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Saving Rugby Union: The Price of Professionalism
The increased popularity of rugby union as a spectator sport in the 25 years since it turned professional has thrown a smokescreen over the crisis it faces. A highly physical game has been turned into a dangerous sport by misguidedly trying to match the flow of its great rival, rugby league, and there is a worrying drop in male playing numbers in major nations.
Commercialism has been allowed to dominate the game, the English Premiership has severely undermined one of rugby’s greatest success stories - Lions tours to New Zealand, South Africa and Australia - and the major northern hemisphere rugby countries exert financial power over rugby unions south of the equator. The book recounts the history of rugby union’s early decades as a professional sport and praises the best features of the modern game, especially the expansion of women’s rugby. It also provides a template for solving the sport’s injury crisis.
Commercialism has been allowed to dominate the game, the English Premiership has severely undermined one of rugby’s greatest success stories - Lions tours to New Zealand, South Africa and Australia - and the major northern hemisphere rugby countries exert financial power over rugby unions south of the equator. The book recounts the history of rugby union’s early decades as a professional sport and praises the best features of the modern game, especially the expansion of women’s rugby. It also provides a template for solving the sport’s injury crisis.
208 pages, Paperback
Published December 28, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 10, 2024
I had hoped for more of an in-depth analysis of all of the key issues facing Rugby Union when I picked this up to read, but it was evident from the first few pages that this wasn't going to happen.
Although I agree with the points about the large number of injuries and concussions being a serious cause for concern, and I do agree that the scrum needs sorting out (especially with regards to crooked feeds), the repetitiveness with which these points were made became tiring very quickly.
One of the key points of the book is that Union attempted to become like League too much when it became professional in 1995, and it is clear that the author disagrees with the idea that higher ball-in-play time is supposedly a good thing. However, I thought that the suggestion that to distance itself from League, Union should adopt one of League's defining laws- that of the 6-Tackle possession, was laughable.
Almost every chapter ended by arguing that all the law amendments made since 1995 should be reversed, and we should go back to playing the amateur form of the game- most of these suggestions are not made because of any evidence that this would actually be safer to implement in the modern game, it seems, but because the author seems to enjoy lamenting the fact that any changes have been made to the game they once played, and he 'just doesn't understand why'.
Generally speaking, this entire book can be summed up by saying: The author thinks everything was better pre-1995.
The description of the book that says it "praises the best features of the modern game, including the expansion of women's rugby" is a lie- the women's game is only mentioned briefly, and no details of the good that has come of it are really explored.
This is, fundamentally, a rant against modern, primarily English, rugby- the Southern Hemisphere game is rarely explored, and no comparison happens between the two hemispheres. Irish Scottish and Welsh rugby is included as a sidenote, Pacific Islands are mentioned only in one context, and most other nations ignored almost entirely. It would have been nice to see some of these countries explored for a much more rounded investigation of the professional modern game across the globe, as without countries such as Georgia, the USA, Argentina, Japan and others becoming real contenders on the international stage, the game can not continue to consider itself a worldwide sport.
Although I agree with the points about the large number of injuries and concussions being a serious cause for concern, and I do agree that the scrum needs sorting out (especially with regards to crooked feeds), the repetitiveness with which these points were made became tiring very quickly.
One of the key points of the book is that Union attempted to become like League too much when it became professional in 1995, and it is clear that the author disagrees with the idea that higher ball-in-play time is supposedly a good thing. However, I thought that the suggestion that to distance itself from League, Union should adopt one of League's defining laws- that of the 6-Tackle possession, was laughable.
Almost every chapter ended by arguing that all the law amendments made since 1995 should be reversed, and we should go back to playing the amateur form of the game- most of these suggestions are not made because of any evidence that this would actually be safer to implement in the modern game, it seems, but because the author seems to enjoy lamenting the fact that any changes have been made to the game they once played, and he 'just doesn't understand why'.
Generally speaking, this entire book can be summed up by saying: The author thinks everything was better pre-1995.
The description of the book that says it "praises the best features of the modern game, including the expansion of women's rugby" is a lie- the women's game is only mentioned briefly, and no details of the good that has come of it are really explored.
This is, fundamentally, a rant against modern, primarily English, rugby- the Southern Hemisphere game is rarely explored, and no comparison happens between the two hemispheres. Irish Scottish and Welsh rugby is included as a sidenote, Pacific Islands are mentioned only in one context, and most other nations ignored almost entirely. It would have been nice to see some of these countries explored for a much more rounded investigation of the professional modern game across the globe, as without countries such as Georgia, the USA, Argentina, Japan and others becoming real contenders on the international stage, the game can not continue to consider itself a worldwide sport.
July 2, 2021
De ondertitel van dit boek is misschien duidelijker dan de eigenlijke titel; ‘The price of profesionalism 1995-2015’. Vijf en twintig jaar geleden werd betaling in rugby door de IRB toegestaan, het zou onze sport ingrijpend gaan veranderen werd verwacht, maar zover? De hoeveelheid zware blessures is epidemisch, de scrum-feed in testrugby is een lachertje waardoor hookers overbodig worden, de Lions Tour die ondergeschikt wordt gemaakt aan club rugby en al het talent van de Pacific dat elders in de wereld speelt.
Ross Reyburn, schreef een aantal prima boeken over rugby, maar deze waarschuwing overschrijdt landsgrenzen en competities. De eerste 13 bladzijden zijn uitspraken van spelers, artsen, artsen en journalisten die het van dichtbij hebben zien gebeuren, hoe de prachtige amateurwedstrijden door de bobo’s veranderden in veldslagen. Hoe Rugby Union veranderde in een kruising tussen Rugby League en American Football. Overdrijf ik? Kijk naar de spelers die op steeds jongere leeftijd sportinvalide zijn, de hersenbeschadigingen, maar als liefhebber kijk ik naar het prachtig vloeiende spel van de amateurtijd naar de nu onneembare verdedigingsmuren die opgetrokken worden waardoor steeds vaker pingpong rugby wordt gespeeld en een team met een goede kicker de wedstrijd wint. De focus ligt op kracht in plaats van techniek, spelers spenderen meer tijd aan gewichten in de gym dan aan skills op het veld en de regels worden zo veranderd dat rugby niet veiliger maar juist gevaarlijker wordt. Om maar één voorbeeld te geven, het uitschakelen van gebonden spelers in de ruck die door aanvliegende mastodonten omver worden gekegeld zonder dat de aanvallers maar een poging doen om te binden aan hun kant van de ruck. Wordt er ooit voor gefloten in testrugby? Niet of nauwelijks. De aantallen spelers op ‘gras root level’ in rugby gekke landen als Nieuw-Zeeland en Wales nemen steeds meer af en bij elke speler die met een HIA een veld afgaat verliezen we potentiële nieuwe spelers.
Dit boek zou eigenlijk door iedereen bij Rugby Nederland gelezen moeten worden en bij het scheidsrechters overleg, maar ook trainers, coaches en de spelers zelf zouden kennis moeten nemen van dit af en toe wat herhalende boek, want als we zo doorgaan betekent dat het einde voor Rugby Union.
Saving Rugby Union bestel je natuurlijk bij je lokale boekwinkel, zo helpen we elkaar.
Ross Reyburn, schreef een aantal prima boeken over rugby, maar deze waarschuwing overschrijdt landsgrenzen en competities. De eerste 13 bladzijden zijn uitspraken van spelers, artsen, artsen en journalisten die het van dichtbij hebben zien gebeuren, hoe de prachtige amateurwedstrijden door de bobo’s veranderden in veldslagen. Hoe Rugby Union veranderde in een kruising tussen Rugby League en American Football. Overdrijf ik? Kijk naar de spelers die op steeds jongere leeftijd sportinvalide zijn, de hersenbeschadigingen, maar als liefhebber kijk ik naar het prachtig vloeiende spel van de amateurtijd naar de nu onneembare verdedigingsmuren die opgetrokken worden waardoor steeds vaker pingpong rugby wordt gespeeld en een team met een goede kicker de wedstrijd wint. De focus ligt op kracht in plaats van techniek, spelers spenderen meer tijd aan gewichten in de gym dan aan skills op het veld en de regels worden zo veranderd dat rugby niet veiliger maar juist gevaarlijker wordt. Om maar één voorbeeld te geven, het uitschakelen van gebonden spelers in de ruck die door aanvliegende mastodonten omver worden gekegeld zonder dat de aanvallers maar een poging doen om te binden aan hun kant van de ruck. Wordt er ooit voor gefloten in testrugby? Niet of nauwelijks. De aantallen spelers op ‘gras root level’ in rugby gekke landen als Nieuw-Zeeland en Wales nemen steeds meer af en bij elke speler die met een HIA een veld afgaat verliezen we potentiële nieuwe spelers.
Dit boek zou eigenlijk door iedereen bij Rugby Nederland gelezen moeten worden en bij het scheidsrechters overleg, maar ook trainers, coaches en de spelers zelf zouden kennis moeten nemen van dit af en toe wat herhalende boek, want als we zo doorgaan betekent dat het einde voor Rugby Union.
Saving Rugby Union bestel je natuurlijk bij je lokale boekwinkel, zo helpen we elkaar.
September 29, 2022
Get past the intro which is a typical 'rugby was better in the past' and this book is very informative and well written. Rugby always was an arms race and a tactical art. In the end, like most things, modernity, technology and evolution hasnt always been for the better.
June 26, 2022
Excellent, well informed about rugby union, from the top to the grass roots.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews