Matt Dawson speaks on the anniversary of England’s Rugby World Cup win.
When Joe Marler dared venture an opinion about the haka he was buried beneath a social media pile-on and soon after announced his retirement from international rugby.
When Marcus Smith dared steal the headlines with a brilliant cameo on his first appearance in a full-strength England Test side he was effectively slapped down by Eddie Jones, who warned against becoming “ungrounded”.
Is it any wonder rugby’s top players are looking seriously at a proposed rebel breakaway league said to offer them the opportunity to increase their individual profiles and commercial value.
The 21st anniversary of England‘s only World Cup win is a timely reminder of how slow the pace of change is in rugby union as we know it – so slow, in fact, it barely moves.
The clarion call from the progressives is that rugby must build stars and inject far wider appeal into the game if it is to compete in a crowded field for the public’s leisure pound. Thrive to survive, if you like.
Yet there has been little progress on the much trumpeted hybrid England elite player contracts, the calendar remains a mess and, as for building up individual stars, let’s be real: few outside of rugby’s heartlands could name half a dozen players.
Against this backdrop the one England team that did achieve fame, by winning the biggest prize of all, has admitted some of its number are struggling: mentally, physically and, yes, financially.
While the class of 2024 tries to decide what to do for the best, the Boys of ’03 have come together to tap into the collective strength which conquered the rugby world and use it to support each other.
“We should have been doing this 20 years ago,” Matt Dawson tells Planet Rugby. “We should have had the foresight to say, ‘right, we have our own entity, we want to look after ourselves going forward’.
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“Back in 2003, with all the parades and dinners and award ceremonies, we could never have anticipated people might be struggling to pay mortgages or get through their day.
“We were all riding the rollercoaster: players, management, fans, media… everybody was riding that wave.
“But there have been a lot of dark times for some individuals and now we are a little bit longer in the tooth, a little bit more honest and open with each other, we can say not only do we need to help each other out, we don’t want other rugby players feeling like we are. It’s just unacceptable.”
Dawson says the “initial thought” came from Ben Cohen, his former Northampton and Red Rose team-mate.
“Ben had the words of his uncle George (1966 World Cup winner) in his mind, saying they never celebrated it, never pulled together and took strength from their group, it was always about individuals,” he said.
“That is absolutely front and centre of why the ’03 guys have got back together.”
Next week a documentary, ‘Unbreakable: England 2003’, screening on TNT, will lay bare the reality of rugby direct from the mouths of Martin Johnson’s band of heroes. It will likely make for an uncomfortable watch.
Since 2003, England have reached two more World Cup finals and the tournament the nation hosted in 2015 generated nearly £2.3 billion economic output. Yet the game, outside of France and Japan, is in a parlous state.
“Individual athletes who are smashing it need to be celebrated and allowed to be themselves,” Anthony Watson said this week. He is right, yet the team-first culture of rugby rails against the cult of personality.
Perhaps this proposed rebel league will concentrate minds and wake the sport up to commercial reality. Something needs to. And fast.
READ MORE: World Rankings: England could sink to all-time low, Springboks aim to cement top spot with Ireland and All Blacks chasing
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