By Matt Hardy
University rugby (BUCS) has all the capabilities to be the next generator of internationals should the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Premiership Rugby restructure its pathways.
A week ago, the RFU’s chief executive Bill Sweeney stated that the “once nuclear” option of central contracts for England internationals was on the table in order to solve professional club rugby’s ongoing financial crisis.
In and amongst all this conversation about restructuring is where the university game has come to the fore.
Alex Dombrandt is perhaps the poster character to the success of BUCS Super Rugby’s rise to prominence, the Harlequins and England No8 shortly followed by his Cardiff Met teammate Luke Northmore into the top flight game, while Tom Pearson and Sebastian Negri are now all established pros.
BUCS fizzing
This summer alone has seen 12 players make the leap from BUCS Super Rugby to the Premiership, while 21 more committed to representing Championship clubs and a further four players signed terms with United Rugby Championship sides.
Pat Lam’s Bristol Bears are the side to have recruited the most from the competition, bringing in six players in total. The club’s director of rugby said at the time of Fred Davies, Rhys Charalambous and Martin Mulhall’s signings that, “a key part of the Bears recruitment strategy is to find the players that have been missed through conventional academy pathways”.
In the wake of the troubles that have followed Worcester Warriors and Wasps entering administration, pundit and former England international Austin Healey flung his support behind university rugby when proposing a season restructure.
Advocating that players should gain higher educational honours as well as pursuing professional careers, Healey’s suggestions point towards giving young players the opportunity to develop both on and off the field.
Thriving Future
“Not everyone is ready to be a professional at 18 and having a degree alongside your rugby should be applauded and encouraged,” Met’s director of rugby, Danny Milton, said in February.
In 2020 Championship contingent Cornish Pirates, Coventry Rugby, Ealing Trailfinders and London Scottish put together a paper called ‘The RFU Championship: A Blueprint for a Thriving Future’.
The clubs suggested creating a “formal link” between the professional game and BUCS Super Rugby sides with the aim being to provide players released by Premiership academies the chance to still play the sport.
Produced shortly before the RFU slashed the funding to the English second division – reportedly by over 50 per cent – it is clear that for some time there has been a view to enhance the BUCS pathway to produce the next generation of rugby talent.
With such clear value seen in the university pathway already from various parties, it seems almost impossible that the powers that be in west London could ignore the overall package that attending university, while pursuing professional rugby, offers.
It cannot be ignored for any longer.
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