England Supporters! Support Your Local Team!
By apb on 2/12/2003
December 2 2003
What a tournament! What a homecoming! Who'd have thought that so many people would get up to Heathrow at five in the morning just to welcome the England boys home! The World Cup win has certainly generated some enthusiasm in England at least!
There have of course since been articles written before about how this new-found enthusaism could be harnessed for the good of the game. Talk of Rugby overtaking football as the national sport is just a load of idiotic speculation, and no one in the rugby watching fraternity would seriously consider this is a realistic goal. When a third division football side gets routinely higher gates that the best supported Zurich Premiership teams, then its pretty clear that this is a long way from reality.
But the national team, however, has shown that there is an appetite for good rugby in the country. Yes there are a lot of "Glory Seekers" attaching themselves to the national team. But lets face it, isn't that how a lot of us start supporting clubs anyway? It certainly was with me! I started going to Leeds games in their first premiership season. They hadn't really registered on my radar before that. I like to think I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Leeds Tykes fan now, who will always go to see the club, regardless of what other divisions or competitions they end up in. Glory seeker I may once have been, but I am another tick on the old turnstile every other week, and this is precisely what the clubs must now cash in on.
They have the opportunity to market themselves for all their worth - "Come and see your local rugby team, with World Champion Mark Regan playing Hooker". Of course, Newcastle have the boy wonder himself, and its no surprise that at Kingston Park last weekend they had their first sell-out. But every club - with the sad exception of Rotherham - have their world champion players. And every club - Roth included - have their international players.
This weekend also sees the beginning of the Heineken Cup, the Champions League of Rugby, and also the European Cup & Shield, the UEFA cup equivalents. EVERY premiership team will be involved, so you may also get to see some of the best of Scottish, Irish, Welsh, French, Italian, Spanish and Romanian talents.
We old hands, of course, have a responsibility too. Just because someone has started watching rugby because they like JW in tight lycra, doesn't make them a bad person! We should be welcoming, encouraging, and understanding if new spectators - like the refs - don't understand many of the laws of the game. And if they haven't been told about certain intricacies of spectator behaviour (e.g. being quiet during place-kicks), don't be aggressive towards them. Politely inform them of the customs, and allow everyone to enjoy a great game in a pleasant atmosphere.
There has never been a better time to push club rugby for all its worth, and get those turnstiles ticking. Come on down! You've watched the best team in the world down under and on telly! You've bought the signed replica shirt (and if you haven't, there's one available from the LTSA on Ebay at the moment), now harness your new found enthusiasm for top quality rugby and get down to your local club and support, support, support! There's nothing like it outside the internationals you know!