Rugby Football Union bosses were last night warned that one of their cost-cutting measures risks killing the national game in five years.
The decision by cash-strapped Twickenham to make redundant all its community coaches and rugby development officers came in for fierce criticism.
Giles Hilton, chairman of fourth tier Canterbury, said: “Kill off community support and there’ll be no national game in five years.” Back in May Steve Grainger, the RFU rugby development director, admitted coronavirus presented the “biggest crisis and challenge rugby has ever faced.” Now chief executive Bill Sweeney estimates his organisation faces a £107 million loss in revenue over the next 12 months.
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