A sport in flux: what does the future hold for rugby union? | Andy Bull

Jan 30, 2017

Rugby union has always evolved but with many problems and questions unresolved it feels unsettled at present. The sport is changing but into what?

On Friday 13 January, Ian Ritchie, the chief executive of the Rugby Football Union, met the press in the Members Lounge in the West Stand at Twickenham. Ritchie wanted in particular to talk about the three artificial grass pitches the RFU paid to have laid in Aylesbury, Preston, and Weston-super-Mare, the first of a hundred such around the country.

In the end he fielded questions about the negotiations over the new international calendar and whether the RFU wanted to reduce the number of games professionals are playing, concussion protocols; the injury to George North and the decision not to punish Northampton; tackle laws, and if the latest changes to them were going to lead to more red cards and cut down injuries; residency rules, and whether it should take longer to switch from one nationality to another. Every last little thing but those three new pitches.

Tags: Rugby Football Union Rugby union Six Nations Sport