Rugby Football Union<\/a> decided against banning the song following a review in 2020.<\/p>\nHere’s where Itoje stands \u2013 and what some other familiar faces have had to say.<\/p>\n
Maro Itoje explains why he won’t sing Swing Low<\/p>\n
Itoje has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind.<\/p>\n
The England forward first raised concerns about the anthem in 2020, admitting its history made him uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
Two years later, he went a step further.<\/p>\n
Speaking to French newspaper L’\u00c9quipe in May 2022, Itoje declared:<\/p>\n
“I’m not going to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do but, personally, I won’t sing this song again.”<\/p>\n
It was a firm statement from one of English rugby’s biggest names.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Itoje admitted he had previously joined in without knowing the full story behind the song.<\/p>\n
Once he learned more about its origins, however, his opinion changed.<\/p>\n
Crucially, the England star stopped short of demanding a ban.<\/p>\n
His message was simple: supporters should understand what they’re singing and make their own minds up.<\/p>\n
RFU refuses to ban England anthem<\/p>\n
The RFU found itself facing a difficult decision in 2020.<\/p>\n
With the song’s history under the spotlight, there were growing questions about whether it still belonged at Twickenham.<\/p>\n
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot was written by Wallace Willis, a formerly enslaved African American, during the 19th century.<\/p>\n
Its association with England rugby came much later.<\/p>\n
Following a review, the RFU decided against an outright ban.<\/p>\n
Instead, the governing body made several changes:<\/p>\n
Stadium lyrics:\u00a0Stopped displaying the words around Twickenham.Merchandise:\u00a0Removed products featuring the anthem.Education:\u00a0Introduced information explaining the song’s origins.Supporters:\u00a0Allowed fans to decide whether they wanted to continue singing.<\/p>\n
In other words, the song wasn’t getting the red card.<\/p>\n
But the RFU made it clear that its history should not be ignored.<\/p>\n
The decision split opinion, including among some of England’s most recognisable rugby figures.<\/p>\n
What other England rugby legends have saidBrian Moore \u2013 Wants the song gone<\/p>\n
Never one to sit on the fence, Brian Moore made his position pretty clear.<\/p>\n
The former England hooker has long questioned why the song became associated with English rugby in the first place.<\/p>\n
And when the debate resurfaced in June 2020, Moore didn’t mince his words.<\/p>\n
“It can go for me; I hate it.”<\/p>\n
That’s about as subtle as a front-row collision.<\/p>\n
Moore believes the song’s historical background deserves greater respect and has questioned its place at England matches.<\/p>\n
Maggie Alphonsi \u2013 Won’t sing it, but opposes a ban<\/p>\n
England World Cup winner Maggie Alphonsi found herself in a similar position to Itoje.<\/p>\n
The former flanker revealed she had stopped singing the anthem after learning more about its origins.<\/p>\n
However, she wasn’t calling for the RFU to pull the plug.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Sky Sports in 2020, Alphonsi said:<\/p>\n
“I don’t agree with it being banned.”<\/p>\n
Instead, she backed education over enforcement.<\/p>\n
Her view was that supporters should understand the history before deciding whether to join in.<\/p>\n
Martin Offiah \u2013 Happy to keep singing<\/p>\n
Here’s where things get particularly interesting.<\/p>\n
Rugby league legend Martin Offiah offered a very different take.<\/p>\n
The former Great Britain international has a unique connection to the anthem.<\/p>\n
His performances at the 1987 Middlesex Sevens are often linked to the song becoming popular at Twickenham.<\/p>\n
And unlike Itoje, Offiah had no plans to stop singing.<\/p>\n
Speaking in October 2020, he said:<\/p>\n
“I for one will be singing the song with them.”<\/p>\n
A striking contrast between two of the sport’s most recognisable Black players.<\/p>\n
Offiah acknowledged the song’s history but defended the right of supporters to continue the tradition.<\/p>\n
Lewis Ludlam \u2013 Defends England tradition<\/p>\n
Former England flanker Lewis Ludlam was another player who wasn’t convinced a ban was the answer.<\/p>\n
For Ludlam, the song had been part of the England matchday experience for as long as he could remember.<\/p>\n
And he wasn’t keen on seeing it disappear.<\/p>\n
Speaking in 2020, he said:<\/p>\n
“I don’t agree with banning Swing Low.”<\/p>\n
Ludlam believed the anthem had developed its own meaning among rugby supporters.<\/p>\n
While recognising the debate surrounding its origins, he felt fans should be allowed to continue singing.<\/p>\n
Andy Farrell \u2013 Part of England’s identity<\/p>\n
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell also had his say on the famous anthem.<\/p>\n
The former England international, who represented the Red Rose after switching from rugby league, spoke about the song’s place in English rugby.<\/p>\n
“It was part of our identity, this is part of English rugby.”<\/p>\n
For Farrell, the anthem was closely tied to his experiences within the England setup.<\/p>\n
His comments offered another contrast to Itoje’s position.<\/p>\n
As RUCK previously reported<\/a>, Farrell’s views highlighted just how divided the rugby community had become.Will Swing Low ever disappear from Twickenham?<\/p>\nFor now, there’s no sign of the famous anthem being officially banned.<\/p>\n
The RFU’s 2020 decision remains its last major publicly reported ruling on the issue.<\/p>\n
England supporters have continued to sing it, although the debate surrounding its history has never entirely disappeared.<\/p>\n
Itoje has made his personal choice. Moore would happily see it go. Offiah and Ludlam have defended the tradition.<\/p>\n
It’s a debate where even some of English rugby’s biggest names cannot agree.<\/p>\n
One thing is certain: not everyone at Twickenham is singing from the same hymn sheet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"England captain Maro Itoje has made his feelings crystal clear about Swing Low, Sweet Chariot \u2013 and he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":802416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[256414,5903,118921,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-802415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-england-rugby-news","tag-rugby","tag-rugby-news","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/802416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}