RUGBY: Jon Swift
WITHOUT so much as a by your leave, the flatulent winds of=20 change have blown through the sombre portals of the=20 stuffily named Rugby Football Union, the home of the game=20 in England.
The stink raised by the Will Carling affair spells the end=20 of the game of rugby as it is presently constituted.
Whether Carling’s particular characterisation on the=20 England committee is apposite or not is a debate which=20 should perhaps best be left to the player and those of the=20 gentlemen in question who turned apoplectic over their pink=20
But while no one in his right mind would advocate the=20 anarchistic situation where the players run the=20 administration of the game, it is equally true that the men=20 with the clipboards have had too much to say for far too=20 long over the players.
Rugby administration has smelled a trifle off for a number=20 of years and in an age where the game is generating huge=20 amounts of money, the odour has reached rank proportions.
In short, the game has left the administrators behind. The=20 advent of a professional approach — still without a=20 professional charter — has found them lacking. The World=20 Cup, a tournament of global significance, has found them=20
That the England players refused to take the captaincy left=20 open by Carling’s sacking, says much for their faith in the=20 man and for the growing belief that they should be given=20 more say than has traditionally been the case.
By being forced to back down, the England committee members=20 have opened the door to player power and, as a byproduct,=20 ensured that the Carling-inspired nomenclature becomes=20 permanent. De facto, the England players have ensured that=20 they have a permanent seat on the board. The age of serfdom=20 is suddenly and finally over.
It opens the door for the thinking which dragged the game=20 of cricket –admittedly kicking and screaming –out of the=20 age of gentlemen and players. If you are good enough to be=20 paid to play you get a cheque. If you aren’t, you buy your=20 own drinks. It’s as simple as that.
Extended to the South African context, this thinking has=20 some far-reaching repercussions in a sports code which has=20 engendered enough cash to build stadiums like Ellis Park,=20 Kings Park and Loftus Versfeld.
It is no real secret that the end of the true blue amateur=20 era will coincide with the last whistle blast of the World=20 Cup final on June 24. Then, the players who are good enough=20 to earn big money will be openly paid. Those who are not=20 will be free to finance their own petrol in the roundtrip=20 of 60km to play for Pofadder thirds.
There are layers in any facet of society. Sport is no=20 different. The gulf between the Pofadder thirds and the=20 green and gold is an unbridgeable one … and will always=20 remain so.
What Carling’s remarks also highlighted was the size of the=20 committee. A full 57! That’s twice as big and then some as=20 the squad England will be sending to South Africa. And=20 doubtless all of them — either singly or collectively –=20 with a healthy World Cup ticket allocation.
Rugby is a business. And administration is essential to the=20 running of every business. But the depth of the strata=20 above the gin and tonic line needs to be addressed as much=20 as does the question of paying the stars who put the=20 padding under the privileged rumps Carling offended so=20 deeply in the first place.