RFU statement: England player names on shirts versus Argentina

England are set to break the mould at Test level next month after deciding to put the names of players on the back of shirts for the duration of the four-game Autumn Nations Series. Amid the recent chaos in the Gallagher Premiership where the league’s precarious finances have seen the tournament reduced from 13 to eleven clubs, there has been much debate about marketing ploys that can potentially enhance the sport.

Only a few weeks ago, England back-rower Lewis Ludlam spoke passionately to RugbyPass about the need to do things that make rugby more accessible. “You can walk into the club shop at Tottenham Hotspur and get Harry Kane printed on the back of your shirt,” he said. “The same sort of culture doesn’t really exist in rugby.

“We need to do more to grow the game to make sure we are getting to those people that wouldn’t necessarily have rugby in their lives. For example, I played football and turned up to a rugby trial at my high school and just six people turned up because people weren’t interested in rugby.

“That is on us to get the product to people who wouldn’t necessarily watch it and show this is a great game with great values and it is exciting. It’s important. Rugby is definitely at a crossroads in that respect and as players, we are trying to do more in that area.”

The marketing department at England Rugby HQ in Twickenham must have been listening as all 23 match day shirts for the upcoming games against Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa will see player names on the back.

An RFU statement read: “England will have names on their shirts in their upcoming Autumn Nations Series fixtures. The 23-player men’s squad will all wear their names on the backs of their shirts from their opening game against Argentina at Twickenham Stadium on Sunday, November 6. Ellis Genge, Jack Nowell and Marcus Smith posed with their new shirts at their training camp in Jersey where England are preparing for the four games.”

RFU CEO Bill Sweeney said: “We are delighted to be featuring player names on the back of England shirts for our men’s international Test matches this autumn. We hope this will lead the way for us to consider names on shirts to further promote our world-class England international players participating in other international tournaments across the men’s and women’s game.

“While fans and players will always take ultimate pride in flying the flag and wearing the rose to support England rugby teams, we think player names on shirts may have the potential to bring fans closer to the international stars of our game and we look forward to seeing the reaction to this initiative.”