Cycle of Conflict: A Decade of Strife in English Professional Rugby

Rugby union was the last major international sport to embrace open professionalism. In the years leading up to the abandonment of the amateur principle by the sport's world governing body, the (English) Rugby Football Union's rearguard action on both domestic and international fronts left it ill-equipped to cope with the realities of a new world order. This discussion will provide a brief review of the circumstances that led to rugby union's change of status; examine in detail how and why conflicts that emerged in the aftermath of professionalism were particular to the English experience; analyse events that have sustained these conflicts over a decade; and offer an assessment of future prospects for stability in the domestic game.