The past 12 months haven’t been the easiest for English rugby — and that’s putting it mildly!
2024 will unfortunately be remembered as a year of underperformance for the men’s national side on the field and for a bonus scandal off it.
So as we look forward to the new year, here are my 10 wishes for 2025 — both in England and across the world…
Last year will be remembered for underperformance from the men’s national team
1. RFU must step up
The RFU has to move on from the scandal that has enveloped it. Tom Ilube has paid the price for the row over extortionate bonuses being paid to the governing body’s top brass and I have zero sympathy for him.
Whether Bill Sweeney, the chief executive, stays or goes will dominate discussion. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
My last column made clear the need for the RFU to be more transparent, honest and accountable. Sweeney and new interim chairman Bill Beaumont need to front up in person or they really will face the music in January.
English rugby needs to step forward from this before the Six Nations else the sideshow will be a huge distraction. We will soon find out if Sweeney and Beaumont are the right men to lead.
2. Bring back the game’s backbone
The reason the eye-watering bonuses for RFU big wigs was so controversial was because it came at a time when the organisation was announcing a loss of £37million and making 40 employees redundant.
Most of those who lost their jobs worked at the grassroots level. It is an utter disgrace the RFU has fired most of them.
RFU chair Tom Ilube paid the price for the bonuses row that has engulfed the governing body
Chief executive Bill Sweeney needs to step up in January or he will have to face the music
I cannot believe any members of the board or the directors who readily accepted ridiculous bonus for non-performance can look themselves in the mirror. Rugby can’t thrive without people in youth development officer roles. The RFU must bring them back.
I’ve got a background in teaching, so understand the need to bring rugby to children from a young age. You have to make it fun. I would have two development officers per county, one male and one female. The RFU should have at least 100 development officers.
They will say they can’t afford it, but we’ve just had the £100m deal from Allianz for the stadium naming rights deal to Twickenham, so they absolutely can. Bring them back and grow the game.
3. Red Roses glory
English rugby needs some cheer and the country’s women’s team are certainly one cause for celebration.
In 2025, England will host the Women’s World Cup and they are firm favourites to win it. Anything other than Marlie Packer lifting the trophy would be a failure.
The RFU’s investment in the women’s game has been one big positive. The World Cup can be a total game changer for women’s rugby in England anyway, but John Mitchell’s side winning it all would take that to a new level.
Performance on the pitch is one thing, but the RFU must also throw their weight behind connecting with fans in the same way that football’s Lionesses have done so effectively.
The RFU should invest in development officers with the £100m earned from their Allianz deal
England host the Women’s World Cup in 2025 and the RFU must make stars of the players
I want the Red Roses filling stadiums and our news feeds. We must make superstars of our players and inspire the next generation. There is no better opportunity than now.
Mitchell, by all accounts, is doing a good job as coach but his role had to be taken by a woman to develop the women’s game at all levels. It was another opportunity missed by Sweeney and Co.
4. A classic Lions tour
The men’s game needs its feel-good factor back and the British & Irish Lions series in Australia next summer should provide it.
We saw this autumn that the Wallabies are starting to come together as a force and I really hope the series is a humdinger.
I believe this Lions tour has the potential to unify the game globally. Having lived coached and played in Sydney for five years I am biased, but I think there is no better place than Australia to tour. Tickets for all the matches have sold like hot cakes and it’s going to be amazing to see a sea of red watching on, especially after the last Lions tour in 2021 was played in empty stadiums in South Africa because of Covid.
I also hope all four home nations have a good representation in the squad — which I think is a distinct possibility.
Australia look to be coming together as a force, which could make the Lions series a humdinger
The tour can help unify the game and the four home nations should be well represented
5. Get rugby back in parks
Talking of Australia, when I lived there one of my real highlights was playing touch rugby on a Sunday morning.
It was just fantastic. The sport got everyone active. It was great fun. Touch rugby for children can be a great development tool for the game. A true indication of rugby getting its mojo back will be to see it played in our parks.
Running clubs and Padel clubs have seen a huge growth in 2024. Why can’t the RFU do something similar with touch rugby?
6. Bin the ban on overseas England players
This is one that almost certainly won’t happen, but I would urge the RFU once more to abandon its ruling that bans players at overseas teams from playing for England.
It is archaic, devalues international rugby, and hurts Steve Borthwick’s chances of success.
South Africa have their players all over the globe and have won the last two World Cups.
At the highest level, one player can make a difference. For example, if Jack Willis stays with Toulouse, as things stand, he won’t be eligible for England. Willis is the sort of player that can win England the next World Cup, but Borthwick can’t do so if he is hamstrung by selection.
Will Jacks is ineligible due to a rule banning stars at overseas teams from playing for England
The rule is archaic and hurts England head coach Steve Borthwick’s chances of success
7. Rugby from the gods!
On the field, England ended 2024 with three autumn defeats from four and playing a style which hardly got fans out of their seats. There will have to be significant improvement in 2025 and that must start with the Six Nations.
Can you imagine an England XV playing in the style coached by the brilliant Pat Lam? It would fix most of the problems in English rugby at a stroke of a pen!
Bristol are playing rugby from the gods this season under Lam. Their centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg becomes eligible for England in 2026 and looking ahead, I’d like to see him in a white No 12 shirt with Tommy Freeman in midfield outside him and Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith as the half backs.
England’s attack was poor in the autumn. For England to find their next level, something has to happen and fast.
England playing in the style of Bristol coach Peter Lam would fix their problems at a stroke
Benhard Janse van Rensburg will become eligible to play for England from 2026
8. Wales back to winning ways
I went to school in Wales and it’s tough to see a hugely proud rugby nation struggling so badly. I really hope they can get back on track, but it looks a tall order. Warren Gatland has lost 12 Tests in a row, including every match in 2024.
But he is staying on for the Six Nations. Gatland and Welsh rugby have all manner of problems to deal with and I was surprised to a degree he hasn’t walked away.
Wales start the Six Nations with France and Italy away. If they don’t win in Rome in round two, I am not sure they can recover.
On paper they look a half-decent team but like England, they should just pick anyone who is qualified to play for Wales, regardless of their club side. Welsh rugby needs to sharpen up, and quickly.
Warren Gatland is under pressure with Wales having lost each of the match in 2024
Wales will have to beat Italy in Rome or they will be unable to recover in the Six Nations
9. Take sevens seriously
Sevens is a wonderful form of rugby. It staggers me that across the UK it has been marginalised.
This year’s Olympics was truly wonderful and Antoine Dupont helping hosts France to a sevens gold medal was my favourite sporting moment of 2024.
Team GB didn’t even qualify for the Olympic sevens. It’s not good enough. Sevens can be a great pathway to 15-a-side rugby, so we have to start investing in it once again. England will benefit as a result, but so too will Scotland and Wales whose player pathways are smaller.
Antoine Dupont helped France to claim Olympic rugby sevens gold at Paris 2024
10. Bring on promotion
The Championship clubs have bared their teeth in the last few weeks. It’s fantastic. The RFU must give second-tier sides a chance to reach the Premiership.
Wouldn’t it be great to see a club like Ealing or Coventry win the Championship and play whoever finishes bottom of the Premiership in a play-off match for a place in the top flight?
What is clear from the past few weeks is that everyone at all levels of English rugby has had enough of the RFU bosses.
Change is in the air which is exciting. The RFU must embrace this opportunity for the game to flourish at every level.
If they do not, things will get ugly fast and I am not sure rugby will ever be the same.
