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Job and salary cuts facing Saracens stars

By Chris Jones
Jamie George and Elliot Daly

Edward Griffiths, the new Saracens chief executive, has told the club’s high-profile squad some players may have to leave or face salary cuts to prove they are operating within the Premiership salary cap this season.

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Griffiths returned to the club last week after a five-year break charged with clearing up the debris left by a 35 points deduction and £5.3m fine for Saracens breaching the £7m (plus two marquee players) salary cap for the last three seasons. Some of Saracens international stars may have to follow Scarlets bound Wales full-back Liam Williams out of the club to lower the salary bill.

He told RugbyPass that there is no “magic wand” to solve the current financial problems and what used to be the strongest club brand in world rugby has been significantly tainted by the controversy.

Griffiths is working to identify the current financial situation and said: “Clearly there is damage to the brand. We are only obliged to show compliance with the salary cap at the end of the year but we recognise there are special circumstances and that is why we want to demonstrate compliance as soon as possible.

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“I am currently examining what the scope of any issue is and there are two ways of dealing with it. You either reduce your headcount by letting people go or alternatively you reduce the salaries of those already there. This will clearly cause instability and uncertainty within the squad and it is in everyone’s interest that this is sorted as soon as possible while also being mindful that we are dealing with people’s lives, livelihoods and reputations.

“I would hope to have answers sooner rather than later. I told the squad last week the primary challenge is to provide certainty, confidence and clarity as soon as possible but there is no magic wand. It cannot be done in hours and I hope it would be done in a matter of weeks. Of course this is a difficult time but we need to follow this process carefully and sensitively.

Saracens job cuts
Edward Griffiths, the new Saracens chief executive and Brendan Venter
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“It is now about how we deal with things and mistakes have been made but there have been an enormous amount of good things at the club and while it is important to address the errors we must not overlook the good.

“The first step is that after being found guilty and receiving an unprecedented fine and points reduction we have to demonstrate unequivocally that we are operating within the salary cap in the current season. We have to do that without any ifs or buts on two levels; on the spreadsheet with a calculator and also deal with the perception issue. We need to address the perception we are not operating on a level playing field in the coming days.”

Griffiths, who oversaw the move to Allianz Park from Watford during his previous time in charge, accepts the club’s relationship with other Premiership outfits has been damaged. “We need to recognise that we are partners with the other Premiership clubs and we are not adversaries. We are all shareholders in the same business and the ultimate goal is a commercially viable league and we absolutely support a vigorously applied salary cap. That is why we need to ensure we are compliant in the current season.

“If relationships have become strained then that is something we need to address. We are undertaking this process now not because anyone is telling us to do it but because we want to do it. This has been driven internally.”

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The remaining 12 clubs with Premiership shares have each been given £350,000 of the fine levied on Sarries and Exeter, the fiercest critics of the North London club, have announced their share of the money has been donated to the Exeter Chiefs Foundation, the club’s official charity. Griffiths added: “We have the utmost respect for Tony Rowe (Exeter chairman) and the Exeter Chiefs but as a policy we would not comment either positively or negatively on the internal matters of another Premiership club.”

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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