WHARFEDALE president John Spencer has this week been handed one of the most important jobs in Rugby Union - to chair a Rugby Football Union Task Group set up to establish why players have been leaving the game in droves and to find a remedy for a disastrous loss of personel, teams and revenue.

Although Yorkshire Committeeman Spencer is still in his first year on the RFU Council and therefore not even eligible to hold a place on any of the many sub-committees which control the game, the fact that he has been entrusted with such a major responsibility is a testament to the high regard in which he is held.

There is also an element of being invited to 'put up or shut up' for the Grassington lawyer, who has flagged up the issue quite vehemently at Council meetings and left no-one at the RFU in any doubt that in his view, the trend which is wrecking grass-roots Rugby requires urgent attention.

"I've spoken out on the subject and argued that it needed time and resources devoting to it," says an unrepentant Spencer: "I'm very happy to take the job on.

"At this stage the committee will have three sources of information to work with - the report of the Task Group chaired by Eric Blackman which outlines some of the problems and offers some thoughts on what should be done; the feedback from a selected Review Body which has looked at that report and made certain recommendations; and finally, we have the response to Blackman from clubs and Constituent Bodies.

"I have no doubt that all three strands of opinion will have common ground - lack of terrestrial TV coverage, changing league organisation, replacement regulations, the adverse impact professionalism has had on grass roots Rugby.

"Obviously the question of the large amounts of monies going to the professional end of the game is one issue which will never be totally resolved because every penny which goes to the elite clubs is a delicate issue.

"Clubs and counties know what they could do with comparatively small amounts and question why they don't get more backing.

"On the credit side, the RFU is very much aware of the problems being faced and determined to address them."

In embarking on what is clearly a crucial job in terms of the future of grass roots Rugby, Spencer is clearly in no mood to soft-pedal when the deliberations of his team are completed.

He may be in his 'tender-foot' days as an apprentice on the RFU, but he promises that there will be no pussy-footing when the findings are delivered.

"I would guess one of the recommendations to come from our work would be for the RFU to take a close look at itself," says Spencer.

"I know that there is increasing discontent among junior clubs at the way they feel they are being represented and this situation has to be looked at.

"We'll be giving it full welly and we won't be delivering a run-of-the-mill, political report."

Spencer has already armed himself with the experience and wisdom of Wharfedale stalwart Mike Harrison and Kendal's Peter Kremer, two men who've been through the mill during their time in the game.

Perhaps an equally smart move would be to convene a local meeting with an astute thinker like Harry Crabtree from Skipton RFC and a representative from North Ribblesdale - both clubs who are locked into the survival battle which engulfs every grass-roots club at the moment and know at first-hand what is happening.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.