Some players like Danny Cipriani, who played for England 16 times fits that bill. Like him or loathe him, he generated pub talk and general opinion, and he has done it on both Northern and Southern hemispheres. Is his like disappearing from our game?
Jonny Wilkinson, arguably the world’s best player in some polls, a world cup winner, a perfect sporting icon, seldom gets on either front or back pages. Maybe he doesn’t want to be a tabloid superstar. Maybe he lacks that panache that connects with young people.
Youngsters from a very early age identify with football players. It used to be English players if you were English, now it’s global football superstars like Lionel Messi and Kilian Mbappe.
Not one of the top sporting brands lauds a current English rugby superstar. Some of England’s world cup winners in 2003 have generated more publicity for falling on hard times and failing in business than generating good news for their post-retirement contributions. Some through social media feel the public should make financial contributions to support their struggles. My advice is “welcome to the real-world lads.”
Paid TV has limited some player exposure and of late the product has been perceived as boring and dangerous to play especially at school, where the playing fall off has been quite dramatic and chronicled.
Elsewhere, the sword of Damocles continues to hover above many of the game’s top coaches and administrators.
Nigel Walker, the Welsh rugby union executive director, has pressed the exit button. Warren Gatland has avoided the sword and remains as Wales coach for the 6 Nations. Stuart Lancaster is wobbling at Racing 92, especially after signing his own son to play 10. Where has Owen Farrell gone, he was the 10?
Tom llube, the Chairman of England rugby union, also pressed the exit button. Bill Beaumont the retiring President of World Rugby steps in temporarily to replace Tom.
The major issue confronting English rugby is the unrest amongst Rugby clubs. Rebellion continues to grow over executive pay. If the motion reaches the threshold of 100 signatories from clubs throughout England, a special meeting must be held within 45 days. That deadline would determine the future of many executives.
In the latest round of Premiership fixtures Gloucester easily disposed of Harlequins 14-0. The first time in 10 years Harlequins have failed to score a point. Harlequins may be a famous name, but they need some backbone!
Bristol continues to reinvent the product, beating Leicester in Leicester by 54-24. Unheard of in my time. On their day Bristol plays a brand of rugby that is hard to defend. Bath disposed of Newcastle 40-15, Sale continued Exeter’s losing streak, beating the Southwest giants 28-10, and Saracens beat last seasons champions Northampton Saints 39-24. Bath tops the league after 8 rounds.
Next week we interview Pat Cotter the man behind so much of the good rugby development in Thailand, including the Phuket 11s, the Chiang Mai 11s league, and the Chiang Mai 11s tournament.
Until then, all the best for 2025.
The Global Rugby Coach, Mike Penistone, is a globally renowned professional rugby coach based in Phuket who is also an ambassador for the Asia Center Foundation, a charity for disadvantaged children. For more information visit: www.rugbycoachingconsultancy.com.