English Rugby

Ian Murray Excerpts

Tuesday 10th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[The Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts (Ian Murray)]

It is always a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Vaz. I apologise that the Sports Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley South (Stephanie Peacock), is at the winter Paralympics in Milan, and there is nobody more appropriate than a Scot to take this particular debate. Ms Vaz, if you will indulge me, the reason I am wearing this tie is purely because I left my other blue one in the car this morning and this is the only one hanging up in my office that I had to put on—of course, I have to be appropriately dressed for replying to debates.

I am pleased to respond to the debate and I congratulate the hon. Gentleman for West Dorset (Edward Morello) on securing it. I need to declare an interest early on, as holders of the Calcutta cup and favourites for the Six Nations; I wish England the best of luck against France this weekend, as it will allow us to lift that trophy. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that rugby union, and indeed all sports, play a vital role in our national and local identity. The things he said about the people who wash the kits, cook the food and coach the children, and all the people involved in our clubs as volunteers, describe many sports across the country. They are the beating heart of our communities.

From the roar of Twickenham—or sometimes the silence of Twickenham—to the muddy pitches of our local leagues, rugby is a sport that instils the core values of teamwork, discipline and respect. Those values are on show from the grassroots rugby games across the country all the way to the Six Nations. I would like to celebrate the performances by Scotland and Wales this weekend and I hope that England finish strongly, as they probably should.

Beyond the game itself, rugby clubs serve as the beating heart of our communities, demonstrating how much rugby is so much more than just a sport. They are vital social hubs, as the hon. Gentleman said, providing a sense of belonging, fostering local pride and delivering accessible opportunities for people of all ages to get active. That is exactly why the Government have been unwavering in their support for the game, from the grassroots up to the elite level.

On support for grassroots rugby union, as mentioned by the hon. Gentleman and many others in their interventions, the Government are committed to ensuring that everyone has access to and can benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That includes rugby union and indeed rugby league—Mr Speaker would be upset if I did not mention rugby league too. Sport England is providing more than £60 million of funding to the Rugby Football Union between 2022 and 2029, supporting men’s and women’s grassroots rugby participation.

As well as that, we are providing significant financial support to deliver grassroots sport facilities, including for rugby. The Government recently announced £85 million to build and upgrade grassroots sport facilities across the UK in this year alone, including more than £68 million that will be invested in England via the multi-sport grassroots facilities programme. I hope that will resolve many of the issues about facilities that my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds South West and Morley (Mark Sewards) talked about. That builds on more than £80 million being invested in England in 2025-26. Some 40% of funded projects through the multi-sport grassroots facilities programme will have a multi-sport offer to allow more people to participate in a wider variety of sports such as rugby.

In particular, women’s rugby, which has been mentioned, has seen exceptional growth in recent years. Women’s sport has seen exceptional growth, in fact, but particularly rugby. Since 2021, participation in the women’s game has surged by 38%. It is great to see the growth of women’s rugby and it was fantastic to see the success of the Red Roses last summer to inspire the next generation. A record 82,000 crowd, as well as a record television audience—a larger television audience than for the Six Nations—watched that final. That is part of the Government’s work to drive a decade of change in women’s sport, and my Department is using the women’s sport taskforce to drive progress across the sector and is working with the authorities to do so.

[Sarah Dyke]

Holly Davidson made history in February when she took charge of the Ireland versus Italy Six Nations game in Dublin, becoming the first woman to referee a men’s game. Being a proud Scot, will he join me in congratulating her on that terrific move for women’s participation in rugby generally?

--- Later in debate ---

[Ian Murray]

It is a terrific success and I congratulate Holly on that. If there were more female referees in the men’s game across all sports, there would probably be a much better-behaved environment for people to participate in. That does offer inspiration; I have a five-year old girl and a one-year old girl and when they see the finals, when they see the Lionesses or the Red Roses lifting those trophies and when they see female referees participating in the game, it inspires them to do so such more. We should celebrate all those successes, but they are still the exception, rather than the rule—we need to make sure they are the rule, rather than that exception.

The Government are building on the huge success of the women’s Rugby World Cup to deliver a successful legacy programme with the RFU. We ensured there is a lasting legacy from the tournament by providing nearly £7 million to the World Cup legacy programme, called Impact ’25.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

I thank the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello)) for securing this debate. In Keighley we have an urgent challenge: the last Conservative Government allocated more than £2 million to Keighley Cougars to build a new stand, but the money is still being withheld by Bradford council. It needs to be unlocked so we can get that stand built urgently. Would the Minister, or his counterpart in MHCLG, meet me so we can discuss that and try to get that money unlocked for Keighley Cougars?

[Ian Murray]

I am happy to commit my colleagues to a meeting with the appropriate Minister. Let us do that, and let us at least write to the hon. Gentleman and get that issue resolved.

The legacy programme has benefited 850 clubs, supporting women and girls of all ages to get involved in rugby. That includes clubs based in the constituency of the hon. Member for West Dorset, such as Dorchester RFC, which has received £5,000 towards upgrading its facilities.

I will use a couple of minutes, in the time we have left, to run through some of the issues raised. Let us look at the financial stability of the game, which has been a significant concern since covid in particular. My hon. Friend the Sports Minister has previously met with the RFU and Prem Rugby to discuss the long-term financial sustainability of professional rugby union, and my officials regularly engage with both organisations on that issue.

The hon. Member for West Dorset is right to talk about the £158 million to rugby union to support the clubs during covid-19. The loan agent for that is Sport England, which is always analysing the repayments and the borrowers’ financial situations. We cannot comment on individual clubs, but he did mention the favourable terms, including long interest rates, long repayment periods and up-front payment holidays. If any club is struggling, it should get in touch with Sport England as the loan agent to have discussions on covid loans.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned schools, and there is good news for schools. The Government are committed to protecting time for PE in schools, as set out in the Government’s response to the independent expert-led review of the curriculum. The new PE and school sport partnerships, announced by the Prime Minister last June, will ensure that all children have equal access to high-quality PE. These new partnerships will bring together schools, local clubs and national Government bodies to target funding and support where it is most needed—particularly, as hon. Members have mentioned, in state schools in our most deprived areas.

[Munira Wilson]

On PE in schools, will the Minister or his counterparts in the Department for Education commit to publishing a national schools sport strategy and a multi-year funding settlement, with the sport premium having been scrapped and other funds such as the opening school facilities fund that have benefited schools, particularly those in disadvantaged areas,?

[Ian Murray]

I have committed some of my colleagues to meetings already, but let me ask the appropriate Minister from DFE to write to the hon. Lady to answer those questions. I am coming on to her questions about planning and MHCLG in terms of Sport England. MHCLG is considering all responses to its recent consultation and are continuing to discuss the matter with Sport England. No decision will be made until all those responses are analysed as part of the consultation, and MHCLG are taking that forward.

Finally, I want to run through the RFU governance structures quickly—and let us acknowledge that substantial change is taking place within that governance. I think the RFU has heard the message and the PREM has moved towards a criteria-based expansion and demotion model. The Government are consistently working with the RFU and representatives of the Prem and Champ clubs, including Premiership Women’s Rugby, while also monitoring the situation, and are supporting them with the long-term sustainability of elite rugby union.

Rugby union is a great national success story—for some more than others—but it is currently writing its next critical chapter with the women’s game, the grassroots game and the elite game, and the Government are here to support that. We have stood shoulder to shoulder with the sport through its most difficult moments, such as covid, and will continue to champion its growth, particularly in the women’s game. We look forward to seeing English rugby continue to thrive for generations to come—[Interruption.] I have my fingers crossed as I stand at this particular Dispatch Box—apart, of course, from when they play Scotland.

Question put and agreed to.