Cup Rugby:  The Future

Being one who has had the good fortune to play before a crowd of 39,938 spectators in a second round of the Rugby League Challenge Cup and, as a coach of St.Helens RU club, suffered the agonising torment of losing a penalty shoot out in an early Lancashire Rugby Union Cup semi final, I have always been a huge supporter of knockout cup rugby. The tension and the passions aroused when a team is given just one chance to move forward in or exit a competition can bring the best out of a player and can do much to increase the loyalty of a club’s supporters. But is this the scenario today in an era in which both codes of rugby appear to have to work very hard to promote cup tournaments in competition with the apparent dominance of the League structures? No.

In both Union and League the major professional leagues, the Premiership and Super League, appear to command the bulk of the publicity and, apart from the latter rounds of the cup competitions, attract the larger attendances. Indeed in the 15 a side code’s lesser County Cup competitions many clubs sadly use the early season rounds as “warm up” matches for the coming league season. The leagues and their Holy Grail of promotion (or relegation!) appear to override all on and off the field at most clubs. Results in the league appear to be the sole factor in determining the success of a club both on and off the pitch.

Only the four club mini league format and the later knockout rounds of the former  Heineken Cup, now European Rugby Challenge Cup, appear to attract the crowds and the interest such matches should create for rugby union. While similarly, intriguing and closely contested semi finals (as with the recent Castleford v Widnes and Leeds v Warrington rugby league clashes) are the only matches which can command the “House Full” notices for the 13 a side game, before the still heavily supported RL Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. When knockout rugby provides such drama and excitement for all on and off the pitch it really is surprising that the regular league fixtures in both codes of rugby have begun to attract far greater attention.

Rugby League is seeking to address the situation by introducing a system whereby the better teams are only introduced in the latter stages of its Challenge Cup tournament. Rugby Union, intending to lower the number of teams in its national and local leagues to twelve, is also set to accompany such an innovation by introducing cup competitions based on the Heineken Cup four team mini league format, and by offering cash incentives to win matches.

I for one certainly hope that the quest for a knockout trophy can soon return to its status of yesteryear.

Ray French, August 2014