'Plainly, we can't have a situation whereby Sam Hill lines out for Sale against Chiefs in the Premiership Final' - Andy Goode
It’s obviously a waiting game for rugby clubs at all levels at the moment, and people’s health is far more important, but the financial situation is a perilous one.
Clubs are businesses and the government announced a £330 billion business loan package yesterday so every single one should be looking into how they can avail themselves of whatever they’re entitled to in order to survive.
The stark reality is that may not be enough for some lower down the food chain if things do get worse but, whereas those at the top of the game in football no doubt could filter money down to those less well off, the financial picture in rugby isn’t as rosy.
We’re coming up to April and the end of the financial year and Premiership clubs lost getting on for £50 million collectively in the last year we have the numbers for. Only Exeter Chiefs made a profit according to the figures submitted to Companies House.
That collective deficit has grown considerably in the last few years and the likes of Leicester and Northampton are no longer posting figures in the black as they were not so long ago.
Those elite clubs rely on match day income, including bar revenue and all sorts as well as the cost of tickets, but that clearly represents an even bigger proportion of a club’s income lower down the leagues.
The one thing we have to hope at all levels is that the situation with regard to Coronavirus improves quicker than many fear and the season can be resumed in five weeks’ time or at least a couple of months’ time and not too much longer.
If that is the case, then the international summer tours can be cancelled and there is a chance for the Premiership and Champions Cup campaigns, for example, to be completed. Even if that means the start of next season is delayed and the Premiership Cup has to be scrapped for 2020/21.
The other major issue that we will definitely face at the top of the game because of this suspension relates to player contracts. They generally expire at the end of June and the season is now sure to finish after that.
Plainly, we can’t have a situation whereby, for example, Exeter and Sale reach the Premiership final and Sam Hill has been playing for the Chiefs all season and then turns out for the Sharks in the final as he has signed for them for next season and is now their player.
The obvious solution is for existing contracts to be extended automatically for however long until the current campaign is finished but there will be issues with that as some players will be taking pay cuts or getting pay rises with their new clubs so something will have to be decided on that.
You would hope that common sense could prevail on that front and a solution wouldn’t be too difficult to find but insurance really could be a problem. It won’t matter if players aren’t switching clubs but if they are, what happens if they get injured after June 30?
The RPA have got a massive role to play too in terms of ensuring that the players have a voice and any issues arising out of the season being extended and players being caught between two contracts are resolved satisfactorily.
At the moment we’re just hoping that the season can get back underway at some point in the not too distant future but these are the things that clubs will be discussing already and they’ll have to come together and reach an agreement in order for it to continue.
We have to hope that time doesn’t run out as well because you can’t play two games in three days in rugby like you can in football. We’ve spoken about five-day turnarounds in recent times and how that’s just not on in the modern game so any less just isn’t possible.
I have played two games a week in the past but you just can’t do that any more and player welfare has to remain paramount. If the suspension goes on any longer than five weeks as well, there will have to be at least a mini pre-season before we resume playing.
There’s no substitute for bone on bone rugby and you can’t just take a couple of months off, potentially self-isolating and training alone for most of that, and then just get straight back into playing at the top level.
Clearly, there are a lot more questions than answers at the moment and we’ll have to wait patiently, taking on board the appropriate advice before a plan can be put in place, but it’s going to take a collaborative approach to get things done when we do know more.
Comments on RugbyPass
The 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….
75 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!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 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
12 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.
9 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.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 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 commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to comments