Genevieve Glover: "It will be difficult. It will feel uncomfortable. We will disagree. We will hopefully agree at times also, but change will happen"
Tuesday 16 June 2020 19:59, UK
England Rugby have unveiled their plan to fight institutional racism within the sport and increase diversity at all levels of the game.
The Rugby Football Union council voted to appoint Genevieve Glover as chair of the diversity and inclusion implementation working group on Tuesday.
The Black Lives Matter movement has had a huge impact on all sports across the world as team owners, managers, coaches, players and fans discuss systematic racism and how to combat it - with Glover plotting how rugby in England can be more inclusive and representative for all ethnic communities.
"We must take the opportunities that present themselves at this time and be more inclusive so that everyone feels welcome, feels included and feel like they fit in to rugby," Glover said. "How else are we going to ensure we recover and grow our game?
"At the same time, the leaders and volunteers of our game should reflect fully our current and future players as well as the game as a whole. This will increase the likelihood of our game growing and thriving.
The leaders and volunteers of our game should reflect fully our current and future players as well as the game as a whole.
"How fantastic would it be if English rugby was held up as an example of how to grow a team sport across all geographies and all parts of our population?
"How fantastic would it be if more people joined, loved and contributed to rugby just as we do? Let's be clear, this is about action and change. It will be difficult. It will feel uncomfortable. We will disagree.
"We will hopefully agree at times also, but change will happen."
The RFU diversity and inclusion working group - with its focus on leadership and governance - has stated, as part of its 10 recommendations for implementation, that it aims to attract at least 30 per cent of new council members with protected characteristics including race.
"I completely endorse Genevieve's comments and would like to congratulate her on her appointment," RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney added.
"Genevieve has the absolute commitment of everyone at the RFU to fully support her in this important role.
"We have undertaken some very good initiatives at the grassroots level to encourage more diverse participation however, that in itself is not enough.
"We need to do more to achieve diversity across all areas of the game including administration and I'm looking forward to working with Genevieve to address this."
