At last we have a few details of the PWR board’s plans for the future.
They will be announced in the New Year, which means either they are not complete, or need a little polishing, or the board enjoys a bit of suspense.
Certainly the matters they will touch on are complicated beyond belief.
When the RFU first announced the establishment of a semi-independent company to oversee the new league, we weren’t told the number of people involved, nor the range of their remits. But they were answerable to the RFU.
The first big shake-up came with the resignation of the CEO, Belinda Moore. She had been hailed as the perfect fit for the job, but that proved to be true for only twenty-two months.
Into her shoes stepped the Chair, Genevieve Shore, and it is she who has explained the board’s plans to Sara Orchard of the BBC. When Shore states that Moore’s departure was “not so much a surprise”, we may wonder who did the choosing, and what methods they employed to decide such a crucial appointment. But the RFU is famed for its secrecy.
The senior structures will be reorganised, which means they were not adequately thought through in the first place. Though women’s professional rugby is still relatively new, professional rugby union goes back 29 years, so it is not even a 21st century concept.
We may or may not learn how many people will be invited to join the new-look authority, but the range of issues they have to cover is immense.
I have written in the past about the aims that were laid down as the PWR came into existence. There would be a 10-year plan, and at its core a desire for professionalism. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see these lofty notions reduced in scope. Everywhere we look, we find stories of players who are achieving great things in a wide variety of jobs. They add to our admiration of them as their onfield playing standards go on rising, fulfilling two roles at once. Just like the amateur days.
No Room at the Top
In the background lurk the troubles surrounding the RFU. The CE, Bill Sweeney, is under enormous pressure, and finances are under the same strain.
Last September 42 members of staff at Twickenham were shown the door to cut expenses. The range of jobs there is vast. One area alone involves: “helping our England teams succeed, Rugby Operations, the Performance Pathway, Conditioning and Innovation, Medical and our England Teams, management, coaching, etc”.
Can we be sure that the new PWR board won’t suffer from similar constraints? When Shore admits that she is doing day-to-day tasks, it suggests that there are too few people doing too many jobs.
Can you spare a copper, guv?
For me, the greatest unknown is how the PWR can overcome funding problems; not so much at national level, rather for every member club. Each is expected to keep its head above water, to stay in the black. When the money runs out, there is only one answer, expulsion.
A couple of years ago clubs were lining up to be admitted to the elite. I’ve not come across news of that sort for quite a while; they probably realise the chancy nature of the business. The current league is reduced to nine clubs, with no sign of a tenth coming into view.
I started writing a fancy piece along the lines: “I’ve decided to set up a new club to join the PWR.” This is what I’ll need…’ My list grew so long, and demanded so many millions I didn’t possess that I stopped there and then. That is how demanding the world oif professional rugby has become. The men’s pro-game is in the toils everywhere we look. The lesson for the women’s game might be: don’t touch it with a barge-pole. If your response is: ‘Let’s turn to franchising’, then our ways must part.
Now we await news of the new-look PWR with intense anticipation. It will need brave and resourceful characters to put their names forward.
