Rugby league has had its fair share of missed opportunities, and maybe the table-top game Subbuteo was one of them.
Subbuteo Rugby was a game of complexities and confusion. There was a combined set for league and union, but it was never marketed perhaps as well as it should have been, and it was taken off the production line in the early 1980s.
But there is still demand for newly painted teams, and the originals fetch tidy sums on eBay and at collectors fairs.
Paul Lloyd owns World Subbuteo Rugby, a shop which paints replicas of the original reference teams as well as modern-day and retro strips. He takes large numbers of orders every week from across the world for a wide range of teams.
He said: “The rules were not clear or definitive either for League or Union. In Union more so than League, certain aspects of the game were hard to replicate. However, perhaps in hindsight more time and development should have been spent on them.
“There was at one time a meeting to discuss if two separate versions should be made, one for League and one for Union. The pitch was neither Union or League, it was a hybrid one.
“Nowadays with the growing popularity of both codes of the game and printing of teams, the game could have been far more successful.”
With many sports markets dominated by football, rugby league fans are often keen to support their sport by purchasing related games, videos and books. Rugby league has made it on to video games consoles in recent years, while the number of rugby league publications in bookshops have increased greatly over recent years.
Subbuteo Rugby first appeared in the mid 1950’s, but was only available for about four years due to poor sales. However, it was relaunched in 1968 with an international edition which included a pitch, two teams, two goals, a scrummer, two goalkickers and the rules.
The layout was fairly simple – a green baize pitch with two goals at either end. The scrummer was a machine with a hole in the top and six holes on the outside, aiming to replicate scrums. The two goalkickers were special figures that had a moving kicking leg, which could be flicked at the ball for goal kicks.
It was produced throughout the 1970s, but last appeared in catalogues in 1981. 37 reference teams were produced during this time, with many variations. Due to the mix of union and league, teams shared reference numbers. Notable league related designs were Ref 9 (Bradford), Ref 12 (Hull KR), Ref 16 (St Helens), Ref 20 (Leeds), Ref 25 (Rochdale) and many more.
It is thought that the fast flowing nature of rugby league suit table top games far more so than union. Although neither are as easy to pick up and play as football, there is potential for rugby league to succeed Subbuteo-style.
The Subbuteo Rugby Association has been set up to promote the playing and development of Subbuteo Rugby, and members continue to try and come up with a rules booklet that suits. They hope to hold an open tournament each year to encourage the promotion of the game.
Despite production and sales of Subbuteo dwindling over recent years, there are thousands of items going on eBay each week, and Lloyd believes there is still a market for all forms of Subbuteo.
He said: “There is a market. Over 3,000 items are sold per week on ebay, there are dozens of people producing their own figures and selling them which proves that the market is there.”
However, there has been conflict in recent years over the rights to Subbuteo, currently owned by Hasbro.
Lloyd added: “If I owned the rights, I would create separate union and league editions, with all the professional and international teams done. The goalposts would be modern and I would make a new kicker model for drop goals. Then a range of accessories, stadia, fencing, flags and the like.”
Lloyd pretty much keeps the Subbuteo Rugby market going on his own. He sells vast numbers of new teams, including full orders for all 14 Super League teams and last year, the 10 World Cup teams.
I tried my hand at Subbuteo Rugby a few months ago, playing a couple of matches. The main obstacle was the understanding of the various rules. Rugby league isn’t as simple as football. However, once you got in to the swing of things, it was fairly entertaining to play. However, I just cannot imagine the kids of today playing Subbuteo Rugby as much as they do their video game consoles.
It might be too many years down the line for Subbuteo Rugby to work, but the potential there is vast, but is it 20 years too late to be making the most of it?
To find out more about Subbuteo Rugby, visit www.subbuteorugby.com or www.worldsubbuteorugby.co.uk
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