DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
ComeAllWithin (Harlequins Rugby)
HTML https://comeallwithin.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: ComeAllWithin Board
*****************************************************
#Post#: 153631--------------------------------------------------
Bristol Bears chief explains novel approach to player
recruitment
DIR By: DOK
Date: April 29, 2026, 1:40 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
‘We are a marketing agency that plays rugby’
HTML https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/bristol-bears-prem-rugby-rees-zammit-ilona-maher-b2967246.html
#Post#: 153634--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bristol Bears chief explains novel approach to player
recruitment
DIR By: T-Bone
Date: April 29, 2026, 4:20 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
How depressing
#Post#: 153642--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bristol Bears chief explains novel approach to player
recruitment
DIR By: TomBuckQuin
Date: April 30, 2026, 3:27 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote ---
> At Bristol Bears, we don't call ourselves a rugby club.
--- End Quote ---
I wonder how Bears fans feel reading that nonsense.
And how do the players feel reading this?
--- Quote ---
> Yes, our players have to be competent and able to deliver on
the field, but if they are not bringing any value off the field,
that genuinely factors into our recruitment conversations.
--- End Quote ---
I'm sure, in the context of whatever room he was speaking in,
these words landed differently - but surely he knows anything he
says can be recorded and picked up by a journo these days... and
too many of these kind of words can do the brand damage. You
still have to at least pretend to be a warm and welcoming club
don't you? Or maybe that's the point - maybe these new-wave CEOs
are banking on the fact that you don't have to do that happy
family stuff any more.
Couldn't agree more with T-Bone - are we seeing the death of
rugby's soul play out in real time?
#Post#: 153654--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bristol Bears chief explains novel approach to player
recruitment
DIR By: T-Bone
Date: April 30, 2026, 6:37 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I keep reading that the game needs characters and that the likes
of Pollock and Ilona Maher are going to drive huge growth in the
game.
The game has always had characters and players young fans look
up to. Ok, the way these players cross over into the mainstream
is very different now, but I'm very sceptical that being able to
see Pollock on tiktok or marler on the traitors is actually
going to result in any noticeable, lasting increase in players
or supporters. Great for the bank balance of the players
concerned, but I just don't buy the argument that the games
needs fame-hungry characters
#Post#: 153657--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bristol Bears chief explains novel approach to player
recruitment
DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
Date: April 30, 2026, 7:05 am
---------------------------------------------------------
It's a balancing act but ultimately you want a player who's
going to captivate interest and a buzz so the club almost stays
relevant. A bit like Ronaldo or Messi going to a club, sells the
shirts and gets bums on seats. Sadly its more than just how good
a player is, but also their swagger and appeal. Rugby needs
these characters though to get the kids interested, as Rugby is
already fighting against other sports with marketable personas
so needs to keep up with the Jones' so to speak. The frustration
is when the off field personality seems to overtake what the
said player does on the field, but that's only felt by the fans
of that club rather than a semi interest neutral.
#Post#: 153668--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bristol Bears chief explains novel approach to player
recruitment
DIR By: Yareet
Date: April 30, 2026, 8:08 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: T-Bone link ---
>
> I keep reading that the game needs characters and that the
likes of Pollock and Ilona Maher are going to drive huge growth
in the game.
>
> The game has always had characters and players young fans look
up to. Ok, the way these players cross over into the mainstream
is very different now, but I'm very sceptical that being able to
see Pollock on tiktok or marler on the traitors is actually
going to result in any noticeable, lasting increase in players
or supporters. Great for the bank balance of the players
concerned, but I just don't buy the argument that the games
needs fame-hungry characters
>
--- End Quote ---
To take Maher as an example, she's famously the most popular
rugby player in the world on social media. How much of that was
because of her rugby? 5%? 10%? How many of those millions of
other followers now also watch some rugby having never done so
before?
Interesting stat from this article
(
HTML https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/cm2p8nzm81jo)<br
/>that Pollock has the same level of recognition amongst Brits
as
Dupont - 37%. The best known rugby player is Farrell at 41%.
As a comparator, they use Jude Bellingham at 71%. I'd argue
Bellingham is well-known among sports fans but not so much
elsewhere. I doubt my mum would recognise him.
Looking broader, in the 40+ years I've been following rugby, I
reckon there have been 2 players that a British non-sports fan
would recognise - Jonny & Jonah - albeit other names may be
familiar (Jonno, Carling, Farrell, maybe Dallaglio and Dawson).
I'm not suggesting that we should be aiming for Michael Jordan,
Tiger Woods, David Beckham-levels of fame but why have so few
rugby players anywhere in the world got to the Andy Murray, Mo
Farah, Ian Botham levels?
The thrust of the article (and to MQ's point) is that the sport
grows when people care about the players. And to care about
them, we have to know who they are.
#Post#: 153674--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bristol Bears chief explains novel approach to player
recruitment
DIR By: FrostAndFire
Date: April 30, 2026, 8:34 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Yareet link ---
>
>
> I'm not suggesting that we should be aiming for Michael
Jordan, Tiger Woods, David Beckham-levels of fame but why have
so few rugby players anywhere in the world got to the Andy
Murray, Mo Farah, Ian Botham levels?
>
>
--- End Quote ---
I guess Murray and Farah are individuals rather than part of a
team, so there's more focus. Botham was a very long time ago.
It's notable that there haven't really been any E&W cricket who
have come close to that fame since.
#Post#: 153675--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bristol Bears chief explains novel approach to player
recruitment
DIR By: JammyGit
Date: April 30, 2026, 8:49 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Playing tennis or running for a bit are sports that aren't
restricted to a handful of nations. Cricket's more like rugby,
but with the added benefit of having one of the most populous
nations on the planet be absolutely mad for it
#Post#: 153676--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bristol Bears chief explains novel approach to player
recruitment
DIR By: poorfour
Date: April 30, 2026, 10:06 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Yareet link ---
>
> To take Maher as an example, she's famously the most popular
rugby player in the world on social media. How much of that was
because of her rugby? 5%? 10%? How many of those millions of
other followers now also watch some rugby having never done so
before?
>
--- End Quote ---
I don't have the paper to hand because I am on mobile but there
was research done before RWC25 that found that engagement in the
women's game is very different from the men's, and is much more
driven by individual stars and how they engage with their
audience.
The stats were quite compelling. Fans are much more likely to
come to rugby through following a player, and tend to come to
their first match to see them but then stay to support club and
country. It's one reason why female players are encouraged to be
more active on social media.
This isn't that report, but it's the follow up report after the
tournament that I suspect will reference the same research:
HTML https://resources.worldrugby-rims.pulselive.com/worldrugby/document/2026/04/07/e8975add-b291-4da3-89f9-1dd2bd2d74d3/A-Blueprint-For-Growth-Report-Second-Edition-Spring-2026-Final.pdf
#Post#: 153678--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bristol Bears chief explains novel approach to player
recruitment
DIR By: FishQuin
Date: April 30, 2026, 11:19 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: T-Bone link ---
>
> How depressing
>
--- End Quote ---
The most depressing thing is, they are way better than us
despite this!
*****************************************************
Page 1 of 3
DIR Next Page