Rugby must settle on a vision of its future or suffer the consequences, writes Robert Kitson in The Guardian.
"A burning question for a new decade: what sort of sport does rugby union want to become? Is it simply content to remain football's imperfect cousin? Or is there a genuine will, by the time 2020 ticks around, to shed the ugly duckling feathers which still cling so stubbornly to the professional ideal? Assuming people crave the latter option, several things are going to have to change.
"First and foremost, the global rugby family needs to set aside petty differences and take a broader perspective. In truth, the problem has never really been geographical. Rugby's tribe, for the most part, divides on sub-Darwinian lines: are you a forward or a back? One loves the biff, the other the open spaces. Both camps, however, share a relish for the camaraderie, the humour, the on-field edge and the mutual respect between opponents and, on a good day, officials. If any of those essential components disappear completely, the sport is on the road to nowhere in particular.
"Which is why the first few months of 2010 are so vital. What sort of rational professional sport can expect to attract a new raft of followers with the following smorgasbord of delights: vicious rows about incomprehensible law interpretations, pompous statements from the Rugby Football Union castigating coaches for stating the obvious, ongoing eye-gouging cases, endless dreary kicking, umpteen injury bulletins, sub-standard stadium facilities and serious financial problems in both hemispheres."
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