By Keith Jenner
April 7 2004

Jason Leonard didn't play for Quins against Leicester last weekend. There was some question as to why, and rumours started to circulate about the reason for his absence. Mark Evans recently applied for the job as coach of Wales. The supporters only found out about this when a shortlist for the job was printed in the press.

Questions are being asked about negotiations with the players who are out of contract at the end of the season. Suggestions have been made about players who should be signed for next season and there have been some rumours about players leaving.

So is this any of our business, or should we just leave the club to get on with things and limit ourselves to cheering them on at the weekend?

Let's just have a little look at this shall we.


Whether we like it or not, Quins is a business. Because of the business that they are in, some of the customers (i.e. us) look at the employees (the players, coaches etc) differently to how they look at the employees of other companies we have dealings with.

These employees are, to differing extents, in the public eye. Also they effect our enjoyment of the product that the business produces more than many employees in other businesses do. For that reason they are more important to us than a lot of people we deal with.

For example, it makes no particular difference to the average person which individuals are working at the local shop. They are not the reason why you decided to shop there (other than in exceptional circumstances) and if they left or were absent it wouldn't effect your decision on where to shop.

On the other hand, some businesses have employees whose dealings have more of an effect. For want of a better example, let us consider a hairdresser. I imagine that many people use a particular hairdresser and if they were absent from work then it would affect their decision of whether to use that shop. In some circumstances, if that hairdresser was to move to another shop then customers would consider taking their custom to the new place. There are many other occupations where this would be the case.

In comparison, how many of us would change our allegiances if our favourite player was to move from Quins to a new team. Very few, if any, I assume. Obviously, this is partly due to the fact that each player is only part of the squad, but we also have an allegiance to the team as a whole. Jason Leonard is of comparatively less consequence to me in my relationship with Quins than, for example my bank manager is to me in my relationship with my bank.

There is another big difference between the players and staff at Quins and those that you meet from other businesses, which is that you are more likely to deal with others personally. I know a reasonable amount about my bank manager's personal life, for example. That isn't because it is of any benefit in my relationship with my bank, but because I talk to him fairly regularly and consider him to be a friend. I can't say that about any of the Quins players, although I know a number of people can.

Regardless of this, supporters do, to varying degrees, have an interest in the staff at Quins, especially the players. Generally this interest is healthy and is natural. When Jason Leonard wasn't in the team last week, people will have been interested as to why. The reasons for this interest are varied. The main concern will have been about the impact on the team (will he just miss this game or will the injury be more long term), but people will also have been concerned for Jason himself (just as they were when Ace got injured during the game). This is perfectly natural. I am currently going through a period where a member of my family has some potentially serious health issues and it is heartwarming when people who barely know the individuals involved appear interested and concerned for us.

We don't necessarily have a right to information and if it isn't given then we have no right to complain. However, people are interested and the club should be (and I believe are) quite open about sharing information. The problem is that there can be a fine line between keeping people up to date, and intrusiveness. For example, I fully agree with the club's policy of not discussing negotiations with players, as this is their business and we would expect similar confidentiality if we were discussing our employment. Once things are confirmed and contracts signed then it is everyones interest to inform supporters as soon as possible.

It is actually in the clubs and the players interests to create an interest in the individual players and for the supporters to feel some connection to them. The club raises money out of this, with things like the city dinners, where the players presence if used to advertise the night, and it must be of help to the players when selling themselves, be it to sponsors, the press or anyone else (how many people would go to their hairdressers testimonial dinner?)

We must remember that all the players are in the public eye (some more than others). Some people are particularly attracted to the cult of celebrity, whilst others aren't. I personally put myself very firmly in the second category, but that doesn't stop you having an interest.

Occasionally, this can go too far, although I'm pleased to say that it doesn't appear to be a huge problem in Rugby. I think this has something to do with the fact that most players are apparently very down to earth and approachable, but especially in these post world cup days the potential is always there.

Some people don't like the mateyness which there is between some supporters and the players. I personally don't have a problem with it, and it can be a good thing, as it can bring more fans through the gates. I'm sure that, for some people the closeness to the players is more appealing than the game itself, and I don't see anything wrong with that in itself, as long as they don't distract from our enjoyment of the game.

The most noticeable negative thing about this close relationship between supporters and players is the reaction sometimes seen on the message board here to criticism of players. The reaction is understandable as people are criticising their friends, but sometimes can stifle debate and cause antagonism between supporters.

I will end with a warning though, relationships can sour. The title of this article is a corruption of a line from a song by a band called the Wildhearts (a fine band if I may say so – the actual line is “keep the distance, earn respect”). It was used previously by a friend of mine in an article she produced about her relationship with the band. Back in those days, I was involved in a fanzine but I stopped writing for it for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I realised that I couldn't write for toffee, but the main reason was that I was concerned about developing relationships with members of bands. I wanted to listen to music without having to worry about personal relationships with the people making it.

My concerns were realised not long afterwards. My friend had a disagreement with the lead singer of her favourite band. She had previously always looked at him as someone who could do no wrong, so this caused a big problem. She sent him a letter which she later regretted and resulted in a big falling out. It took her some time to get over it, and it spoilt her enjoyment for a long time of what had previously been one of the major things in her life. I'd hate that to happen to anyone here.

So, let's enjoy the rugby and treat the players as what they are, people who play rugby well enough to make it enjoyable watching them (most of the time anyway). If people want to take their relationship with the players any further then, as long as the players are happy with it, that is fine, but we should never lose sight of the basic player/supporter relationship.