One-sided contests will drive fans away
JEFF PROBYN
A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME
It seems that not a week goes by without some sort of bad news happening to overshadow what should have been a great weekend for the game. The result of last week's Premiership match between Gloucester and Bath seems to have taken some of the gloss from England's Six Nations victory in France.
The Red Roses stormed to a 24-12 win to complete their fourth consecutive Six Nations Grand Slam which is something that has never been achieved in the men's game. Although it's simple to say that England's domination is due to the fact that they are the only fully professional squad playing in the women's game, they still have to put in a performance.
However, not long after the news of England women's success had broken, the good news headlines were replaced by tales of the woeful display in the Premiership by Bath.
Having lost 71-10 in the Premiership Rugby Cup it was expected that Bath (although not reaching the levels of their glorious past) would produce a better game in what should have been a meaningful league game. However, Gloucester's 64 points to zero win was in its way a much more humiliating result than the previous one, and not just for Bath.
Although Bath are currently propping up the bottom of the table having lost 17 of their 22 league games so far this season, this was different. A local derby against another west country team would have been a ‘do or die' game for Bath back in the amateur days, with the team doing almost anything so as not to be embarrassed.
The loss in the cup game really wasn't of any merit, as the cup is a nothing competition made up to fill a hole in the calendar, plus a chance for clubs to either experiment or allow recovering players a game before the real test of a fully contested league game. Having lost the cup game by such a big margin (61 points), the expectation would be that the lessons learned would have aided Bath in preparation for the league match but it appears not.
Currently sitting in what would have been an automatic relegation league position in the past but with the safety of no relegation until the 2023/24 season, it seems that the idea of a truly competitive league with all teams striving to win, is a thing of the past.
If anything is going to make Ben Kay's prediction that rugby may cease to exist in the next 50 years come true, it will be the feeling that a lack of competition takes away not just the reason to play but also the reason to watch.
“For rugby to thrive there must be fair competition and consequences for success and failure”
Ben fears it will be the potential risks of injury that will be the telling factor that will make people turn away from the sport, but I disagree. As with any activity we participate in there are elements of risk, in part it is that risk that makes people want to take part in those activities whatever they are.
Whether taking part in a physical sport or a hobby of any kind, it's the taking part and successfully finishing that makes the risks worthwhile. If a sport, it is about the competition and without true competition it ceases to be worthwhile, which is why there is an urgent need not just for the men's game to regain the fear of relegation, but for the women's game to also re-balance itself.
The Sport England grants that have allowed the RFU to provide professional contracts for its women's national team has created a disparity within their game that must be rebalanced if we are to see a natural growth in participation both on and off the field.
As much as I do admire the efforts of the women's team in com pleting a fourth successive Six Nations title, I have to say that given the fact they are the only full time professional team, it was hardly surprising.
In fact, it draws a parallel with the men's World Cup, a competition that has run for 32 years with nine completed contests which so far have featured just one team (Argentina) from outside the foundation nations to reach semi-final level, with none making it to the final.
For rugby to thrive there must be fair competition and consequences (relegation and promotion) for success and failure. If not, the slow decline that is infecting the men's game may soon also become part of the women's game.
