Harlequins shed light on first tentative steps towards a return to play
Harlequins have given a forensic insight into how Gallagher Premiership clubs are taking the first tentative steps towards a return to play with their players arriving in groups of six today to launch the return to play protocol.
Five Quins players have opted not to take part in the opening day training due to personal circumstances but the rest of the squad was allowed to stat training in six strong groups with one hour breaks between groups turning up at the training base in Guilford.
All players have to answer a medical questionnaire before leaving their homes and then wait in the training base car park before being asked to walk to a point where their temperature is taken. Any player who has a temperature over 37.8c will be sent home. The players were today allowed to use weights equipment which they clean after use and the whole area undergoes a deeper clean before the next group arrives. The players are also allowed to train on the pitch while following social distancing.
Billy Millard, the Quins general manager, set out the time scale saying: “We are looking at four weeks for stage one and five to six weeks for stage two which would get the boys in a place to compete.”
Mike Lancaster, the Quins head of medical, revealed that if one of a group of six shows signs of COVID-19 the whole group would then go into isolation for a week. Lancaster is confident the schedule the players are following will get them ready for matches in the middle of August. Testing for COVID-19 will not take place until stage two with Quins preferring it to happen for all clubs at the same time and be centrally organised.
While the players are concentrating on getting fit again, Laurie Dalrymple, the Harlequins CEO, has serious financial problems to solve and revealed the club would support a cut in the £7m salary cap and reducing the number of marquee players who are signed outside the cap limit.
The Premiership clubs will meet later today to discuss a cut in the salary cap and a reduction to just one – from two -marquee players to try an control costs although their plans for a 25 percent cut in player wages to remain in place for the foreseeable future will be opposed by the players’ union.
Both moves have gained majority support amongst the Premiership owners with only Bristol firmly against the current system which allows two players to be signed who are not included in the £7m cap.
Dalrymple also admitted Harlequins were “open to the discussion” of ring-fencing the Premiership to end the threat of relegation which has seen Saracens ejected from the top flight for breaching the salary cap regulations. However, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers Manager Director insisted that creating an untouchable elite in the English game was “not right at the top of the priority list at the moment.”
Dalrymple said: “We would be supporting a restructuring of the cap and it has to be lowered to make the clubs sustainable. I would support a change to the marquee player system and I am optimistic and everyone agrees we want to remain competitive. There is a general consensus that at the moment the system isn’t working.
“It is going to take us longer than we thought to come through this to get to anywhere near the financial income we had. Our forecast is that revenues could be down between 30-50 per cent over the next year and we may have to be in this position for some time.
Comments on RugbyPass
Pick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
15 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
15 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
15 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
15 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
15 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
15 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
15 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to comments