French owner issues stinging rebuke to rivals who claim rugby players are generally overpaid
Jacky Lorenzetti has no intention of joining in the chorus that rugby players are paid too much and that one legacy ramification of the current coronavirus pandemic must be that salaries should be lower than they are in 2019/20.
The Racing 92’s president’s wings may have been clipped this week by his admission that the Parisians have failed in their ambitious seven-figure plan to secure the loan services of Maro Itoje next season. But he has no interest in siding with club owners in France and England who believe the stoppage to fight the virus outbreak is a perfect opportunity to reset the sport and bring spiralling player wages under control.
Lorenzetti’s business ventures, such as a calendar of sold-out concerts at Racing’s ground and his wine portfolio, have been hard hit by the pandemic, but he doesn’t believe rugby needs to cut its cloth to manage its bottom line going forward.
In an interview in the latest edition of Midi Olympique, the French bi-weekly rugby publication, the business magnate spoke about the current player salary cuts that have spread through the game globally. “I ask you a question: would you agree to lower your salary by 30 per cent? Wages in rugby are not extravagant. So I’m not a staunch defender of lower wages,” he said, dismissing the likes of Montpellier president Mohed Altrad, who revealed that his club lost €700,000 due to the stoppage.
“We are all talking about heavy losses in the Top 14 budgets but we are not talking about the considerable aid from the government. Our players receive from the state 84 per cent of their net salary, do you realise? We are talking about significant wages, wages far above the income of those who touch the minimum wage twice to save our lives. The French social system is exceptional. So stop crying, it becomes indecent. Rugby is not just about numbers and scribbles of accountants.
“I have been in rugby for twelve years. I’ve never seen a club shut down before. In the Top 14, everyone has their economic model but it works: the investment of a patron who takes care of their ego a little; the intervention of social patrons like in Clermont or Castres, who have created clubs to distract the city because what would Clermont and Castres be without rugby clubs?
“The CO, the ASM, these are the headlights of the week. There is also the classic model of a club that relies on its territory, such as Toulouse, Bordeaux or La Rochelle. And then there are entrepreneurs like me who are trying out a new model.
“I’ve put in €35 million over the past ten years, but now Racing and the Arena operates in near independence. The break-even point would be an average of 15,500 spectators at the Arena. And we are not very far…”
Lorenzetti refused to be downcast by the current situation, despite its potential cashflow implications. “The situation is not far from being catastrophic for our performance hall,” he admitted.
“McCartney is 40,000 seats. Green Day, 40,000 seats. And then we sold close to 200,000 tickets for Celine Dion. So there you have it, today we have to talk to agents, insurers and producers to find solutions. The futures (in the wine business) were postponed because there were no longer any Asian, Russian or American customers. Today, I have over a million bottles on my back. Won’t you help me drink them?
“Yeah, it’s weird, all that. The stock market is collapsing, the real estate is at a standstill but still, morale is good. We will defeat the baby, the rebound will be good… I’m an eternal optimist and I don’t have to complain. The real heroes of this time, it’s the doctors and nurses who are fighting to save lives.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments