RUGBY- MAKING AN IMPACT MORI RESEARCH REPORT FOREWORD CONTENTS We chatted at length with Terry Burwell the RFU’s Director of Community Rugby, and INTRODUCTION ......................... 3 RUGBY IN SCHOOLS .................. 31 other friends at the RFU keen to drive the development of the game - ‘what can Background ............................................................. 3 Education: PE & Sport in Schools ............................. 31 Zurich do that will start to make a real difference?’ is the question we needed to Participation in Rugby by Schoolchildren .................. 32 find the answer to. Key Aim .................................................................. 3 Methodology .......................................................... 3 Barriers to Participation in Schools ........................... 34 Could Zurich provide tangible support to the RFU and Premier Rugby by investing The Participants ....................................................... 4 Breaking Down Barriers to Participation ................... 36 in research looking at participation and attitudes towards the game across different levels? EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............. 6 UNIVERSITY RUGBY .................. 38 What if this research is the biggest and most extensive of its kind ever undertaken? CLUB RUGBY .............................. 41 INTEREST & Decline in the Number of Clubs & Teams ................. 41 It would have to be comprehensive - including everyone within the game at a PARTICIPATION IN RUGBY ......... 13 professional and amateur level, players and supporters, old and young, male and Volunteers ................................................................ 41 Interest in Rugby ..................................................... 13 female. Those with a life long interest in rugby through to those with little interest in Links with the RFU ................................................... 43 Involvement in Rugby .............................................. 14 the sport. The Impact of Professionalism .................................. 44 Rugby’s Core Values ................................................ 15 Refereeing & Coaching ............................................ 44 The research would provide foundations for future planning of the game and help the sport understand what is needed to Rugby Union vs Rugby League ................................ 16 make an impact and a difference - particularly at the community level. WOMEN’S RUGBY ...................... 47 SOCIAL CONTEXT ...................... 17 To conduct such a piece of research Zurich commissioned MORI - the world renowned marketing and social research experts. ETHNIC MINORITIES & RUGBY 49 Introduction - Rugby Union in Context .................... 18 Their findings are detailed in this report and I hope you agree they make interesting reading. Working Patterns .................................................... 18 DISABILITY & RUGBY ................ 53 Increasing Disposable Income .................................. 18 Thank you to everyone that took part in the research. Increasing Consumer Products & Services ................ 19 NEW FORMS OF RUGBY ............ 57 Best wishes Individualism ........................................................... 19 The Case For New Forms of Rugby .......................... 57 The Case Against New Forms of Rugby ................... 58 James Hill, Corporate Marketing Director, Zurich INTRODUCTION TO THE Promoting New Forms of Rugby ............................... 58 RUGBY JOURNEY ....................... 21 THE RUGBY JOURNEY THE PROFESSIONAL GAME ....... 23 REVISITED ................................... 60 Linking Sections of the Game .................................. 60 Introduction ............................................................ 23 Linking Schools & Clubs .......................................... 61 Rugby in the Media ................................................. 23 The Live Game ......................................................... 27 RUGBY - MAKING AN IMPACT: Relations between the Professional & Amateur Game 28 THE PARTICIPANTS .................... 64 1 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND This document reports the findings from Zurich and the Rugby Football Union (RFU)/Premier Rugby’s ‘Rugby Futures’ survey conducted by MORI between January and April 2003. The survey consisted of interviews with people involved at all levels of rugby union, with the primary objective of exploring ways in which the game can be developed in the future. This is the most comprehensive survey ever undertaken into the state of rugby union in England, with the overall objective of producing results that can help inform future changes in the sport. KEY AIM To establish current participation trends in rugby union and the factors affecting them, with a view to informing the debate about how to raise the profile of community rugby and increase participation levels. METHODOLOGY The survey was split into three core stages: • Stage 1 - Trend and Context Analysis • Stage 2 - Qualitative Research • Stage 3 - Quantitative Research Stage 1 - Trend & Context Analysis This element of the study involved desk research to explore the current information relevant to rugby union and the future development of the sport in England. The desk research was split into two parts - general social trends and rugby specific issues. Where applicable, the findings from this section of the study have been referred to in the relevant chapters of this report. Stage Two - Qualitative Research A survey that aims to identify the way in which rugby (or any other sport or business) should develop, has to involve in- depth research among members of the key interest groups. Only by exploring the opinions of those with heavy involvement and interest in the game can you obtain a true picture of the state of the sport and what changes might be necessary. MORI interviewed people at all levels of rugby - from teenage players to referees, and spectators to senior sports officials. Aside from covering national issues, the research was undertaken in five specific areas of England, specifically selected to achieve a good geographical spread around the country, and cover areas with different structures and strength of rugby clubs. The areas were: • Exeter • Leicester • Norwich • South East London • Newcastle Face-to-face and telephone depth interviews were conducted with a range of stakeholders (listed in the participants section) across all five case study areas. In addition, focus groups were carried out among amateur players and match spectators in three of these areas (Newcastle, Leicester and Exeter). 3 Junior Triangular Festival at Ampthill & District RUFC Stage Three - Quantitative Research Notes for the Reader This final element of the research was included to provide robust samples of specific stakeholder groups, these being: • Ex-amateur players A Definition of ‘Community Rugby’ • The general public Throughout this report, repeated references are made to the ‘community’ game. For the purposes of this study this applies to any leagues below the Zurich Premiership and Division One in England. The definition ties in with that of the RFU, and Ex-Amateur Players the ‘Community Rugby’ initiative. The core aim of this research study was to explore ways of increasing participation in rugby - potentially one of the best ways of achieving this is by lengthening the amount of time that rugby players are involved in the game. British Data Ex-players were recruited outside grounds prior to six Zurich Premiership matches on the weekend of the 8 - 9 February The majority of data contained in this report refer to English results. However, references are also occasionally made to 2003. Follow-up telephone interviews were then conducted by MTS (MORI Telephone Surveys) with 254 of these ex-players. results for Britain as a whole, normally because the results are only available for the UK or Britain. In this respect, it should be noted that any British results can be taken as a relatively accurate picture of opinion in England. (The English public The General Public represents 86% of the total population of Britain.) In order to obtain an accurate national picture for the national state of rugby, it was important to survey a representative sample of the population. In order to achieve this, questions were included on the MORI Omnibus - a regular national survey of the British population. The interviews were conducted face-to-face in respondents’ homes between 6 - 12 March 2003. In total, 1,708 interviews were completed. MORI Omnibus - Technical Details Sample design is a quota sample based on conducting 10 interviews with people aged 15 and over, in up to 210 (of the 641) parliamentary constituencies covering Great Britain. Sample points selected are representative of the whole country by region, social grade, working status, MOSAIC rurality, tenure, ethnicity and car ownership. Quotas represent the socio- demographic make up of that area and are devised from an analysis of the 1991 Census combined with more recent ONS (Office of National Statistics) data. Interviews are conducted face to face, in home using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing). Data is weighted to allow for any variance in quotas of coverage of individual sampling points. THE PARTICIPANTS Participants were drawn from the following areas: Administrators Amateur Players 7 senior sports/government officials 106 amateur players 11 senior rugby officials Ex-Amateur Players Referees 254 ex-players 5 referees Rugby Development