Ollie Phillips: Rugby in 2020 had fairytale triumphs and falls from grace, but it could all be derailed in 2021
Rugby in 2020 has been a mixed bag, with both fairytale triumphs and causes for real alarm.
The club game delivered gripping storylines in the rise of Exeter from second-tier to European champions and the demise of Saracens.
International rugby has suffered, though, and questions about concussion and dementia leave the sport in a vulnerable position as 2021 dawns.
If the year belonged to one team then it has to be Exeter Chiefs, who won both the Premiership and Champions Cup.
To win the double 10 years after they were promoted from the Championship is incredible. It’s the stuff of film scripts.
And whatever your views on Tony Rowe or Rob Baxter, this is also a story for rugby romantics.
Exeter’s rise to the top wasn’t turbo-charged by the sort of lavish spending we’ve seen at Toulon and Racing 92.
That can buy you success for a couple of years but it also drains the soul out of a club.
Rowe and Baxter have built a great team and culture that the community is invested in.
Year by year they improved, tweaking here and there. They worked so hard at it.
Exeter did it the right way, and that’s what makes it so special.
Saracens suffer and so does the game
It’s difficult to discuss the success of Exeter without mentioning the downfall of Saracens.
People may differ on whether it was fair to relegate them over salary cap breaches, but we can all agree that English rugby is worse off as a result.
Firstly, it means that there is less competition at the top of the Premiership. Exeter are the best by far.
Secondly, it strips the league of a lot of incredible players that came through the Saracens system.
It’s worth remembering that they have brought through some of the biggest talents the English game has ever seen.
Yes, they tried spending their way to glory, but that didn’t work. Only when they developed the club from within, with the Wolfpack culture, did they reach the top.
Maro Itoje, Owen Farrell, Jamie George, George Kruis, Mako and Billy Vunipola — these guys were all nurtured and developed at Saracens.
Theirs, too, is a brilliant story but the legacy is a tragic one and the Premiership suffers for that.
International rugby loses its lustre
Before Covid, I was excited about the international game.
England were looking strong and Eddie Jones had just signed a new contract.
Northern hemisphere sides more generally were improving and there was a Lions tour on the horizon.
But since the pandemic international rugby has been a gloomier, much less inspiring place.
Australia look to be on their last legs. New Zealand, and the incredible culture that has made them so successful, are showing signs of coming apart at the seams
And while it was good to have some action to watch at the Autumn Nations Cup, it was pretty boring.
France are the only European side I want to watch. The rest put me to sleep, and I’m the biggest rugby fan going.
I can’t help but feel disappointed with the ambition of the global rugby fraternity.
This year has been challenging but in that lies opportunity and no one has been brave enough to take it.
We could have seen a global calendar introduced, but that didn’t happen.
Brett Gosper has taken the game forward at World Rugby, but maybe his departure in 2021 will allow someone else to take it to another level.
Because the sport needs to do some things differently.
Concussion crisis calls for bravery
Perhaps the biggest issue rugby needs to address is the link between concussions, brain injury and dementia.
At the moment, only a handful of players have come forward with claims. But from what I’ve been told there are many, many more willing to.
It leaves rugby in a very precarious position. I don’t think it’s going too far to say it risks derailing the sport altogether.
When parents are reading about famous former players being brain-damaged and Alzheimers at 50, the game is in big trouble.
World Rugby can go one of two ways, but I firmly believe it needs to be bold.
Accept the burden and the challenge. Own the process.
Say to people that they understand what has happened. Acknowledge if mistakes were made.
Tell us if they have data that shows what happens, and how they’re going to make it better.
This is a time for the communities and families who make the game to rally round.
But rugby also needs some incredible leaders to be brave.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance, experts in leadership development & behavioural change. Follow Ollie on Twitter and on LinkedIn.