SPORT INDUSTRY DINING: UGO MONYE
Last night the first Sport Industry Dining event of 2023 took place at Wagtail in central London.
Sport Industry Dining is a series of exclusive dinners for members of the sports industry, held three times a year in some of London’s most exclusive venues.
The prestigious series offers representatives of leading brands, rights holders and agencies from across the sports industry the opportunity to network, network and hear from some of the most inspiring names in sport.
Kicking off the new year, BT Sport’s Becky Ives took over as host and was joined by former rugby union player and pundit Ugo Monye to talk about his career, the Six Nations and a turbulent time for the sport.
Ahead of a stellar weekend of Six Nations games, Monye confidently predicted a win for England against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, before being emphatic about his favorites for the whole tournament.
“Ireland is the number one team in the world and I can’t see them winning it‘ said Monet.
Despite wanting to praise the quality of rugby at this year’s tournament and the sport in general, the former England international has expressed disappointment at the off-field errors.
Following the high-profile collapses of Premiership teams Worcester Warriors and Wasps, Monye explained that those running the sport need to think differently to ensure the game continues to develop and retain commercial appeal.
“Let’s take boxing, for example.” he explained. “There’s a fight this weekend. We all know what it is. How does a former Disney star-turned-youtuber take on a professional fighter and it’s going to be the biggest fight in ages? Some people will turn their noses up at this, but trust me, everyone wants to see it. I know professional boxers who look forward to Jake Paul versus Tommy Fury. But that’s what boxing does. Think differently and find ways to attract new people and audiences. Rugby doesn’t do that.”
And Monye thinks this is the perfect time to capitalize on it. “A Six Nations now, a World Cup in France this year that a home nation could well win. Use this momentum, use these eyeballs to attract even more people to our sport.”
In his thirteen-year career, Monye played over 200 professional games for the Harlequins, the only club he played for. Becky asked him if he looked back on it with any regrets.
“I was about to leave. At 26, after playing for the British & Irish Lions, I got an offer to play in Paris. The reason I didn’t go was because the team we had built together was a team I knew, loved and cared for. We can talk about management structures and leadership, but there was a vision that I committed to.
I could go to Paris and win trophies but it will never feel like doing it for your own club. We won the Premiership three years later and it meant staying was the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Despite his strong connection with the Harlequins, Monye describes his time playing for the British & Lions as “theTo mark” of his career, and in particular a 70-yard intercept attempt which he called “the best six or seven seconds of my career, that also took 13 years. Would I do those 13 years of hard work for another six or seven seconds? In a heartbeat.”
Now retired, Monye has transitioned into a successful media career. A pundit at BT Sport, a regular on Question of Sport and a former Strictly Come Dancing competitor, Monye is hopeful rugby can take over the media world like he has and talks about the sport’s new Netflix docuseries The Six Nations .
“It’s exciting. They have this global platform full of people who don’t watch rugby and it’s an opportunity,” he said. “I didn’t love Formula 1 until I started Question of Sport. The first thing I did to research F1 was watch Drive To Survive. People love sports when there is a catch. And the catch is the personalities. It’s not about techniques, tactics, pit stops, cars. It’s about people.
Now rugby has taken over. And it’s a great opportunity to showcase personality within the sport.”
Monye was also keen to celebrate the Red Roses’ recent success, calling women’s rugby “a completely different sport.” This underscores how much more sophisticated the governance and investment is compared to men’s football. “If you walked into Dragons Den and I had this business proposition and I didn’t say the words ‘women’ or ‘rugby’, everyone would want to invest in it.”
However, he believes the government can do more to support the sport and give it the support it needs to become more mainstream.
“When the men’s national football team reached the final of the European Championship there was a £50million pledge from Boris Johnson to ensure no boy or girl is more than 15 minutes from a football pitch.
But if the lionesses win the euro, where’s the promise? If the Red Roses reach the World Cup final, where’s the promise for rugby? Women’s sport is thriving in this country, but to take the next step we need everyone involved. That includes us as subscribers, but we need the support of the highest powers in the country.”
Ugo Monye joins the list of Sport Industry Dining speakers alongside the likes of Molly Thompson-Smith, Alessia Russo, Hannah Cockcroft, Ellie Simmonds, Jermaine Jenas, Will Buxton, Alex Scott and Aimee Fuller, with more high-profile athletes coming up next year Culinary events are coming up.
You can access Sport Industry Dining by purchasing a Sport Industry Membership. In addition, the package offers tickets to Sport Industry Socials, tickets and entry to the Sport Industry Awards, along with a range of other generous discounts and benefits.
Learn more here.
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