🏉 The Worrying Decline of Rugby Part 2: Rugby's Revival

Welcome to the new subscribers to the platform in the last week. Today we conclude our 2-part series on the decline of rugby in the United Kingdom.

Before we start, a word on Francis Ngannou. I do not usually speak on combat sports but watching Francis win in the PFL on the weekend was warming to my heart.

His story is incredible. That man embodies The Long Play in its purest form, so I’m pleased to see him back to winning ways.

Today, we explore the three ways in which Rugby can reverse its declining trajectory.

The first, is by connecting with the fans in a much more strategic way.

1. A full-fledged Digital Assault

The Problem:

The 2023 Rugby World Cup in France was a fantastic event that seemingly no-one knew about.

Context:

World Rugby played a big hand in that.

World Rugby launched RugbyPass ahead of the World Cup. RugbyPass is a central hub for fans to watch highlights, clips, interviews and social content about the game at any time. The idea is a simple one and borne with sound logic.

However their main avenue of promotion for the service was to remove anyone else on the internet from posting clips to social media from the World Cup.

Unless you were an official partner, any major rugby platform was being asked to take down any footage from the tournament, as this took away from the potential of a RugbyPass subscription.

In addition, the clips they posted on RugbyPass were… rubbish! There were so many complaints from creators and they all centred around two things:

1. That the highlights were being yanked from their platforms

2. The highlights that theyy had access to as fans were underwhelming

Conversation and casual fan interest in the tournament was very low as a result and when your marquee event that comes around once every four years doesn’t grow engagement in the game then you’re missing a trick.

The Solution:

World Rugby should work with creators to grow the use of Social Media in the sport.

Not only should WR incentivise creators to share, they should put incentive structures in place to incentivise referrals back to RugbyPass.

In addition there should be a wider emphasis placed on Domestic Teams to embrace social media.

A recent video I did on YouTube saw me speak on the many tech companies that make using social media for sports teams much easier. Premiership Rugby clubs should be encouraged by the governing bodies to heed some of that intel.

2. Bring Back Jeopardy

The Problem:

Promotion and relegation has been “banned” as the league aims to instil financial stability

Context:

Removing relegation protects sports clubs from the financial instability that can result from dropping to a lower league. Clubs can plan longer-term, invest in facilities, talent, and development without the immediate fear of losing revenue from relegation.

Premiership Rugby suffered a lot during COVID and the RFU stepped in to prevent other clubs falling foul of the financial difficulty that comes from getting relegated.

However, they also banned promotion. They only “permitted” promotion based on very strict rules. Clubs that won the Championship could only get promoted if they met all 5 of the following:

1. Stadium Capacity: Clubs must have a minimum stadium capacity of 5,000 to qualify for promotion.

2. Financial Stability: Promoted clubs must demonstrate financial viability, ensuring they have the resources to compete in the Premiership without facing financial difficulties.

3. Player Welfare and Medical Standards: Clubs need to meet certain medical and welfare provisions, ensuring that their facilities and support systems are adequate for the demands of the Premiership​

4. Governance and Safeguarding: Governance structures must be in place, including safeguarding protocols for players and the wider community.

5. Community Engagement and Development Plans: Clubs also need to have clear plans for community involvement, showing how they will contribute to the growth of rugby both locally and nationally

Ealing Trailfinders won the Championship but their Stadium wasn’t big enough, meaning that they remain in the Championship. Fans, players and the rest of the clubs in the Championship hoping to do the same next season were all annoyed.

The Solution:

This is a simple one. Games must mean something. Bring it back.

3. Expansion of the Premiership

The Problem:

There are not enough teams in the Premiership.

Context:

This idea will take a little longer to execute but at the moment there are 10 teams in the Premiership. That means there are only 5 games every gameweek. That may not sound like a problem but that isn’t that many games for a broadcaster to buy.

In addition there isn’t that much happening over the weekend for fans to buy into.

There were more teams in the Premiership but three teams folded recently due to not being able to stay alive financially.

The RFU needs to find a way to offer expansion opportunities to the league. This will. create more broadcast assets, greater competitiveness in the league and fresh investment at the cap table.

I got an excellent comment from AFC Finners on YouTube (his channel HERE). It said the following:

I think having the 4 Welsh teams and revamping the Premiership would do the game a lot of good. Think they should increase their marketing when football has international breaks to try and seize the vacuum and gain viewers. My idea how to revamp:

Two conferences of 8. Teams play each team in their conference twice, then at end of season teams in other conference once. H/A divide alternates every other year like six nations to ensure fairness over uneven numbers.

Teams that finish 1st get automatic bye to semi-finals of playoffs which take place at neutral venues. 2nd and 3rd advance to quarter finals, hosted by second place teams. Winners go to semi-finals and winners of them go onto grand final.

The two 8th place teams enter relegation zones. The one with worse overall record is automatically relegated, 2nd worst enters a promotion/relegation playoff with 2nd place team from championship.

I do not see any holes in this proposal.

The Solution:

Expand the league.

Rugby is too historic of a sport to be in such a messy situation. If you like this topic and want to see more discussion watch the video below and head to the comments section where alot of my subscribers gave fascinating insight into why the sport got to where its at today and how they can turn it around:

I leave you this week with this fascinating tweet showing the winners of the Grand Slam’s in tennis in 2024:

Jannik Sinner won $6m for the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia this weekend.

More than both his Grand Slam’s from earlier in 2024 combined.

Turki Alalsheikh »»»»

See you next week.