Gallagher Premiership teams will not be punished for fielding weakened teams
Gallagher Premiership clubs will have flexibility to select whatever team they want during the final nine rounds of the 2019-20 season and will not be punished for fielding a side full of academy players. The league will resume on August 14 when Harlequins host Sale at the Twickenham Stoop, with the campaign concluding with the final on October 24.
Given the tight schedule, clubs will have to play midweek fixtures and with only four days between some matches.
Phil Winstanley, rugby director at Premiership Rugby, was asked about the possibility of teams fielding academy players and whether the league would do anything to guard against that to ensure the integrity of the competition.
He said: “No, we will not. We have to protect some player welfare. We need to leave that flexibility to directors of rugby to select the right team for the right game.
“I think we will see broader squads and looking at the number of players that we have had into stage two training, we have to assume everyone who is in there is capable of playing Premiership rugby.
“We have to look at the positives and I think it will give opportunities to some young players that might not have had otherwise.”
November 21 has been mooted as the start date for next season, which would give players just four weeks off.
Internationals could be faced with the prospect of playing consistently for 12 months given the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa next summer.
Winstanley was adamant Premiership Rugby would find a solution with the Rugby Football Union and the Rugby Players Association.
“It is incumbent on everyone in the game to make sure we manage players appropriately,” he added.
“We will continue to work as three organisations and be collaborative in that sense and come up with a solution because it is in everyone’s interest to have a fit playing group.”
Premiership Rugby chief executive Darren Childs insisted all 12 clubs understand why they have made the decision to finish the season with the schedule proposed.
He said: “Everyone I talk to at club level absolutely understands their number one asset is their playing squad and they will not do anything which will put their number one asset at risk.
“We all acknowledge this is an exceptional year and we have had to make decisions that in normal circumstances would be difficult to make, but we are doing it for the right reasons.
“The clubs and everyone else agrees with that. We have to move on, manage it carefully and as Phil said there are detailed conversations going on right now to make sure we protect those players for the long-term future of their careers.”
Childs did warn it could be a “year or two” before the league returns to normal, especially if there is a second wave of coronavirus in the UK.
He was satisfied, however, that the announcement of the resumption of rugby had helped provide a positive mood at clubs again.
“Restarting and restarting safely and efficiently has been best vote of confidence that we can get back to normal,” Childs added.
“It may take a year or two, or longer if there is a second spike, but mood has changed now we see that first game is looming into focus and the ability to end the season.”
When the Gallagher Premiership returns it will be 159 days since the last fixture in March and during the ensuing months a number of disputes have transpired.
Clubs recently voted to reduce the salary cap from £6.4million to £5million for next season and it has resulted in player departures.
Quizzed on whether those cuts could damage the reputation of the Gallagher Premiership, Childs responded: “It is still the best league by a long way and that is a huge pulling power from the top talent around the world and that will always continue.
“There will always be people who want to go off and do something else. It’s been a regular occurrence players finishing their careers in other countries, but the impact we have dealt with is not unique to UK.
“I saw the French league have announced cuts to their salary cap and similar things are being discussed in Japan because we are all facing serious economic issues.
“It will level out and hopefully we will continue to be the most attractive league where the best players want to play their rugby.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Bar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
35 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
35 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
35 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
35 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
35 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
35 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
35 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to comments