England and Irish Lions Forward Maro Itoje has urged the rugby union to make more efforts to tackle racism and spread its “net”. The Forward stated that there is always more that can be done to make the game more inclusive and thus, diversity will help to develop the game. Rugby Football Union formed an independent diversity wing earlier to create plans and keep a tab on the progress made at the Rugby Football Union in terms of inclusion of people of all ages, socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.
Rugby needs to cast its net wider to include more people and attract more talent. The Rugby Football Union does a lot. Can they do more? Perhaps. Premiership Rugby does some things. Can they do more? Definitely. Premiership clubs probably don't do as much as they should. Can they do more? 100%. The more invested we all are in this, the greater the outcome will be. It has to do more to attract young rugby players from different backgrounds, environments, and socio-economic groups and if it does that, everyone wins. There will be a better game and a better product and will lead to more fans, more people engaging, and more demand for the broadcasters in terms of TV and for the guys putting money behind it. Everyone's a winner when the game is more diverse.
Maro Itoje, Forward, England Rugby