Rugby Union World Cup: Is English rugby union just for posh kids?

[morleypieeater]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/34222183

I know it's about Union not League, but worth reading. We can easily think that League can't compete with the big bucks of Union, but this article shows another side and gives me more confidence than ever that Rugby League can and will prosper and Union will continue to struggle to escape its middle class ghetto.

Two facts from the article for those who can't be bothered reading it:

In 2014 in the RU premiership, 61% of players were privately educated.

There are 31 players in the current England RU squad: 1 from abroad, 10 from state schools and 20 from public schools. I assume that the 10 from state schools includes Sam Burgess, Owen Farrell and George Ford, with Chris Ashton and Stephen Myler missing out?

[Wigan_forever1985]

and cant you just tell, "the old boys club"

[Shaun1967]

[url]In 2014 in the RU premiership, 61% of players were privately educated.

That doesnt mean that their education was any better than the other 18% of us!

[The booze hound]

[url]In 2014 in the RU premiership, 61% of players were privately educated.

That doesnt mean that their education was any better than the other 18% of us!

[morley pie eater]

[url]In 2014 in the RU premiership, 61% of players were privately educated.

That doesnt mean that their education was any better than the other 18% of us!

[morley pie eater]

I take reports like this with a pinch of salt.

We all know the strengths of Rugby Union and we all know the strengths or Rugby League.

One has the cash to continue and develop the sport and pay into schools to develop the sport

The other is floundering sport that has a governing body who are more concerned about interfering in all facets of the sport rather than developing it

One thing is for certain the RWC 2015 will return a huge cash windfall for the whole of the sport expected to be in the hundreds of millions

I understand your pov, TEW, and when I look around, I see the same things as you do and am tempted to draw the same conclusion, but . . .

. . . then I look back at over 50 years I've been a league fan, and ask "When were things ever different?": clubs going bankrupt, poor crowds, lack of press coverage etc etc.

What the article says for me is that, for all its financial muscle, press bias, old-boy network and so on, Union isn't in such great shape really - it's still largely stuck in its traditional public school rut and fails to engage the general public apart from 2 or 3 weeks in the year.

And League? Despite the fact that we have been given little chance of survival since 1895, despite the bias and hostility from the influential and powerful media and others, we're still here after 120 years! We're producing more of our own players than we've ever done (plus a few for the RU and NRL). Progress may be slow but survival is worth celebrating and is our two-fingered salute to the posh boys who have spent 120 years trying their damndest to kill us off.

All in my humble opinion, of course!

[menpond]

The RU getto is massive ,stinking rich ,and can buy 99% of English rl players ,if they were good enough. We have no one who would make the England side,and precious few who would make the top RU club sides. Wigan , IMO are 18points behind our side that deservedly beat LEEDS at Wembley on MC GUIRES departure ,not helped by promoting the unproven inward looking parochial Wane who together with IL is making it worse. There were players in the side that beat HULL who should never make our first team and some by repute /gossip are grossly overpaid. Lets hope we can win th GF. Pleased that Saints seem lost this year,Warrington imploding,so lets get down and dirty with the other 3?

[BriH]

I take reports like this with a pinch of salt.

We all know the strengths of Rugby Union and we all know the strengths or Rugby League.

One has the cash to continue and develop the sport and pay into schools to develop the sport

The other is floundering sport that has a governing body who are more concerned about interfering in all facets of the sport rather than developing it

One thing is for certain the RWC 2015 will return a huge cash windfall for the whole of the sport expected to be in the hundreds of millions

I understand your pov, TEW, and when I look around, I see the same things as you do and am tempted to draw the same conclusion, but . . .

. . . then I look back at over 50 years I've been a league fan, and ask "When were things ever different?": clubs going bankrupt, poor crowds, lack of press coverage etc etc.

What the article says for me is that, for all its financial muscle, press bias, old-boy network and so on, Union isn't in such great shape really - it's still largely stuck in its traditional public school rut and fails to engage the general public apart from 2 or 3 weeks in the year.

And League? Despite the fact that we have been given little chance of survival since 1895, despite the bias and hostility from the influential and powerful media and others, we're still here after 120 years! We're producing more of our own players than we've ever done (plus a few for the RU and NRL). Progress may be slow but survival is worth celebrating and is our two-fingered salute to the posh boys who have spent 120 years trying their damndest to kill us off.

All in my humble opinion, of course!

Great post! I've been watching RL for nigh on 60 years and everything you say is true.
Only problem is RU has a lot more TV coverage than we do and a helleva lot more money.

[Owd Codger]

What make me laugh is the way that not only the BBC, but businesses like Weatherspoons etc think that the public are as interested in the Union World Cup as they are for the Football World Cup.

And like Phil Wilkinson has said in the Wigan Observer, why describe it as the 'Rugby World Cup' and not the 'Rugby Union World Cup' when the governing body of the game is the 'Rugby Football Union'

Perhaps, the Gin and Tonic brigade don't like using the world 'Union' when it is more associated with the trade union movement which they don't like.

[Wintergreen]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/34222183

I know it's about Union not League, but worth reading. We can easily think that League can't compete with the big bucks of Union, but this article shows another side and gives me more confidence than ever that Rugby League can and will prosper and Union will continue to struggle to escape its middle class ghetto.

Two facts from the article for those who can't be bothered reading it:

In 2014 in the RU premiership, 61% of players were privately educated.

There are 31 players in the current England RU squad: 1 from abroad, 10 from state schools and 20 from public schools. I assume that the 10 from state schools includes Sam Burgess, Owen Farrell and George Ford, with Chris Ashton and Stephen Myler missing out?

No. Both Owen Farrell and George Ford went to private school.

Sam Burgess is one who went to a Grammar School. From memory Mike Brown was another who went to state school.