Tryless, witless, and clueless,’ and ‘a turgid mess’  were but a couple of the scathing headlines which greeted England’s rugby union performances during the 2010 Six Nations tournament.

‘Wrestling too much a part of the game,’ and ‘referee’s go slow rulings spoil the spectacle’ which similarly greeted the opening matches of the same year’s Engage Super League season. So all is not well with both codes of rugby and both are in a state of decline as sporting attractions.

Well, hardly, if the levels of interest recorded via the media and through the turnstiles are any indication. Both BBC TV and Sky TV have announced healthy and rising viewing figures for their coverage of both League and Union while attendances in rugby union’s Guinness Premiership and rugby league’s Super League competition are on the increase. Profitable World Cups, whether at home or abroad, are on the horizon for both sports and Union’s Six Nations and League’s Four Nations tournaments continue to attract major sponsors and crowds.

Wherein then lies the problem for the two sports, if there really is one? Is there a common theme which is responsible for such negative vocabulary and description. And, if so, are the causes really so detrimental to one’s enjoyment of a modern game of rugby?


Ray french (August 2011)