England World Cup fallout
Sponsors turn on embattled RFU
ESPNscrum Staff
November 24, 2011
Will Greenwood participates in a sheep herding competition during a Land Rover media day at Sheepworld Farm, New Zealand, October 17, 2011
One man, no dog: former England international Will Greenwood herds sheep during a Land Rover PR day in New Zealand. An official complaint was made to the RFU by the sponsors over the conduct of some of the England Wortd Cup squad © Getty Images
Enlarge

Commerical deals worth up to £8 million a year to the RFU are under review in the light of leaked reports into England's World Cup campaign, according to reports inThe Times.

The newspaper claims that Land Rover, O2 and Nike, who all have deals up for renewal in the coming months, met with RFU officials last week. While it is not thought any of them are likely to walk away as a result of the negative publicity, they are believed to be concerned at the situation.

On the second day of revelations about the behaviour of the England squad, Land Rover and O2 both find themselves in the spotlight.

In the most embarrassing incident for the RFU, Land Rover made a formal complaint about the conduct of a number of the England squad on a sponsors day in New Zealand. The players countered they felt they had been duped into attending the event on what they thought was a day off. Several made clear their anger and drove cars too fast.

"We were told we weren't allowed to do any commercial stuff during the World Cup but here they were exploiting us and our day off to promote their brand," one player said, explaining they had been sold the event as a fun day of fishing, surfing and a barbecue. "The guy who was in charge of Land Rover handled us incredibly poorly, woefully poorly, but that doesn't condone some of the behaviour."

Rob Andrew, the RFU's elite rugby director, revealed in his report a formal complaint had been made by Land Rover, alleging dangerous driving and the use of "inappropriate language".

There was also widespread condemnation of the decision to allow James Haskell to produce a video diary for O2 during the World Cup. It was felt it centred on all aspects of the tournament other than training and matches. Andrew's report said that the editing of the material was not strict enough.

The Rugby Players' Association (RPA) said it gave conflicting messages. "Do not tell players to give the press nothing in press conferences at the same time as encouraging players to 'perform for behind-the-scenes sponsored footage ... if they are not performing and are still showing fun antics, it gives the wrong impression about how seriously they are taking the tournament. Could there not have been more of the mundane training side?"

More damning was the conclusion of the RPA report which referred to an eight-year disconnect between the rugby and commercial departments. "There has been poor communication, differing objectives and an increasing number of commercial and media demands placed on the elite players."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.