We’ll have a pizza that! FYB chats to Steve Grainger as Papa John’s Community Cups are launched

As the RFU launch the new National Cup competitions alongside new partner’s Papa John’s, I had the opportunity to speak with the RFU’s Head of Rugby Development Steve Grainger about the new FCS which launches in September, what the RFU has planned to encourage more players to return to the game and the bumper 12 months of Rugby ahead.

FYB – You’ve got a new sponsor for the new cup competition in England Steve, do you want to just introduce them for us?

Steve Grainger – Well, first of all, we got new cup competition. So it’s great to see that this season we’ll have a Men’s Cup competition in the community game joining the established women’s Cup competition. And yeah, we’re delighted to announce that Papa John’s will be a new partner of England Rugby. And as part of that will be activated through the Papa John’s Community Cups.

FYB – Fantastic, especially for us forwards. Yeah, love a pizza or two, especially after a game!

Steve – Run it all off Sean, and you’ll be fine!

FYB – How will the grassroots club’s going to benefit out of this partnership with Papa John’s?

Steve – What the relationship will allow us to do is to activate and to manage the National Cup competition, hopefully with good high profile finals. So that competitions are run at the end of the season. From regional one down. So, in the man’s game, the entries will open up mid season, so halfway through the season will be just around Christmas. Starting to engage clubs in this obviously in the women’s competition, it’s an established Cup competition. But we hope that over the next couple of years that will that will continue to grow and engage and involve a lot more, a lot more clubs.

FYB – Please explain what the new cup competition looks like in terms of the new structure in the league.

Steve – The cup competition will run after the commencement of the league programme. So obviously, a consolidated league programme now at the majority of levels, so smaller leagues, and a shorter season. This will provide a really good culmination to the to the end of the season and allows those players that want a little bit more of a sort of mixed diet allows the teams and the clubs to continue playing for a little bit longer and hopefully get some sort of fixtures between different clubs.

FYB – After we spoke lots during covid… did you think that the new season would start in the middle of a drought? Are there any contingencies in place for a delayed start to the season?

Steve – The whole country is in such a different position out there. I mean, tonight at Trafford MV RFC in the northwest and looking at on a very green pitch. clearly the next few weeks are going to be interesting, and we need to watch this and monitor this there are clubs, even in drought ridden areas that have got pitchers in really good condition. And there are clubs of course that play on artificial pitchers.

So, it’s a really mixed bag, is helping clubs, water pitchers is probably not part of the solution because the majority of clubs don’t have the, the irrigation systems anyway to do that. There are already systems in place where just like they would be if they were frozen pitchers in the winter, where if pitches are too hard, then clubs can seek agreement and approval to get a legitimate postponement and that that will continue to happen. And we’re looking at ways where even for the first few weeks, we can try and get some more games played on artificial pitches where clubs and players want to do that. And I think you know, we’d really encourage people to, to get those games played, if they possibly can clearly play welfare play safety is absolutely paramount. But if there is the ability to move to another ground and stage a doubleheader or triple header.

I think the big message would be, if we need to sort of compromise a little bit in terms of where the matches are the first few weeks, the chances then of retaining those players as we get into October, November, December is going to be much, much greater. The last thing we want, first few weeks of the season, our players walking away from our sport not coming back.

FYB – As we head to the start of the season & the RFU are planning another Pitch Up & Play events, do you have a plan to encourage more over 30’s and those leaving to go off to university to stay in the men’s game?

Steve – A lot of the answers to this are at a local level with clubs themselves. So “Back in the Game” on 17th and 18th of September & “Pitch Up For Rugby” are really, really important, trying to use that as an opportunity to drive people back number of areas of the country that we’re supporting to try and particularly those in big student populations, to try and get students down to clubs, once they, you know, go to the new part of the country that they’re, they’re going to support to just look at different sorts of playing opportunities.

We talk a lot, or we have done in previous seasons, about Friday Night Lights, but how do we get more games may be played at different times of the of the week, and particularly lower-level rugby, and then really importantly, pushing the sort of game on principle.

Let’s just get the game on particularly at the lower levels. Second, third, 15, rugby, age grade rugby, let’s make sure that we get the game played, if we’ve only got 12 players, that’s still 12 People that want a game of rugby. And encourage people to put very traditional views behind them. Remember that we’re here to service those 12 players. If we get them a game, and we play another team with 12 players, then who knows next week, it might be 13, the week after it might be 14. And we get back up to 15 aside rugby and adapt the laws where we need to be flexible in our playing provision and just focus on getting players back out on the pitch with an oval ball in their hands.

FYB – How excited are you for the next 12 months as we head towards the Rugby World Cups in 2022 & 2023?

Steve – Yeah, it’s a really huge opportunity isn’t it and that’s why we will get getting players back out in September & October. Then leading into what should be a great Rugby World Cup down in New Zealand and then a strong line up of Autumn internationals here with some really good really good rugby for us to watch. The domestic game kicking back in and professional game kicking back in off the back of a great summer of sport with the Euro’s and the Commonwealth Games.

Women’s sport definitely on the on the rise, we know how strong the women’s game is becoming is becoming here. Loads of really exciting stuff to look forward to.

Don’t we need after the last few years? Let’s get a really good strong season.

Read more about the Papa John’s Community Cups here