'Haven't got that right': Richards names rugby's biggest problem

Ahead of his final game as the Newcastle director of rugby after a decade in charge at Kingston Park, Dean Richards has named what he believes is the biggest challenge facing the sport of rugby. The ex-England No8 is stepping away from the Gallagher Premiership frontline following a 24-year stint that started at Leicester, continued at Harlequins and will end at the Falcons at the age of 58. 

It’s an incredibly long time in the game and speaking from his position of experience, he has highlighted what must be done to make rugby a more attractive proposition. “The biggest challenge for the game is making it the spectacle that everybody wants to come and watch, whether it be just the matchday on-field stuff and the off-field stuff as well,” he said. 

“At the moment there are a lot of law changes and there is a lot of speculation about the dangers involved in the game, but it is actually understanding what all that is about and then creating something that is attractive to people to play and for people to come and watch on a weekly basis and wanting to come back time and time again. 

“At the moment I don’t think we have quite got that right. Some of the games I have seen this year have been quite turgid and I certainly wouldn’t want to watch them again. The ability to be able to create that brand is probably going to be big going forward.”

Would Richards pay to watch at Kingston Park, though? “I would do, yeah. There is no doubt about it, we punch above our weight every time. I like that about the way we play. We haven’t got a team of superstars and it is all about team spirit - one of the beauties about the club is it is based upon a team effort rather than a team of individuals. 

“You can go to some of the other teams and they rely on their superstars, we haven’t got that so every game that we win is based on team spirit and team effort and that starts with the coaches through to the physios to the conditioners and all the way through to the team as well.”

In time, Richards would like to see Newcastle rekindle their experiment of taking an annual Premiership match to the nearby St James’ Park football ground. An attendance of 30,174 turned up for a Falcons game versus Northampton in 2018, with 27,284 returning the following year to see them host Sale. 

“I loved it, I thought the two games we played there were absolutely fantastic and it created a buzz in the region. Whether it was a consequence of us playing a game at home is another thing but having said that, from a players’ and a supporters’ perspective I thought it was absolutely brilliant.”

Richards doesn’t plan to cut all ties with Newcastle as he is in discussions to maintain a consultancy role of some storm, but he almost might sniff out opportunities abroad having previously been in charge at Grenoble. 

“I have always loved travelling so that isn’t an impossibility but I haven’t really considered it at this moment in time. I don’t know whether I’d consider France. France is a real acquired taste and you learn certain things about the French and unless they are in place, it is something you wouldn’t consider. But, yeah, it is something I wouldn’t rule out purely because I love travelling and I love different cultures.