By RtR on 2/1/2003
January 7 2003

There once was a time, long ago, when not even the numbers on the scoreboard at the end of the game were all that important to rugby folk. Compared to the number of pints consumed in the bar after the game, the score was a secondary consideration.

And whilst its easy to get overly sentimental over those halcyon days of the amateur game, there are far more numbers available to the rugby statistician nowadays.

Even with the sad demise of the Opta stats, there are many numbers of interest knocking around - here are a few that make interesting viewing, sourced from the Sunday Times......

Money paid from central funds to all ZP clubs except Leeds:	£2M pa
Amount of money paid to clubs newly promoted into the ZP:	£1.2M pa
Number of years in ZP before full £2M is paid to a club after it is promoted:	4

It is inevitable, in any walk of life, that the only thing that motivates those with power is the fear of losing it. It could be suggested that the numbers above show that the established ZP clubs are intent on tipping the financial balance in their own favour, at the expense of any new kids on the block. Does this really constitute a level playing field? Why not just give all established clubs a 6 point start in every game? This is obviously absurd.

So, its not just about points and pints anymore, and gone are the days when the only pounds discussed were those carried by the front row. Nowadays, pounds in the pack are bought with pounds in the bank balance.

But wait, there is that word again . . . .’balance’, and in this word the key to the future of the game lies. Recent events have once again thrown the game into disrepute, as opponents on both sides of the promotion / relegation see-saw have once again poured gasoline onto the dying embers of last seasons relegation charade. On one side we have the sugar daddys, who are desperate to remove all risk from their investments, on the other side, those who happen to believe that the essence of sport will decay if promotion / relegation does not happen.

Both sides have valid arguments which have been well documented, and which will not be picked over here. Its true that the game needs a period of financial stability in which facilities and infrastructure can be brought up to the standards demanded of modern professional sport, but the businessmen must not forget that without meaningful competition, sport will die. These two positions must be balanced.

The Hopi Indians have a word ‘Koyanisqatsi’ – this word means ‘a life out of balance’. This is a situation that the Rugby authorities must avoid. For the future good of the game, some kind of balance between the opposing views on promotion and relegation must be sought. The game will be damaged irreparably without the benefactors, but will die if the needs of the sport are overlooked.

If a sensible balance cannot be reached, then the only truly important number in the game will start to shrink – the number of us who watch, play and enjoy the greatest game on the planet.

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Previous rants:

December 2002: Go With The Swing!

November 2002: The Sword of Braamocles

October 2002: The C Factor

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