Cardinal sin

Strange things afoot at England Rugby 2015, as new Chairman, Andy Cosslett, dispenses with the services of Paul Vaughan, the CEO and my sometime golfing companion.

Andy considered that Paul had taken the organisation of the Rugby World Cup as far as he could, and wished to move the planning onto a different plain. With everything involving the organisation of the tournament, the venue selection process and schedule planning all on track, Paul may well feel a bit put out.

He is being replaced by Debbie Jevons, a key player in the London 2012 Olympics process and one of Seb Coe's inner sanctum. Andy's wish is for Debbie to create the sort of feel good factor which surrounded the Olympics, and transfer it to the Rugby World Cup.

I do wonder, though whether he has taken sufficient counsel on the whole matter. Andy's CV lists his previous roles with Cadbury Schweppes and InterContinental Hotels. This indicates a well honed background in leisure and retail, a background which Paul shared through his time with GrandMet and Whitbreads.  Any previous exposure to Rugby which Andy may have does seem to be absent from much of his biographical data.

The appointment of somebody with such fresh experiences from London 2012 into the rugby environment  is certainly a forward thinking initiative, however, I worry that the image and enthusiasm of one, may not necessarily be suitable to the other .

Lets look at some specifics:

The Olympic Games runs full on for two weeks, there are events morning,  noon and night all over London, and save for the football, only in London ( sorry Weymouth, you too!). The Rugby World Cup will be a three or four week event, with matches primarily at the weekends, and with dead periods through the week. Matches, like the football will be distributed to the main conurbations of England and Wales. Developing  a new approach to rugby support for that length of time, across the Country will be challenging.

The Olympic Games events had British and Irish participants in one or more events so giving a constant support focus for the fans so that when one star got eliminated, there were others to fill the void. The rugby World Cup has four national teams competing in an overall population of 16. Some of them may not make the knockout stages, and if one of those is England, then a huge percentage of potential spectators will lose interest. Yes the stadia will still be full, but the need for fan zones will greatly diminish.

Now lets consider the fan zone concept. Rugby supporters are a very predictable lot. They will have a few beers before the game, watch it and adjourn back to the bar afterwards. Those who do not have a ticket will either watch at home , in their local rugby club  or watch in their local pub, I can't see swathes of casual fans sitting on Twickenham Green, in Princes Street or at Cardiff Castle on a damp and cold Autumnal afternoon watching Italy take on Namibia.

Finally, what of the travelling fans?  The Olympics has hundreds of different Countries to support, and London is an attractive City to visit. Its straightforward to focus all your attention in one place. I did not notice a huge number of Olympic visitors in Scouseland, and the trouble that LOCOG had selling the football tickets is a warning sign for Debbie and her team.

So all in all, it will be interesting to see what new initiatives Debbie does come up with, and how they add to the success of the tournament. Nothing will contribute more than another England victory, and that is something that is out of her hands.