Why Substack, Why Now?

If I have learned anything in my time on Earth, it is to maintain flexibility. While I am stubborn at times, I try not to get stuck in my ways. Times have certainly changed since I founded my first two rugby sites. The first was a blog nearly 20 years ago. The other was a full blown news site and well more than a decade ago.

Yes, I’m dating myself, but it’s ok.

Storytelling has evolved to match the rapid digestion habits of a population that lives on social media. Twenty years ago a website/blog was the jam. There wasn’t any competition, unless you count printed media, as social media was just getting started. 

I believe a website still has a place in online publishing, but the game has changed.

Substack presents a great opportunity to meet readers in a place that is less formal and more conversational. Like the clubhouse after a match. I aim to use it to publish quick hit conversation starters and save my long form writing and feature pieces for the Bottom of the Ruck website.

Substack also creates space to test ideas, content, and get feedback from the rugby community. 

Connecting the Rugby Community in New Ways

If you’ve spent any amount of time at Bottom of the Ruck, you know how I feel about grassroots rugby. The rugby community is something truly special. 

Substack allows for a new way to connect with the community on a more personal level. I hope to create a safe space that presents ideas on how to improve and grow the grassroots while allowing the community to bounce ideas around.

All Grassroots, All of the Time

Just like with the Bottom of the Ruck website, the Substack space is for discussion and conversation about grassroots rugby. While the topic of elite level rugby will inevitably be bridged in relation to the grassroots, the purpose of this space isn’t to talk about professional rugby.

We’re keeping things grassy.

The Substack provides flexibility in posting without the expectations of delivering fully fleshed out articles. I currently have no less than six articles in some stage of being written. It takes time. 

Expect weekly quick hit topics about grassroots rugby. It may be some sort of breaking news, a thought that gets stuck in my craw, club administration/operational topics, or just my musings about rugby of which I have plenty to spare.

A monthly newsletter is also in the works with a breakdown of content published on the main website along with quick hit news and discussion topics.

If you caught any of the recent Monday Morning Rucks, that content is moving to the Substack as it is a better fit in that space.  

Subscribe Here

For now there is no plan to have paid subscriptions, but that is certainly subject to change in the future depending on the amount of traffic and subscriptions this page gets.

I’m not a big fan of paywalls, so if that does ever come to pass it will probably come in the form of bonus content for subscribers, additional benefits or something of that nature. 

In the eight months since Bottom of the Ruck came to life there have already been some surprises. So, I’m keeping an open mind and taking a curious approach to the future.

I went into this project heavily focused on driving traffic to the website and somehow managed to pile up millions of views on social media????

Now, all of sudden I’m cutting video clips and shifting gears to meet our audience in a place that is more accessible.

However, the focus remains the same. Shining a positive light on grassroots rugby and the people that make it special. 

Join me on this ever evolving journey and click on the subscribe button below (or link above) so that you get notification when content is published.