Matchroom could move into booming rugby in a big way, says Hearn
Eddie Hearn has tipped Matchroom to increase its presence in rugby union “in a big way” following the signing of England star Henry Pollock and a new wave of investment entering the club game.
Hearn surprised the industry by recruiting Pollock to his new Matchroom Talent Agency in March – a first foray into rugby for the multi-sport promotion best known for boxing, darts and snooker. Pollock was followed by Scotland fly-half Finn Russell just weeks later.
“Rugby is something that I think Matchroom could move into in a big way,” Hearn told Morning Wire.
“I think rugby has so much untapped potential because of the size, the history and what the sport is all about.”
Hearn is forecasting commercial growth in the sport following a flurry of investor interest linked in part to Prem Rugby scrapping relegation and moving towards a franchise model.
Asked whether Matchroom could do more than just manage talent in rugby, Hearn said: “Yeah, I think so. I think we’re approaching a big boom time because of the investments coming into club rugby. Red Bull with Newcastle is a great example, Dyson at Bath. There’s a couple of American players right now looking at clubs to buy. And that changes a lot of things.”
Matchroom eyeing international rugby stars
Hearn hinted at his conversion to rugby with social media posts from games at this year’s Six Nations Championship. He said Matchroom, which last week announced minority investment from Bruin Capital, had already fielded interest from other stars.
“I would say we’ve had over 20 approaches from rugby players. We’ve also had two or three approaches from international superstars as well. That’s something that’s more interesting to me, to pick up those in different markets,” he said.
Hearn expects imminent high-profile campaigns involving Northampton Saints back row Pollock and stablemate Tom Aspinall, the British UFC fighter, to trigger more interest in the talent arm of Matchroom’s multi-sport empire.
“We’ve got quite a few major deals being announced for Tom Aspinall and Henry in the next couple of weeks, which I think will start getting the attention of athletes and talent, because you’ll see them on national campaigns, and you’ll know that they’re big deals,” he said.
“I went on holiday, and there were some kids there that I knew from, like, their family, friends and stuff like that, and they all ran over [and said], ‘you signed Pollock’.
“I mean, they’ve never done that about a boxer. This is the first time we’ve had a player like this that has driven the interest from the younger generation.
“To drive interest in the sport, but particularly to drive participation, you need heroes, superstars that young kids say they want to be like. And that right now is Henry Pollock.”