As a voice within the Black community in the sport we firmly believe that Luther Burrell’s experience, and the subsequent crisis rugby has found itself in, must not become a wasted opportunity to bring about much needed positive change.

We know many, many Black players, volunteers and stakeholders across the game who are very concerned about the findings of the investigation and associated reports of ‘racism at every level of the game. What happens next is critical to the health of our sport.

We strongly believe collaboration between Rugby’s leadership and the Black community is a major part of driving solutions to take the sport forward. Without it we will continue to see action plans come and go without getting to the heart of real change. We must work together to move ahead; that process needs to be accelerated significantly.

*The RBL was set up in 2022 and launched with a celebration of Black excellence in January this year. We are experts across a number of areas of Rugby and, vitally, staunchly committed to the Black communities within Rugby.”