sport news Eddie Jones's fears over Marcus Smith sum up rugby's outdated, backward mindset

sport news Eddie Jones's fears over Marcus Smith sum up rugby's outdated, backward mindset
sport news Eddie Jones's fears over Marcus Smith sum up rugby's outdated, backward mindset

Eddie Jones is worried about Marcus Smith being distracted by fame and praise, but that’s the sort of old-school mentality that is holding rugby back.

There should be an attempt to raise the profile and popularity of the game because it hasn’t really progressed that much in the past decade. At one point it was the No 2 sport in the country, but others have promoted themselves better.

Other sports have created superstars — and are very proactive in doing so — but rugby has never done that. The game is almost failing in that way, because of outdated attitudes towards any individual who receives attention.

England protege Marcus Smith has the world at his feet and clearly loves the game

England protege Marcus Smith has the world at his feet and clearly loves the game

People know the names of footballers and they support individual players, as well as teams. It’s not just football, in basketball there are individuals who I follow and think are great but I don’t follow a team. It’s the same in the NFL. It’s the individuals who get you interested in the game.

If Smith gains a much higher profile and is recognised as a superstar, that is great news for rugby. Yes, he is going to earn a lot more money, which means some people around him might get jealous, but that is just the reality of sport. Rugby needs to grow and everyone has a role within that.

A picture came out showing Maro Itoje with Jay-Z. That shouldn’t be seen as a problem for rugby — as if Maro is being distracted from his job and it is detrimental to his career — it’s quite the opposite. The fact that Jay-Z even knows who Itoje is and has any involvement at all in rugby is good news for the sport.

The fact that Maro signed with Roc Nation — Jay Z’s agency — means that some of the biggest names and superstars are now keeping an eye on the sport. That is huge.

The fly-half played an eye-catching cameo in England's 69-3 win over Tonga on Saturday

The fly-half played an eye-catching cameo in England's 69-3 win over Tonga on Saturday

With all the worries about child participation levels and the negative impression caused by concussion, this sort of high-profile attention can help the sport to grow. It presents a great opportunity, especially over in America, but in England too.

We have the most rugby players of any country in the world but we can be better in how we promote and highlight the game.

It is a gladiatorial sport which is tactical, technical and physical. Rugby is based on power but also speed. It covers a lot of bases.

You can market and promote players in a very positive light. But it is not happening because any attempts to raise the profile of players is viewed in a negative light by coaches.

The 22-year-old comes across as someone who can take all the attention in his stride

The 22-year-old comes across as someone who can take all the attention in his stride

This backward mind-set is unique to rugby. Everything in the game has moved forward except the commercialisation and promotion of it.

That side of the game has to develop, to make it stand out. There is no reason we can’t make rugby the stand-out sport in the country, behind football.

From my experience, the resistance to this sort of change is mostly coach-led, because they want to have a certain amount of control, especially when it comes to England. When you start playing for England, the fanfare grows exponentially. It is huge. Stuart Lancaster tried to control that in the media and now Eddie tries to control that in the media.

By letting players be themselves, have a profile and promote the game, that feels to them like they are losing control — in my opinion — but that is wrong. 

It shows that these players are

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