Why Manu Tuilagi's case should act as a warning to Rugby Union
News emerged earlier this week that Manu Tuilagi and Denny Solomona had been sent home from an England training camp for “team culture issues”. Details are sketchy at best, and whilst initial reports of an altercation seem unfounded, the drunken incident was enough for Eddie Jones to send both to the naughty step to have a long hard think about what they’d done.
For Tuilagi, fresh off a much-heralded reinstatement to the England fold, many are suggesting this means the death of a once-promising international career.
Tuilagi burst onto the scene with Leicester Tigers in 2010, following in the footsteps of his brothers with his explosive power and unique combination of strength and speed. He was named in the England squad for the 2011 World Cup and in 2012 played an integral role in England’s historic defeat of the All Blacks. By 2013 he was a Lions tourist and so it was no surprise when, in 2015, Tuilagi signed a reported £400,000-a-year contract, becoming the highest paid player in English rugby.
However, pretty much ever since then, Tuilagi has failed to live up to these lofty expectations. Already nagged by injury problems, Richard Cockerill admitted at the time that it was something of a gamble. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s probably fair to say it’s a gamble that hasn’t paid off.
Tuilagi has spent more time on the shelf than the can of expired beans in my mum’s kitchen. That’s not to mention his numerous disciplinary problems, from punching Chris Ashton in 2011 (understandable), jumping from a ferry in Auckland in the same year and, most seriously, being convicted of assaulting two female police officers in 2015.
The eagle-eyed amongst you will have realised that these incidents actually precede the signing of his hefty contract. That assaulting of two women wasn’t enough to stop Tuilagi becoming the highest paid player in the league tells you two things – firstly, how desperate Leicester were to keep him and secondly, that rugby has a superstar problem.
This article isn’t intended to bash Tuilagi, or anyone else for that matter. But he does serve as a test case, and something of a cautionary tale against following the football route of elevating players to megastar status.
The reason Leicester felt compelled to offer Tuilagi such a high salary was because they felt they would get a return on their investment. He is a demonstrably talented player, with a unique ability to create something from nothing. That equals wins, which equals silverware, which equals money.
He is also a famous name and a recognisable face. That equals publicity, which equals supporters, which equals money. It’s not cynical to suggest some serious financial pros and cons were considered when debating whether to let the in-demand star head off to rival clubs. Leicester, however, is not a particularly rich club. Historic, yes, successful, yes, but in comparison to the likes of Saracens, Bath, or any number of French clubs with a wealthy backer, Leicester’s bank balance is extremely modest.
This means that the offer of such a large amount of money to one player will have had serious repercussions elsewhere in the budget.
Whilst initial fears that it would lead to in-fighting in the squad don’t seem to have come true, even my GCSE maths is enough to know that subtracting a large percentage from a total means there’s less to go round for everyone else.
Tigers did make a few high-profile signings post-Tuilagi, including JP Pietersen and Matt Toomua, but seemingly did so cautiously, knowing a huge chunk of their playing budget was sat on the physio table. That Toomua largely played in the same position as Tuilagi, and would have been on a decent wage himself, would have been especially irritating to those in charge of the Tigers spreadsheets.
Tigers haven’t seen the on-field success they’d have liked in recent seasons either. Whilst it would be ridiculous to pin all the blame on one player or one investment, having the shadow of Tuilagi lurking over the squad can’t have helped. The promise that he may return at any moment as the saviour of Welford Road would almost certainly have affected day-to-day operations as the club looked for direction, not knowing whether to build their future around him or cut their losses and focus elsewhere.
This is symptomatic of a larger issue, wherein the growing wage demands of players but slower increase in revenue of many clubs has created a need for superstars – if clubs can’t pay everyone the big bucks, they have little choice but to put all their eggs in one basket and hope that player is enough to lift the team to glory. Rugby can’t sustain its growing salaries in its current form, and examples such as the Tuilagi case should serve as a warning against throwing money around with the hope that some of it sticks to a trophy.
Of course, these fears could be unfounded. Maro Itoje is arguably the next superstar of world rugby, and is rumoured to be in line to become the Premiership’s first £1m player when his contract expires.
Thus far, Itoje has only had one notable injury, no major disciplinary problems and seems to generally have his head screwed on properly, especially given that he completed his law degree at the same time as starring for the Lions.
He may well serve to be a shrewd investment, offering excellent value for money for whichever club snares his signature in 2019. But at a time when the global game is looking increasingly financially precarious, we should beware the words of charlatan agents promising magic beans. If all we end up with is beans, then we could have saved ourselves all the bother and just looked in my mum’s kitchen.
Comments on RugbyPass
Will be great to see the Leinster first XV back in action again after their cotton wool time…
1 Go to commentsLooked up Grant Constable on google and reply was doppelgänger for Ben Smith
41 Go to commentsIt is so good that we now all get excited and debate who is best and emotionally get involved. We all back our teams which is great. Up until about 15-20 years ago, NZ was basically on its own, and then Saffa, Aussie and sometimes French and English were there. We now have at least 5-6 really top sides and another 4 who keep improving. This is so healthy. So we should not resort to rubbish comments and unhealthy debate, but rather all be chuffed that the product we watch is not competitive, exciting and often uncertain. It would be so good if World Rugger could find a way to align the rules to professional players as well as spectators. Live rugby games are SO boring as there is SO much down time as we wait for refs and TMOs and whoever else to look at every small event going back endless phases with the hope of eventually find a minute infringement to then decide cancel what was a wonderful try. This is the ultimate cork back in the bottle moment and feels like every balloon is always being popped. Come on- we must be better with the rules.
41 Go to comments“upon leaving said establishment I tripped over a stool knocking some bottles into the air and as I fell I accidently dislodged a police officer’s teaser who was passing by on an unrelated matter there by landing on said taser which caused it to discharge 50,000 watts into me. Out of shock I shouted Ireland are going to win the world cup. Upon waking up I apologised for the distress caused by my Ireland comment. The matter is closed. If you wish to pursue this matter may I remind you what I told Wayne Barnes when he sent me off. I AM A BIG ASS MAN”. Or was it “I AM A BIG ASS, MAN” or was it “I AM A BIG ASSMAN”?
1 Go to commentsThe only championship the Boks hold are: Great value for the incompetence of referees during the RWC Moaning endlessly and champions of spewing utterly ignorant 💩 at all times. Displaying the dangers of a third world education End of.
41 Go to commentsSouth Africa and Rassie do a phenomenal job of treating the 4 years in between World Cups as nothing more than a training exercise to build squad depth. The Six Nations money that keeps Irish rugby afloat is unfortunately too important to allow the same approach, and basic population size means we'll never get close to matching the depth of South Africa, England and France. That being said, Irish rugby is in a relatively good place and slowly improving inch by inch. If the other three provinces can pull the finger out and actually develop some players it'd be even better.
41 Go to commentsGood on Clarke for taking on the criticism and addressing his deficiencies, principally his laziness.
2 Go to comments“It is the people’s favourite against the actual favourite. It is the people’s champions against the actual champions. I’m joking, but it’s going to be a fantastic series.” Why did Darcy make that joke knowing it would be used as click bait? Why did RP headline it as a serious comment? Anyway, the tired comment isn’t very astute. SA players may have played more games etc. Darcy over estimated as a pundit.
41 Go to commentsNot sure Frisch will ever make the French team with Depoortère and Costes waiting in the wings to take over from Danty and Fickou.
1 Go to commentsThe Irish are tired and the Boks are old. The test series won't confirm who is best in the world, it will confirm which team needs to pursue the task of rebuilding with the most urgency.
41 Go to commentsGrant, the first time I have seen an article written by you. Maybe I have missed your previous stuff. These days all professional players effectively play a common season so all top players are equally tired, or rested. That is the job of the coaching ticket to build squad depth and juggle resources so players are ‘ fresh’ when the big games come. Possibly Ireland are less inclined to juggle squad compared to Rassie, who is prepared to take the risk to rest players as well as build depth throughout the year so come WC he has a full squad, experienced and rested enough to win 7 games. After all, to win WC you need to get through the tournament and then win the final big 3 games. Ireland should try and build a bit so come final 3 they are ready. So far only played final 1(QF). I am so looking forward to the Irish tour. Hopefully Rassie has enough time to align his guys, as he draws them from across the globe, and not from 2 sides locally( eg Leinster, Munster). No excuses, going to be exciting.
41 Go to commentsIn football, teams get fined and sometimes docked points for deliberately fielding weakened teams yet Leinster can pretty much do as they please with no comebacks. Could it be because Ireland run the URC? Could it be that Ireland run the ERC? Whichever it is, it stinks!!
6 Go to commentsIreland are only the People’s Champions in Irish eyes. The rest of the world do not care for them very much because of attitudes of people like Gordon, Ferris, Best, Jackman…I could go on!!
41 Go to commentsNot sure how Karl Dickson can ever ref a Quins game, he played for the club for 8 years as understudy to Care and is still close friends with half the team
3 Go to commentsAre bookies taking bets on how many times Vunipola's eventual statement will use the term “elders"? My money is on at least 4 times.
4 Go to commentsSo Ireland will be tired, despite having the most rested test squad in the world. They only play tests, champions cup and urc play off games ffs! Case in point; Leinster sent a B squad to SA for their last two games while their first xv rested up and trained at their leisure for the sf vs Saints at the so called ‘neutral venue’ of Croke Park. So tired? Do me a favour… And as for “people’s champions”? Seriously??? Outside of Ireland they are respected for their ability to win 6N. And of course plenty of inconsequential test friendlies without any real pressure. WC ko games when the pressure is white hot? Not so much…
41 Go to commentsSurprising how standing down or benching a player can do wonders for their motivation. Several players this week in that category.
2 Go to commentsHaha lads lads lads, that’s how you have a holiday In Majorca
4 Go to commentshit on Lynagh was defo late and card-worthy. The other 2 are bang on OK. Hurts you at Test level if youre timing is off and the nostrils are flared. Jerry C knew when to lean in on one, Finau just needs to keep his discipline and head straight.
7 Go to commentsSlade was exceptional against Gloucester. Not only was he doing the classic Slade stuff of running amazing lines and timing passes to perfection to put his wingers into space, he was kicking goals, flying off the line smashing people and crashing into rucks like a flanker… his hair even looked on point. 😍
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