Well well well, here we are again; another rant about the RFU. Many of you will now know and have heard about the scandal regarding the Victoria Crosses on the new shirt design, and the sheer ludicrous price of the jersey which will only be on sale for eight or so months when the Rugby World Cup jersey comes out.
The Victoria Cross is the most prestigious award given within the armed forces and has only been given out just over 1000 times, most recently in 2012. A spokesperson for the Victoria Cross Association criticised the RFU for a lack of contact regarding the use of the emblem, claiming that it “struck a raw nerve”. Many of you will join me in agreement, as putting your body on the line as the England rugby players do will never compare to the bravery our servicemen have shown for our country, and continue to do so today.
Not only this, but also the price of the jersey at £90. This is utterly ridiculous; how one of the richest and most prolific unions in World Rugby can justify charging this for a jersey will forever baffle me.
I often talk about accessibility, and have done in previous articles regarding England rugby and this price is not accessible for the masses to purchase the shirt. When working part time in college, that was almost the monthly wage I was on and, being a luxury item, it wouldn’t have even been considered to spend that much on a shirt and that still remains the same to this day. I’m sure that will be the same for many fans, as in tough economic times people simply cannot be spending that money on rugby shirts before necessities.
Couple this with the price to watch England at Twickenham and the Rugby World Cup tickets, they are really starting alienate people quickly. Therefore I will reiterate the point I made a couple of weeks ago. The RFU need to act NOW, and get themselves together to set a proper example to the rugby world as they are so influential.
The Victoria and George Cross Association has since come out and supported the use of the emblem, but I still feel this is a cover up to end the scandal and stop the unwanted publicity. Personally it would be great to see a percentage of shirt sales go to the trust, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. To conclude, its more bad publicity for the RFU leading up to the World Cup and they need to stop this downward spiral before it gets out of control.
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