England

The overcrowding of London's rugby scene

John Taylor

Wasps supporters make their point © Getty Images Enlarge

Being sent to Coventry could be the best thing that has ever happened to Wasps. Of course the gut reaction from the faithful fans was one of disappointment and betrayal but the reality is that Wasps were very close to insolvency, had to move and were left with very few options. I know how difficult it is because I went down exactly the same track on behalf of London Welsh.

Mark Evans, now running Melbourne Storm but formerly CEO of Harlequins, set-up a consultancy when he left the Stoop that specialised in identifying areas where rugby clubs might thrive. His criteria were pretty basic - being located in a heavily populated area with a traditional rugby following to tap into and no overwhelming competition from football or rugby league.

He soon came to the conclusion that there were very few towns/areas that offered even a chance of success. He believes a Cornish team based in Truro should work and there are a few marginals (Oxford being one of them) but everywhere north of Manchester was ruled out.

"It is ludicrous (and worrying for the future of English rugby) that there is not a club from the west midlands in the Premiership"

Historically, west London had a cluster of 'first class' clubs - Wasps at Sudbury, Rosslyn Park at Roehampton, London Welsh, Richmond and London Scottish in Richmond itself, Quins at Twickenham and London Irish at Sunbury - seven clubs well within a 10 mile radius. It was often said that there were more spectators at Old Deer Park watching London Welsh in the early 70s than at all the other London clubs put together.

That did not really matter when crowds were not a vital part of survival but they are now hugely important and, with Quins having done a marvellous job in marketing themselves - they are now regularly watched by 14,000, up from 5,000 only five or six years ago - there is simply no room for another club in the area even if one could find a suitable stadium.

I am sure Wasps explored every avenue as I did. We both had discussions about sharing the proposed new stadium in Brentford (postponements in the timetable scuppered that) and I also approached Quins about ground-sharing -understandably, they said thanks but no thanks.

Evans believes the only other area of London that could attract a big spectator base is the south-east where the football presence is limited and you could tap-in to rugby supporters in Kent and Essex as well. I duly had meetings with Crystal Palace FC and the management of the now redundant athletics stadium at the National Sports Centre but reluctantly came to the conclusion that neither was a viable option (one too small a playing area and the other too big without major reconstruction).

A move away from London was therefore the only option. Wasps' biggest mistake was arguably not going the whole hog immediately. High Wycombe was never going to be the answer even if they had been able to build a new stadium.

David Duckham is one of the great players to come out of Coventry © PA Photos Enlarge

Coventry could be. With a population of well over 300,000 adjacent to England's second city, Birmingham, which puts another million on the doorstep, it used to be a hotbed of rugby. However, in recent years, whilst rugby in the east midlands has thrived the west midlands has become a desert.

Yet in the 60s and 70s it was England's rugby heartland - David Duckham, Phil Judd and Bert Godwin from Coventry plus Colin McFadyean, John Finlan, Keith Fielding, Mike Coulman and Nigel Horton from Moseley were just a few of the 25 players who wore the red rose over those two decades. Since then there have been just a handful, Neil Back and Danny Grewcock, probably the most notable but, significantly, they had to move away to make their mark.

It is ludicrous (and worrying for the future of English rugby) that there is not a club from the west midlands in the Premiership. Warwickshire has always been a rugby hotbed - in the 60s the county side once won the Championship seven years out of eight - and it was down to bad management (that saw their traditional homes sold-off) not a sudden dearth of players that those two great clubs found themselves fighting to survive when the game became professional.

Both are still struggling financially and have no chance of becoming fully professional in the foreseeable future so it was left to Worcester to try to fill the void but, despite Cecil Duckworth's incredible determination, they are simply too far out (and too near Gloucester) and have never been able to build the support and therefore momentum to stay in the top flight - which leaves the door wide open for Wasps.

It looks to be a very exciting opportunity and ticks most of Evans' boxes. There is a football presence (although Coventry City are currently languishing in the lower regions of League 1) but that seems to be the only drawback.

2,700 supporters apparently signed the petition against moving further away from London. Unfortunately, that is just not enough; they have to be sacrificed and Wasps must concentrate on building a new following. They have already made moves towards forging a working relationship with Coventry Rugby Club that should be to their mutual advantage and, although nobody dares to contemplate Coventry Wasps (cue shock, horror) at this stage, never say never.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

John Taylor is a former Wales international who toured with the British & Irish Lions in 1968 and 1971. Since retiring he has worked in the media and has covered the last eight Lions tours as a commentator or journalist