Dishing up rugby union to paywall few is short-sighted and on its way out

Not a single minute of this season’s European Champions Cup is available on terrestrial television. Photograph: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Rugby union has a problem which is not going away. How is a sport supposed to grow long-term if the majority of the UK population are unable to watch it regularly on television? How do you ensure the entire country is obsessed about the England team leading into a home World Cup when all four Twickenham Tests in November are on Sky?

The awkward questions keep coming. How do you properly showcase the European Champions Cup when this season’s tournament is not available on the vast majority of terrestrial TV? Premiership highlights are shown on ITV on a Sunday night but, in terms of live games, the league exists almost exclusively behind a paywall. If you are an England fan too young – or old – to watch games in a pub or bar and without the financial wherewithal to afford a Twickenham ticket, you must wait for the occasional Six Nations game to watch your country play………. see more at :- http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/oct/28/rugby-union-dishing-up-games-sky-bt-sport