Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Simon Middleton & UK Government

Every Monday we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.

HIT – SIMON MIDDLETON

The Red Roses - the England national rugby team - won the Six Nations tournament with a game to spare.

England dominated the tournament, winning with a points difference of 199, but instead of basking in the glory of another comprehensive season, England coach Simon Middleton looked to the future and the growth of the women’s game.

The RFU has invested significantly to support the women’s game, building on the success of the Allianz Premier 15s and handing out 28 professional contracts, making England the first full-time international 15-a-side women’s squad.

If the Red Roses continue to dominate, however, the lack of competitiveness may have an impact on sponsors, broadcasters and even spectators.

“It would be absolutely fantastic if every union could do what we're doing,” said Middleton.

“We have made a real statement about where we see the women's game. It is a priority for us as an organisation. We would love to be able to have a Saturday when you have got three teams going for the title and you are staying up late. It was brilliant."

Hopefully other Unions will follow the English blueprint so that women’s rugby can follow other sports in attracting fans and profile that matches the more-established men’s game.

MISS – UK GOVERNMENT

There are many differing opinions on the consequences of a nationwide lockdown after the latest UK government announcement at the weekend.

While much of professional sport will remain, grassroots sport will stop once more, with gyms, swimming pools and amateur clubs in England closing until early December.

With lockdown having an impact on mental health, getting exercise is one sure fire way to boost endorphins and keep the nation fit.

The general public will be permitted to exercise outdoors, either from their own household bubble or with one person from another household, but the government website confirmed that indoor and outdoor leisure facilities will close, which is particularly bad news given the seasonal poor weather.

Shadow sports minister Alison McGovern called on the government to issue clearer guidance on how the industry is affected to avoid sports collapsing. "Yet again sport and physical wellbeing is an afterthought," she said.

While children are mixing at school, there is also uncertainty over under-18 sports outside a school setting, with many clubs expecting their seasons to be affected by the lockdown.

Many sports organisations such as Swim England and UK Active expressed their concerns at the developments with the latter saying: “The reality is that millions will be impacted by a deterioration in both their physical and mental health, with implications to longer term public health challenges. This should be of deep concern to the Prime Minister and all political parties.”

It’s even more confusing given that statistics suggest that there have been fewer than one positive case per 100,000 people visits to sports facilities.

An added concern is how viable many of these sports facilities will be with a further lockdown putting added strain on their finances.

While at the time of writing there is still a chance that grassroots sports provisions will be reviewed, the prospect of no indoor sport available for the nation is a significant cause for concern.