Rugby future in safe hands

Rugby – not for the first time this decade – finds itself at a crossroads.

On the surface, after another England appearance in the World Cup final and a Premiership which is producing the best rugby in Europe, all seems well.

But, if we look a little deeper, there is genuine concern about the forthcoming structure which is about to move the goal posts somewhat.

The new eight-year agreement – struck in November last year – between Premier Rugby and the RFU will hand clubs vast sums of money if their English players are whisked away on international duty when it comes into effect next season.

But, with the ever-increasing foreign factor squeezing the home-grown players out of Premiership XVs, it may well be that more and more youngsters are lured out of RFU academies for some 'proper' rugby education.

England's recent decision to call up Tongan Lesley Vainikolo sent out a stark message that rugby union is now happy enough to follow the well trodden path taken by football and cricket down the years.

For Premiership clubs today, it's bums on seats that matter, survival in the top flight at the very least. English player development is somewhere in the list of priorities but you can bet it's nowhere near the top.

And that is where clubs like Stourbridge enter the equation.

In the heart of the Midlands, the Stourton Park club is offering an alternative to the comfort zone of an RFU Regional Academy where coaching and game-time can sometimes be at odds.

Like football, the financial pressure to remain in the Premiership is absolute which doesn't always equate to opportunities for local talent when Kiwis and Springboks are queuing up to top up their bank accounts in the UK.

Jim Jenner, Stourbridge's skipper and player coach, has done it all in the game. Top-level experience with Newcastle and a legendary figure down the road in Worcester, he understands just how pivotal clubs in the National leagues can be for promising English players.

Stourbridge are benefiting from a clutch of youngsters who have their Sixways connections including former academy wing Martin Freeman who, suddenly, looks to be performing near to his vast potential.

Freeman was once thought of at Worcester as an outstanding prospect but, with his path to the first team blocked by a succession of foreign luminaries, he moved away to experience meaningful rugby.

"He's made quite considerable progress at Stourbridge," said 36-year-old number eight Jenner.

"He really has gone from strength to strength and this level of rugby really does give you a good education. Martin's a good example of what a promising player can achieve by coming to a club like Stourbridge."

The RFU academy structure is designed to bring the very best out of our youngsters but, with them affiliated to Premiership clubs, the focus is not always on the grass roots, more the prize money for staying at the top.

"It's a common misconception that it's a downward step for a young player to come out of an academy at a Premiership club to a National league side. It isn't," said Jenner.

"The implication is that the standard isn't that high but I know a lot of academy coaches and, in my opinion, they are woeful.

"The players spend their time exercising or in weights sessions and it's pretty poor to be honest. There is not enough emphasis on skills.

"The top clubs are judged on what they do at the top level, not the academy, and so the best coaches are in the Premiership and they spend 95 per cent of their time with the first team squad, not the academy lads.

"If you look through National One or Two, there are some excellent coaches that will develop young players and we're seeing that at Stourbridge."

Second in the league and, you have to suspect, primed for promotion to National One, the big time beckons for Stourbridge.

And, with a number of exciting young players plucked from academies, they have a compelling mix of youth and experience. Sam Robinson, Ben Gerry, Tom Jarvis and Freeman head a list of youngsters that promise to take Stourbridge to new levels and spark a fresh adventure.

"It's a wonderful club," added Jenner. "We are getting stronger and stronger, have fantastic facilities and we are building each year. We get crowds of more than 3,000 and we are a club with honest ambition.

"Certainly, we offer young, talented players the stage to express themselves and we're not interested in big names. This is not a boom and bust club.

"I think we're ready for a greater challenge and certainly we want to win promotion and establish ourselves in National One.

"That has to be the aim. We're in the first year of a three-year plan to get into National One.

"We have a great opportunity to get into that league this year."

Fresh from brushing aside Blackheath on Saturday 29-7, Stourbridge travel to Waterloo at the weekend for another chapter in what is fast becoming an enthralling campaign.

And far from a season or two in the National leagues hindering a rough diamond, fresh from an academy, Jenner is convinced that the experience of real rugby will ultimately offer more polished gems to the game.

"Having played in National One and Two, the standard is very high," said the former Birmingham & Solihull back row forward. And if players are performing at National One level – with practically Premiership wages – then it's a genuine opportunity to move up to the top level."

In an era which is utterly obsessed by big bucks and a growing culture of self interest, Stourbridge offers the alternative viewpoint that the grass roots will indeed flourish given the correct environment.

It begs the question – is the RFU listening?