For sale, Chariot, seen better days.....

Two items took my eye this week, the Rugby Football Union 'Go Play Rugby' initiative and the fact that Wasps FC are looking to increase the capacity of the Wycombe Wanderers stadium they use for their home games. 'We need to play to bigger crowds', echoed head coach Ian McGeechan and new chief executive Tony Copsey.

The two initiatives do, however, seem to be contradictory.

I have said before to anybody who will listen that professional rugby has signalled the death knell of amateur club rugby in London, as I knew it. Even the introduction of a league system prior to that did not decimate the number of teams playing on a Saturday to the same extent.

Yes its true that mini and junior rugby participation continues to grow, but one must question whether this is breeding the players of tomorrow or the spectators?

Consider this scenario. When I played for Twickenham RFC our near neighbours and the local senior club, Harlequins, played to a few hundred spectators, more if they were playing a top Welsh club. Twickenham would field five or six teams and few people would be interested in watching the 'Quins ahead of playing for the extra 'B'.

Nowadays they play to 8-10,000 every week, and Twickenham, in common with other local clubs, are down to two, sometimes three teams. If ten percent of that crowd are potential rugby players that is the equivalent of 50 or 60 teams who have been lost to the playing side of the game. As well as 'Quins, London hosts Wasps, Saracens and London Irish, no wonder clubs across the region are finding recruitment so difficult.

Mini's day of course is Sunday, so they are free to watch their hero's and still get enjoyment out of their weekend runabout, and good luck to them.

So, Wasps, for one, wanting to match the 15,000 crowds which Leicester regularly get seems to be in direct conflict with this new RFU initiative to get more people on the park every Saturday. Surely they should be looking at different ways of tackling the problem in conjunction with the professional clubs. Why not play the games on a Sunday to allow people to turn out for their local club and still get to see a top game at the weekend? Consider doing the same for the block of England mickey mouse internationals which take place in November.

Now the professional product is so good, it appears that it may well be biting the hand that feeds it, as the gulf with junior rugby widens. This will only result in more foreign imports being attracted to the game, and the England side becoming weaker as a result. Is a half empty Twickenham the legacy of such initiatives, or worst, will more women get to go to games!!