Rugby is crying out for celebrity investment
If you take a gander across the sporting landscape there’s a plethora of celebrity faces propping up a new kind of club.
Take Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at Wrexham, or Tom Brady at Birmingham City; both clubs have been propelled to stardom off the field as a result of celebrity investment – with the NFL icon taking a swipe at England footballing legend Wayne Rooney in the process.
Then look beyond English football and you’ll find the likes of Serena Williams in soccer and golf, the chief of Chanel – Leena Nair – in cricket’s The Hundred and soon rugby league legend Darren Lockyer could own the London Broncos.
Celebrity in sport can often be seen as a gimmick but it could in fact be just what rugby union needs. You only need to look at how an association with Reynolds and McElhenney has allowed Wrexham to nab sponsorship deals with mega brands like United Airlines and Meta.
Rugby may have just found its sexiest investor in Red Bull, who purchased Prem Rugby club Newcastle over the summer, and that could lead to a host of athletes associated with the energy drinks giant heading up to Kingston Park – maybe they can replicate Catalans Dragons and have a bull on the pitch ahead of kick-off.
Crying out for celebrity
But Red Bull isn’t a person, and at the moment is probably most associated with Formula 1, Max Verstappen and, er, Christian Horner.
So the sport still looks to be crying out for some celebrity investment. And it’s not just for brand value either.
Antoine Dupont, arguably the greatest player of a generation, doesn’t need rugby anymore; the scrum-half has appeared in Balenciaga on magazine covers and rubs shoulders with sporting elites at Roland Garros. But he is a drop in the rugby ocean, and many players have been unable to formulate a level of celebrity to match the No9, who has himself invested in Rugby Football Club Los Angeles. So maybe celebrity owners can help.
Think about Tyson Fury or Jason Momoa being involved in the sport – there was even some excitement generated when Ulster Rugby was forced to deny Rory McIlroy’s wallet was behind a sudden surge in top player signings at the province in the early 2010s.
Rugby bad at capitalising
Rugby is just bad at capitalising on this stuff. And other sports have jumped them into stardom. A decade ago few would have believed that football club owners and luxury fashion house chiefs would find cricket part of their portfolios. But I fear no one even looks at rugby like that these days.
The sport can be complicated – I often find myself stumped when trying to quickly explain a rugby rule to my kids – and it doesn’t do much to try and address that.
Celebrity investment can be the bedrock of a successful sport, underwritten by private capital where brand value holds equity. The current owners across the sport will always be a vital lifeline, and may continue to spend the most, but clubs should look to address the unsexiness of rugby’s ownership.
Maybe there’s an argument against it. Will anybody care about Wrexham if their ownership duo sold up and moved back to LA? Have they built a legacy that will continue beyond them? Only time will tell.
But new investment allows for fresh ideas, and a willingness to change and create – and that’s exactly what rugby needs.
The sport got close with the Six Nations documentary but it flopped, while rebel leagues are yet to get off the ground to challenge the status quo.
Maybe I am being far too flippant but celebrity could be the catalyst to show disbelievers that rugby really is a sport for the casual fan. But we feel a long way from that at the moment.
Row, row, row your boat
On 14 September I will be hosting a community row in Henley, raising money for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, the Clocktower Foundation and Shiplake Primary School, and it would be great to see as many of you there as possible.
All you need to do is form a team of six and collectively row a half or full marathon against the clock. It is a bit of fun and there will be an after party.
England’s Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final is scheduled for that afternoon as well so it should be a great day. For more information click this link.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance and is raising money for good causes next month in Henley. Follow Ollie @OlliePhillips11