met with backlash from within the sport. Some, such as former England and Harlequins No 8 Nick Easter, even declared the decision as “farcical” and as “the death of the game”.

In October 2024 the RFU went even further, revealing plans to introduce a non-contact version of the game – called T1 – in schools, with the aim of halting a decline in youth participation. T1 emerged after an independent review, commissioned by the NGB (and led by Jon Coles, CEO of national schools group, United Learning), found “clear evidence” of a large untapped market in schools which don’t have a tradition of playing rugby.

The decision was seen as a win-win. “Schools with strong rugby traditions have concerns about injury, while those which don’t play the game believe it is difficult to introduce,” the report stated.

While the reception to T1 has been rather mixed, it is now nearly universally accepted that there is a need to introduce more inclusive formats of the game – if only at entry level. This is because the perception of rugby as a violent game still persists in some quarters, creating unnecessary barriers for the sport to be enjoyed by all.

A bonus problem

In addition to balancing ongoing safety concerns, stagnating participation numbers and traditionalists criticising efforts to rejuvenate the sport, the RFU has had to deal with a very public “civil war” within its ranks. The ongoing turmoil was ignited by the publication of the latest RFU accounts in November 2024. The annual financial report showed that, despite the NGB recording an operating loss of nearly £40m, its chief executive, Bill Sweeney, still pocketed £1.1m for the year. His salary of £742,000 was bumped up by a bonus of £358,000. Questions began circling whether such a bonus was appropriate when the financial pressures faced by grassroots clubs and individuals was having an impact on the sport. Further outrage was then caused by reports that Sweeney was one of six RFU executives who shared a bonus pot of £1.3m at a time when the union is making more than 40 people redundant.

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This led to a number of clubs openly calling for Sweeney to step down, which he refused to do. However, it did lead to the resignation of RFU chair, Tom Ilube. The situation came to a head in early January after a letter, signed by 141 RFU member clubs, triggered a special general meeting. The RFU will now be forced to hold the SGM in March or April (after the Six Nations games) – a meeting which could seal the fate of Sweeney too.

Sunlit uplands

However, despite the well-publicised issues within the English game, it isn’t all doom and gloom for the sport. There are signs that participation levels across the UK – while still below the levels seen in the mid 2010s – have been recovering steadily since the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rugby is also, on a global level, experiencing something of a renaissance.

The sport is now played in more countries than ever and increased investment in the game in every corner of the world – as well as the ongoing expansion of the Rugby World Cup – has led to the likes of Georgia, Chile, Portugal and Romania becoming regulars on the international stage.

The increased popularity of the game was reflected in a recent report published by World Rugby on the social benefits of the sport. It found that rugby participation currently contributes US$8.4 billion (£6.72 billion) in value globally.

Developed in collaboration with global management consultancy firm Portas Consulting, the report also showed that global rugby participation continues to rise following the pandemic. Figures for 2022-23 show how the total number of people playing rugby worldwide increased by 11 per cent during the year.

There is also evidence that the women’s game is growing faster than the men’s. The report showed a 38 per cent increase in the number of adult female registered players and 26 per cent increase in registered adult males. Significantly, this increase is driven by teens and pre-teens, demonstrating global increase in relevance and accessibility.

The pace of growth in the female game is likely to further increase this year, thanks to the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, being held in England. According to World Rugby CEO, Alan Gilpin, and MD of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, Sarah Massey, the tournament presents not only an opportunity to attract more players to the sport, but a “once in a lifetime opportunity to inspire new fans”.

Gilpin said: “It’s not just a breakthrough moment for the women’s game. It’s definitely a breakthrough moment for rugby, an opportunity to present a different face of rugby this year.

“A younger, more inclusive, more vibrant and definitely more family-oriented audience for our sport. An event that will move the dial probably in many ways that the men’s editions of Rugby World Cup either can’t or doesn’t currently do for us.”

If ticket sales are anything to go by, then the tournament will be a huge success. More than 220,000 tickets have already been sold, meaning it is now guaranteed to be the best-attended women’s edition ever – several months before it even begins.

Growing the grassroots

While the RFU is facing turmoil in the boardroom, it is still getting on with the task of growing participation levels and supporting its member clubs in their development. During 2023-24, it invested £30.5m in the community game. A further £7.6m was invested in Strategic Growth Fund projects – in line with planned business cases for investment into digital transformation, commercialisation of the women’s game and its stadium redevelopment project.

When it comes to growing participation, the RFU published its strategy in 2021, in the aftermath of COVID-19 disruptions. The strategy recognises the challenges the sport has – and the fact that participation numbers were already declining prior to pandemic.

In his foreword to the strategy, Bill Sweeney, admitted the sport was facing one of the toughest periods in its history. The strategy was a response to those challenges and a blueprint to rebuild both at community and elite level.

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“Through our strategy, we aim to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union and develop the sport for future generations, creating a successful and thriving game across the country,” Sweeney said.

“We aim to achieve this by strengthening and uniting rugby union in England and producing consistently winning England teams.

The RFU’s strategy has eight key strategic priorities, to which all of the national governing body’s investment decisions need to align. The strategy also outlines the RFU’s three core activities – rugby-related operations, commercial activities and running the business – which form the backbone of its operations and run alongside its strategic priorities.

RFU strategy – the eight priorities: 1 Enabling positive, enjoyable player experiences 2 Creating the best possible high-performance system 3 Enhancing player welfare 4 Supporting clubs to sustain and grow themselves 5 Driving rugby union to reflect the diversity of society 6 Building a deep understanding of players, volunteers and fans to shape the future of the game 7 Connect with and grow the rugby community 8 Ensure a sustainable and efficient business

From both angles, grassroots is at the heart of the strategy. “The community game is the lifeblood of our sport and it needs simple, focused support that delivers real benefit,” Sweeney said. “This will include support to become commercially innovative and self-sustaining, the introduction of campaigns and programmes to attract new audiences to the sport, facilitating change that improves the enjoyment and safety of the game and guidance on increasing diversity in club leadership and playing bases.”

Despite the ongoing turmoil, the RFU invested £30.5m into grassroots rugby in 2023-24

Inclusive sport

Making the sport inclusive, creating rugby communities and ensuring positive experiences are one of the major strands of the strategy. In line with this, the RFU committed, in August 2022, close to £1m of additional funding to support the community game in its rebuild. The increased support is based on a whole package of measures targeting areas of the game most affected by the enforced 18-month break during COVID-19.

The RFU invested £1m to rebuild community rugby after the pandemic’s 18-month disruption

At national level, the RFU introduced a ‘Play Together, Stay Together’ campaign to drive participation among two key playing groups – 17-22-year-olds in the men’s and women’s game and male social players aged 30+. It also redeployed coach developers to provide targeted practical support to around 100 clubs nationwide to help retain players. The governing body also provided clubs guidance and resources for transitioning players from age grade rugby into adult rugby. At a more local level, the RFU earmarked funding to help increase playing and coaching opportunities, while also supporting students to find clubs close to their universities or to stay connected with their old clubs. In addition, the RFU undertook the most significant shake-up of the sport’s grassroots competition structure for 30 years.

This saw a reduction in the size of divisions at all levels below the RFU Championship (Level 2) and an increase in the number of divisions at all levels below National League 1 (formerly level 3). The changes were a direct response to feedback from clubs and players and are designed to reboot and re-energise community rugby, improve player retention and attract new players to the adult men’s game.

RFU Director of Rugby Development, Steve Grainger, said: “During the pandemic we saw a decline in the number of games being played in the adult men’s game, while the women’s game stayed flat at a time when growth was planned. Both areas remain extremely important to us.

“We have already announced the biggest changes in 30 years to the men’s league structure to better suit players’ lifestyles. We hope the whole rugby community remains behind ‘Play Together, Stay Together’ as the game works together to encourage more players back to their local clubs.”