Where is the heart of our game of Rugby?

Does the heart of Rugby rest with the Elite game or does it reside in the Community?

I ask the question because it seems to me that all the discussions on this forum revolve around the Elite game. Yes I am aware this is the 'International' forum but surely, for most of us at least, our personal experiences of the game lie at grassroots level.

I have found myself responding to certain posts with probably with more seriousness than I should because this game of ours has always been a big part of my life and therefore dear to me. After playing the game I took my coaching qualifications and coached until age meant I could no longer be out on the field where I wanted to be. So I took to management at County level and also became the cantankerous old bugger at the bar, the Hon. Sec., of my local club. And now, with a recent brush with the Big C, I have even had to curtail those activities, which has led me to get my fix of rugby here on the internet.

The more I read, the more I feel the local club game is becoming marginalised. Whereas I definitely believe that the game must always be driven forward from the bottom up, where local community clubs and counties continue to be the lifeblood of the game, everyone else seems to see the future of the game as being top-driven, as a trickle down from the elite game - or is it my imagination?

I decided to look at the RFU's most recent annual report and it would appear that it is not my imagination at all!
Of a total bill for running the RFU of £126.7m (a 5% increase on the previous year), £13.8m was spent on the Elite game, an increase of 9%, whereas £15m was spent on Community projects, a decrease of 10% to the previous year.

Is this right? What do you think?

I think the true heart of rugby lies in the schools, communities and smaller clubs. There rugby survives and thrives due to the passion people have for this game.

The heart of rugby doesn't lie with the professional clubs and international teams, there it is mostly about the money.

Biltong wrote:I think the true heart of rugby lies in the schools, communities and smaller clubs. There rugby survives and thrives due to the passion people have for this game.

The heart of rugby doesn't lie with the professional clubs and international teams, there it is mostly about the money.

+1

RuggerBoy wrote:I decided to look at the RFU's most recent annual report and it would appear that it is not my imagination at all!
Of a total bill for running the RFU of £126.7m (a 5% increase on the previous year), £13.8m was spent on the Elite game, an increase of 9%, whereas £15m was spent on Community projects, a decrease of 10% to the previous year.

Is this right? What do you think?

I think the thing is that grass roots local teams, communities etc, tend to find a way to survive. So even if their funding is cut they will find ways to ensure that they still can play for their local side and havea good laugh and joke with their mates. If the club can't afford to put on a bus to get to matches people will organise car pools etc. Whereas the higher up the ladder you go the more of a business it is, the more people are concerned with having the best equipment (or coaching or whatever) they can afford, and by putting more money into that then theoretically the chances of putting out a better 'product' and the better the chances of getting the non-playing public interested. And I guess the more 20-40 year olds who get into rugby by watching the pro set up, the more likely their kids will be involved in the grass roots level when they are old enough.

I must be honest I was put off local rugby when I was about 14-15 because it was very much a clan attitude around my area, if your dad was not an ex-player of the local team, or not coaching one of the age-grades then you were very much made to feel like an outsider in 'their' club.

This is a thought provoker.

Casartelli will give a considered opinion shortly.

ScarletSpiderman wrote:I must be honest I was put off local rugby when I was about 14-15 because it was very much a clan attitude around my area, if your dad was not an ex-player of the local team, or not coaching one of the age-grades then you were very much made to feel like an outsider in 'their' club.

That is such a shame but I'm afraid it's all too common. Our club lost a hell of a lot of potential players because of that, but there was very little we could do about it. It's really a shame because I suppose you're right, my lad probably only played seriously because of me, where he went on to play at regional level. I don't think he would have had contact with the game otherwise because his secondary school didn't have a rugby team. Perhaps it really should be the schools that the game's developers should concentrate on.

[quote="ChequeredJersey"]

Biltong wrote:I think the true heart of rugby lies in the schools, communities and smaller clubs. There rugby survives and thrives due to the passion people have for this game.

The heart of rugby doesn't lie with the professional clubs and international teams, there it is mostly about the money.

Spot on

The elite game comes from the grassroots. If nobody plays your sport then the numbers to pick for the elites dry up and you lose both ways. Look after your fire by getting a good base. Otherwise you'll get cold real soon and will have to resort to looking for fat, ugly people to keep going through the winter months.

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:The elite game comes from the grassroots. If nobody plays your sport then the numbers to pick for the elites dry up and you lose both ways. Look after your fire by getting a good base. Otherwise you'll get cold real soon and will have to resort to looking for fat, ugly people to keep going through the winter months.

kia... i thought we agreed... no more England bashing...

Taylorman wrote:

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:The elite game comes from the grassroots. If nobody plays your sport then the numbers to pick for the elites dry up and you lose both ways. Look after your fire by getting a good base. Otherwise you'll get cold real soon and will have to resort to looking for fat, ugly people to keep going through the winter months.

kia... i thought we agreed... no more England bashing...

Hey, that's funny. But we are a proud fat ugly people.
And not for nuthin', youse peoples from the land of Far, Far Away, are our children. NOw, go to your room.....

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:The elite game comes from the grassroots. If nobody plays your sport then the numbers to pick for the elites dry up and you lose both ways. Look after your fire by getting a good base. Otherwise you'll get cold real soon and will have to resort to looking for fat, ugly people to keep going through the winter months.

Biltong wrote:I think the true heart of rugby lies in the schools, communities and smaller clubs. There rugby survives and thrives due to the passion people have for this game.

The heart of rugby doesn't lie with the professional clubs and international teams..........

I agree with my homeboys above. The higher levels and pro game come from our love of the grass roots, whether people are still involved at that level or not. Our kids levels, our clubs, are everything. Nothing exists without that.

Kia and Biltong said it much better than I.