English Rugby

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Tuesday 10th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[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.