I never thought I would say it but rugby needs to learn from Formula E if it is to survive long into the future.
Because the all-electric racing series, despite being a country mile behind Formula 1, has innovated throughout its decade-long existence.
Formula E, until 2022, had a Fan Boost feature, where supporters could vote online for a driver they wanted to receive an engine power-up in the weekend’s race.
It is a leftfield idea, but the thought process behind getting spectators involved during a rugby match could be one that attracts casual fans.
Rugby fans are a cultural bunch, or they like to think they are, but a day out at one of Prem Rugby’s stadiums, or an international equivalent, needs to be Spursified; fans need to be encouraged to spend hours either side of play enjoying food, drink and experiences which enhance the coffers of the host team.
Imagine a food festival in conjunction with the council on the field next to Bath’s Rec, or making use of the historic clubhouse at Gloucester to stage intimate live music events post-match. Those family friendly experiences could generate income away from the traditional pasty-and-pint audience.
Rugby future needs sorting
“As we grow it, and franchise it, it should be played in 20-minute blocks,” Exeter Chiefs owner chairman Tony Rowe told the Telegraph recently. “Play four 20-minute quarters. And maybe you could have a squad of 30 with rolling replacements. The game has to appeal to younger people.”
He’s right. Rugby in the Prem needs to be Americanised, because the youth of today are the ones that will – hopefully – be buying season tickets for the next 50 years. And those youngsters are increasingly looking Stateside for their sporting fix, or for the conversations that happen around the pitch.
The balance must be struck between offering the current paying public a palatable product that doesn’t feel alien, while going to the moon and back for the next generation of fans.
And of course that doesn’t all happen on the pitch; how rugby is broadcast and presented matters too.
Take a look at CBS Sports Golazo for football’s Champions League coverage. The host and three guests are together week in, week out building relationships and storylines with the fans – I imagine some tune in for host Kate Scott’s weekly attack on former Manchester City player Micah Richards rather than the football itself.
Ch ch changes
All of this comes against a backdrop of a game that looks to be getting more and more complicated. Changes to line-outs, the dead ball zone, the television match official’s role and tackle heights have all taken away from the physical nature of a sport that on paper should be popular across the land.
New fans, young and old, need to be able to sit down and understand the majority – even if not all – of the game without needing to put their seat neighbour through a Mastermind-style specialist subject interrogation.
And that’s where fan participation comes in, much like Formula E did. Could the crowd ultimately decide where a conversion is taken from, the 10-minute period the front rows are changed over, or who kicks into the wind in the first half?
The point is this: rugby needs to get radical to ensure that those who cannot afford to watch England at Allianz Stadium at £150 a ticket do not completely ditch the sport because it is inaccessible.
And the only way to prove to that next generation that it is a great sport at a good price is at a game. The sport cannot sit down and take the financial beating it has done recently for much longer.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance and is rowing the Atlantic to raise money for MND charities. Donate and follow at World’s Toughest Row