Bristol Shoguns And The Future Of English Rugby
By Ian Birks March 13 2003
At the beginning of the professional era, Bristol was on the brink of disappearing from the rugby map. They were saved from extinction by the timely intervention of Malcolm Pearce.
By Ian Birks March 13 2003
At the beginning of the professional era, Bristol was on the brink of disappearing from the rugby map. They were saved from extinction by the timely intervention of Malcolm Pearce.
At the end of the 2003 season Mr. Pearce will stand down as chairman at Bristol Shoguns. When he took over he made it clear that he would commit to the club for five years, and true to his word, has given the club six months notice of his intentions to move on. This is in no way meant as a criticism of Mr. Pearce: over the past five years, with his backing, the Bristol side to be reincarnated as the Shoguns, and his support and commitment to Bristol has been immeasurable during this period.
In a recent interview Malcolm Pearce said:
"The fact of the matter is that since rugby went professional back in 1995, our gates have not been large enough to support a competitive professional side. Perhaps the time is coming when we should bow to the inevitable and accept the fact that the city of Bristol does not wish to support a Premiership rugby team."
What justification is there for making this statement?
Looking at the gate sizes so far this season, Bristol have averaged just over 5,000 per game at home, not the best attendance figures in the premiership by a long way, only Leicester and Northampton have consistently averaged over 10,000 with Gloucester coming a close third at around 9,500. But there are teams who have smaller crowds: Leeds and Newcastle average between 4,000 and 4,500 and Bristol's gate figures are on a par with premiership high fliers Sale Sharks.
Ironically, the local derby against Bath has been moved to Bristol City's ground, Ashton Gate. The capacity at this ground is 21,500, and organisers are hoping to set a new record for attendance at a premiership club game which is currently held by Vicarage Road in Watford for the 1998 clash between Saracens - Newcastle which attracted some 19,780 spectators!
Looking at the established professional sport in Bristol, the city boasts two football teams. As we are all aware, Bristol Rovers and Bristol Shoguns share the facilities at the Memorial Ground: so is there room, money and support for a professional rugby club? Not according to Mr. Pearce in an interview given to the BBC in January 2003 in which he alluded to: "a lack of financial backing from the city's business community".
Bristol Football Club, now the Shoguns, was formed in 1888 when the Carlton Club and local rivals Redland Park and Westbury Park eventually joined forces creating a rugby team to represent the city of Bristol.
So, the club has a very long and established presence in Bristol. The standard of rugby played, despite ups and downs over the years, has generally been of the highest standard, ensuring that their home and travelling support can shout their side on with the pride and passion found throughout so many rugby clubs across the country. During the final quarter of the 2002 season, I believe that Bristol showed their metal and played some of the best rugby of the year, further borne out by their appearance in the Zurich play-off final against Gloucester, narrowly losing 23-28, despite finishing 8th. in the table then going on to beat Leicester at 27-13 Welford Road and Northampton Saints 32-24 in Bristol. Not the easiest way to get to the final!
Bristol has an established and successful academy and the club makes considerable commitment to the local community, from involvement with primary school tag rugby, rugby holiday camps and the Shoguns Super Sunday initiative which involves coaches and senior players passing on their expertise to local groups.
So, what does the future hold for Bristol. At the moment, this is unclear. There are options, rescue plans, initiatives from Bristol’s own fan base, some plans are more public than others.
One option is the offer to relocate the Shogun team to the Kassam stadium. This is not the first time that Oxford's owner, Firoz Kassam, has tried to entice a professional rugby club to the city: the last attempt involved London Wasps, who eventually moved to Wycombe Wanderer's Adams Park after QPR, who had shared their facilities with Wasps, negotiated a ground sharing deal with Fulham.
Bristol fan, Paul Bristow, has set up an initiative to try to ensure the Shoguns do not move out of Bristol.
"The new campaign is linked to the supporters club, who are behind it. We are trying to kick something off to raise awareness of the plight."
Reproduced here from the Bristol web site:
Mr Bristow paid tribute to the part that Pearce played in the club, especially in their darkest hour.
"We are very grateful for the commitment he made, he saved us in 1998 when we went bust.
"But we want to encourage Malcolm to take the Bristol option - we are one of England's biggest rugby cities."
The newly-launched campaign has already got off to a good start.
"We have emailed about 150 people, people who have shown interest in the past. We have emailed the council, MPs, Rugby clubs. Basically anyone in the community who wants to keep Bristol rugby club in Bristol."
Mr Bristow added that he did not envy the choice ahead for Pearce.
"Malcolm has said in the past that he will leave the club in a good state. We recognise he's got a tough choice ahead of him, but hope he'll do the right thing by Bristol."
Looking ahead, what viable options are there for Bristol, and why should we, the rugby supporting community, be concerned?
Short term, come the end of the season 2003 Bristol will either continue to play rugby, in the city of Bristol or elsewhere, or else will disappear from the professional rugby scene and the Zurich Premiership if financial backing does not materialise.
As a rugby supporter, I sincerely hope that Bristol Shoguns continue to play their part in the top flight of English rugby, in Bristol. A move to Oxford, although a lifeline for the Shoguns, would be a travesty for the thousands of loyal fans in their home city. So called "Home" fixtures for the established, home grown Bristol fans would involve a 75 mile trip, each way to their potential new base in Oxford. Other clubs have successfully moved: London Irish have settled into the "Mad Stad" after their departure from the Stoop. So it can be done.
The alternative? If Shoguns do not survive we will be left with a Zurich Premiership of 11 clubs. If Bristol do not finish bottom, will the team that does eventually prop up the table be spared relegation with either Rotherham or Worcester being promoted to enable the premiership to continue with the current 12 team set up?
Long term, there are issues that affect each and every on of us. If Bristol cannot support professional rugby, what hope is there for the future of professional club rugby in England? Who will be next? Bath, Leeds, Saracens?
At present, after five years of professionalism in English rugby, only two or three clubs can expect to end the financial year in the black. Even for those luck few, profits are not huge.
In recent months we have seen teams outside of the English premiership struggle and undergo radical and fundamental change:
Firstly, the Irish provincial side Connaught was under the threat of having funding withdrawn on the basis of reducing IRFU costs. The Irish provincial club was saved after petitioning and campaigning, from inside and outside of Ireland, and a demonstration outside the offices of the IRFU.
In Wales, the WRU have proposed restructuring Welsh rugby into four regions, although dissenters at Llanelli and Cardiff are pushing for a five region model. This, again has its roots in clubs' finances and an ongoing decline at national level. From the WRU report into the issue or restructuring the game in Wales it was said:
"To field 5 teams, we will have to rely on a large number of imported non-Welsh qualified players and be able to demonstrate that Wales has as many professional players as New Zealand, 26 more than South Africa and 52 more than Australia. On playing strength alone, we believe that we can only sustain 4 teams".
Is this, then, to be the future of English rugby? In ten or fifteen years time, will the RFU be proposing an end to English professional club rugby, and a tabling a switch to a four or five region structure? It may come even sooner than that if so many clubs continue to turn in losses at the end of the financial year.
If this actually happens, we would probably end up with a northern hemisphere version of the Super 12's: four regional teams from each country of Wales, Ireland and England and maybe two from Scotland. No doubt, the clubs that we know and support today would still exist, but with the return of amateur status, acting as feeder clubs for the professional, RFU backed regions.
This is all supposition. You may come to a very different conclusion. You may not agree with the arguments, figures or sentiments that I have presented. If this is the case, good. At least it shows that you have read, understood, or at least the very least, thought about the future of your own club.
Thinking about the future is exactly what the Bristol management, players, coaches and fans are doing right now.
Regardless of which team you follow, in my case it's Leicester Tigers, but try not to hold that against me too much, I urge everyone to support the sport of rugby first and foremost. This means not only following your team but also supporting your opposition in the interest of rugby union.
Bristol Shoguns need and deserve as much support as they can get in order to survive. I cannot offer any solutions, but we can all help to promote their plight and show our collective support.
Lots of issues have been raised in these few paragraphs, nothing has been covered to any great depth: this is intentional. The central theme is the plight of Bristol Shoguns, the side issue which may lead to some debate is the future development of English rugby.
Bristol's problems are our problems. This situation needs to be promoted nationally, not just in the local press. And when the issue get it's high profile, it needs to be kept there and pushed by Bristol Shoguns and rugby fans alike.
Go along to the games, visit the club shop, show your support for the sport!
We have already seen the likes of London Scottish and Richmond bow out of the professional game: this year we risk losing Bristol, next year it might be your team.
You can visit and show your support on-line at any or all of the following :
Sportnetwork - go to the Bristol Shoguns fans page, Vorny posted on 14-02-03, just click on the link
The Bristol Shoguns site - www.bristolrugby.com
If you want more information about the campaign then e-mail: helpingbristolrugby@talk21.com
Sources used:
Bristol Rugby web site www.bristolrugby.com
Sportnetwork www.theleicestertigers.co.uk
The Welsh Rugby Union web site www.wru.co.uk
The Irish Rugby nion web site www.irfu.ie
Zurich Rugby www.zurichrugby.co.uk
BBC Sport News www.bbc.co.uk
In a recent interview Malcolm Pearce said:
"The fact of the matter is that since rugby went professional back in 1995, our gates have not been large enough to support a competitive professional side. Perhaps the time is coming when we should bow to the inevitable and accept the fact that the city of Bristol does not wish to support a Premiership rugby team."
What justification is there for making this statement?
Looking at the gate sizes so far this season, Bristol have averaged just over 5,000 per game at home, not the best attendance figures in the premiership by a long way, only Leicester and Northampton have consistently averaged over 10,000 with Gloucester coming a close third at around 9,500. But there are teams who have smaller crowds: Leeds and Newcastle average between 4,000 and 4,500 and Bristol's gate figures are on a par with premiership high fliers Sale Sharks.
Ironically, the local derby against Bath has been moved to Bristol City's ground, Ashton Gate. The capacity at this ground is 21,500, and organisers are hoping to set a new record for attendance at a premiership club game which is currently held by Vicarage Road in Watford for the 1998 clash between Saracens - Newcastle which attracted some 19,780 spectators!
Looking at the established professional sport in Bristol, the city boasts two football teams. As we are all aware, Bristol Rovers and Bristol Shoguns share the facilities at the Memorial Ground: so is there room, money and support for a professional rugby club? Not according to Mr. Pearce in an interview given to the BBC in January 2003 in which he alluded to: "a lack of financial backing from the city's business community".
Bristol Football Club, now the Shoguns, was formed in 1888 when the Carlton Club and local rivals Redland Park and Westbury Park eventually joined forces creating a rugby team to represent the city of Bristol.
So, the club has a very long and established presence in Bristol. The standard of rugby played, despite ups and downs over the years, has generally been of the highest standard, ensuring that their home and travelling support can shout their side on with the pride and passion found throughout so many rugby clubs across the country. During the final quarter of the 2002 season, I believe that Bristol showed their metal and played some of the best rugby of the year, further borne out by their appearance in the Zurich play-off final against Gloucester, narrowly losing 23-28, despite finishing 8th. in the table then going on to beat Leicester at 27-13 Welford Road and Northampton Saints 32-24 in Bristol. Not the easiest way to get to the final!
Bristol has an established and successful academy and the club makes considerable commitment to the local community, from involvement with primary school tag rugby, rugby holiday camps and the Shoguns Super Sunday initiative which involves coaches and senior players passing on their expertise to local groups.
So, what does the future hold for Bristol. At the moment, this is unclear. There are options, rescue plans, initiatives from Bristol’s own fan base, some plans are more public than others.
One option is the offer to relocate the Shogun team to the Kassam stadium. This is not the first time that Oxford's owner, Firoz Kassam, has tried to entice a professional rugby club to the city: the last attempt involved London Wasps, who eventually moved to Wycombe Wanderer's Adams Park after QPR, who had shared their facilities with Wasps, negotiated a ground sharing deal with Fulham.
Bristol fan, Paul Bristow, has set up an initiative to try to ensure the Shoguns do not move out of Bristol.
"The new campaign is linked to the supporters club, who are behind it. We are trying to kick something off to raise awareness of the plight."
Reproduced here from the Bristol web site:
Mr Bristow paid tribute to the part that Pearce played in the club, especially in their darkest hour.
"We are very grateful for the commitment he made, he saved us in 1998 when we went bust.
"But we want to encourage Malcolm to take the Bristol option - we are one of England's biggest rugby cities."
The newly-launched campaign has already got off to a good start.
"We have emailed about 150 people, people who have shown interest in the past. We have emailed the council, MPs, Rugby clubs. Basically anyone in the community who wants to keep Bristol rugby club in Bristol."
Mr Bristow added that he did not envy the choice ahead for Pearce.
"Malcolm has said in the past that he will leave the club in a good state. We recognise he's got a tough choice ahead of him, but hope he'll do the right thing by Bristol."
Looking ahead, what viable options are there for Bristol, and why should we, the rugby supporting community, be concerned?
Short term, come the end of the season 2003 Bristol will either continue to play rugby, in the city of Bristol or elsewhere, or else will disappear from the professional rugby scene and the Zurich Premiership if financial backing does not materialise.
As a rugby supporter, I sincerely hope that Bristol Shoguns continue to play their part in the top flight of English rugby, in Bristol. A move to Oxford, although a lifeline for the Shoguns, would be a travesty for the thousands of loyal fans in their home city. So called "Home" fixtures for the established, home grown Bristol fans would involve a 75 mile trip, each way to their potential new base in Oxford. Other clubs have successfully moved: London Irish have settled into the "Mad Stad" after their departure from the Stoop. So it can be done.
The alternative? If Shoguns do not survive we will be left with a Zurich Premiership of 11 clubs. If Bristol do not finish bottom, will the team that does eventually prop up the table be spared relegation with either Rotherham or Worcester being promoted to enable the premiership to continue with the current 12 team set up?
Long term, there are issues that affect each and every on of us. If Bristol cannot support professional rugby, what hope is there for the future of professional club rugby in England? Who will be next? Bath, Leeds, Saracens?
At present, after five years of professionalism in English rugby, only two or three clubs can expect to end the financial year in the black. Even for those luck few, profits are not huge.
In recent months we have seen teams outside of the English premiership struggle and undergo radical and fundamental change:
Firstly, the Irish provincial side Connaught was under the threat of having funding withdrawn on the basis of reducing IRFU costs. The Irish provincial club was saved after petitioning and campaigning, from inside and outside of Ireland, and a demonstration outside the offices of the IRFU.
In Wales, the WRU have proposed restructuring Welsh rugby into four regions, although dissenters at Llanelli and Cardiff are pushing for a five region model. This, again has its roots in clubs' finances and an ongoing decline at national level. From the WRU report into the issue or restructuring the game in Wales it was said:
"To field 5 teams, we will have to rely on a large number of imported non-Welsh qualified players and be able to demonstrate that Wales has as many professional players as New Zealand, 26 more than South Africa and 52 more than Australia. On playing strength alone, we believe that we can only sustain 4 teams".
Is this, then, to be the future of English rugby? In ten or fifteen years time, will the RFU be proposing an end to English professional club rugby, and a tabling a switch to a four or five region structure? It may come even sooner than that if so many clubs continue to turn in losses at the end of the financial year.
If this actually happens, we would probably end up with a northern hemisphere version of the Super 12's: four regional teams from each country of Wales, Ireland and England and maybe two from Scotland. No doubt, the clubs that we know and support today would still exist, but with the return of amateur status, acting as feeder clubs for the professional, RFU backed regions.
This is all supposition. You may come to a very different conclusion. You may not agree with the arguments, figures or sentiments that I have presented. If this is the case, good. At least it shows that you have read, understood, or at least the very least, thought about the future of your own club.
Thinking about the future is exactly what the Bristol management, players, coaches and fans are doing right now.
Regardless of which team you follow, in my case it's Leicester Tigers, but try not to hold that against me too much, I urge everyone to support the sport of rugby first and foremost. This means not only following your team but also supporting your opposition in the interest of rugby union.
Bristol Shoguns need and deserve as much support as they can get in order to survive. I cannot offer any solutions, but we can all help to promote their plight and show our collective support.
Lots of issues have been raised in these few paragraphs, nothing has been covered to any great depth: this is intentional. The central theme is the plight of Bristol Shoguns, the side issue which may lead to some debate is the future development of English rugby.
Bristol's problems are our problems. This situation needs to be promoted nationally, not just in the local press. And when the issue get it's high profile, it needs to be kept there and pushed by Bristol Shoguns and rugby fans alike.
Go along to the games, visit the club shop, show your support for the sport!
We have already seen the likes of London Scottish and Richmond bow out of the professional game: this year we risk losing Bristol, next year it might be your team.
You can visit and show your support on-line at any or all of the following :
Sportnetwork - go to the Bristol Shoguns fans page, Vorny posted on 14-02-03, just click on the link
The Bristol Shoguns site - www.bristolrugby.com
If you want more information about the campaign then e-mail: helpingbristolrugby@talk21.com
Sources used:
Bristol Rugby web site www.bristolrugby.com
Sportnetwork www.theleicestertigers.co.uk
The Welsh Rugby Union web site www.wru.co.uk
The Irish Rugby nion web site www.irfu.ie
Zurich Rugby www.zurichrugby.co.uk
BBC Sport News www.bbc.co.uk
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