I was appalled to read this morning that Ugo was racially abused at Sandy Park yesterday - totally unacceptable, but unfortunately I think this type of behaviour is becoming increasingly prevalent in rugby and certainly isn't restricted to Sandy Park:-



It made me think about my recent experiences at the Stoop. I've been a season ticket holder for over 20 years sitting in the same seats in the DHL Stand on a row that doesn't seem to be occupied by other regulars. Occasionally I sit next to visiting supporters who are invariably polite, informed and well-natured, but I also seem to spend more time getting up and down from my seat to let the thirsty/hungry/incontinent pass than most other rows - not a major issue, but it does seem that those 'supporters' are more interested in refreshment than the play on the pitch.

However, in recent times I've witnessed an increasing amount of abuse including obscenity being directed towards players and officials, from different young men I've never seen before wearing the latest home kit. On Saturday I had the 'pleasure' of sitting near a couple of them, who spent the entire game just shouting "Smash Em" aggressively every 10 seconds interspersed by various expletives that became increasingly offensive and personal towards opposition players and officials. To my shame I did not confront them and tell them to stop, but I attend with my autistic son and did not want to create a scene that would upset him, but despite the fact that others around me were also clearly increasingly aggitated by their incessant shouting, nobody else intervened. Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated incident and we left early on Saturday not because we were being humbled by Sarries but mostly because I did not want to have to continue to listen to their ranting.

I know that premiership rugby desperately needs to attract new supporters to the game to survive, but it shouldn't be at the expense of the enjoyment of others. I don't know if it should be the responsibility of fellow supporters to speak up or whether the security officials could be more vigilant/proactive, but I think there are signs that this type of behaviour is on the increase.

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The average season ticket holder probably lives nearby and won't spend a great deal on food/drink due to their proximity to the Stoop.
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The average STH, wherever they live, also knows where to get decent food and drink without the hassle.

Very surprised this has hit him this hard.

I remember some 20 years ago in Kingston, Surrey seeing a black elderly woman being called the same, I went over to her and she was smiling, I thought it was because I recognised her possible harm, no... she said I've had 50 years of that, I'm smiling, he's not. I walked home the same... smiling.

Are you on a wind up?

A 5:30pm or 7:45pm does tend to attract a more lubricated crowd. Sadly, there will always be a few numpties.

I'd like to see stewards stopping people going to-and-from seats unless there is a break in play. Not too bad where I am in the DHL stand but the kick-off and half-time 'rush' doesn't seem to be improving.

Sadly, there will always be a few numpties.

This is the nail on the head. All we can do as fans is try to ensure they only have one chance to be a tw*t. What Ugo reported is terrible; but as an older person I would say that things are a whole load better than when I was a younger person.

If standards are slipping, we as fans have a chance to stop the slide. One person may feel wary, but when a few speak up then the irritants usually get the message, or the stewards tend to notice the group discord.

Per the Ugo report - personally I'd have been inclined to smack the idiot. And I'm pretty sure there would have been others happy to pile in.

Rugby has got to stop telling itself (and everyone else) that it has access to "values" that other sports don't. For too long we've got away with ignoring inconvenient truths about the behaviour of players and fans alike and it's catching up with us fast. To list but a few examples off the top of my head, we've been witness or party to:

Referees experiencing serious abuse weekly
Casual (and not-so-casual) racism
Credible r@pe accusations, combined with an underpinning culture of misogyny that's still prevalent within significant parts of the rugby community
Domestic abuse charges

It's not enough to just pat ourselves on the back for being "better than football" - if the sport is serious about cleaning up its act, it's incumbent on every member of the community, from grassroots up, to be better. To listen to the perspectives of groups who have been typically under-represented in rugby circles and to actively condemn and challenge behaviour that goes against the values rugby claims to espouse.

These problems aren't insoluble, but it will take active engagement from everyone to make rugby a more welcome environment for everyone. I for one am proud of what Quins have done over the last few years, with active promotion of its women's team and its commitment to LGBT+ issues among other things, but there's always more to be done.