'Extremely damaging' Premiership infighting must end for the good of the game - Andy Goode
Premiership clubs are dealing with some of the toughest possible subjects to resolve at the moment but they have to get on the same page fast for the good of the game. Whether it’s the details of the salary cap regulations in the wake of Lord Myners’ review or how long clubs need to prepare if it is possible to restart the season, the clubs don’t seem to be able to agree on much at the moment and that has the potential to be extremely damaging if it continues.
Clearly, it would be much more straightforward if the league was dictating to the teams but the Professional Game Board has to meet and an agreement has to be reached so it isn’t easy to reach a consensus with so many different parties with different views but it’s vital that the clubs get aligned soon.
I completely understand Steve Lansdown’s position on the salary cap and it’s great that Bristol are in such a positive place but if more than a few clubs feel similarly and then another group feel we need to rein in spending, there’s obviously going to be an impasse.
Realistically, I think the majority of clubs can’t continue with the status quo given the situation we’ve found ourselves in and we just can’t allow clubs to go bust and end up with a six-team league when we come out the other end of this.
You can completely see the point about wanting to grow the league commercially but it’s a tough time to be doing that in right now and if there isn’t enough change and revenues don’t significantly increase in the immediate future, half the clubs will be gone in a few years without a shadow of a doubt.
The details around returning to playing rugby are hugely difficult to agree on because this is something none of us have seen before and there is no hard and fast rule for it but Pat Lam thinks four weeks of training is enough, while Geordan Murphy wants eight weeks.
The word is that testing regimes could cost each club up to £20,000 per week as well so there is a financial implication when clubs are struggling for money as well.
Plus, of course, the majority of players are furloughed at the moment and there will be a big debate going on around the level of their pay when they do return to training.
Clearly, they will expect to return to full pay when they return to work and I’d have been exactly the same when I was a player but clubs will have massively reduced revenue for many months to come even when rugby does resume as games will be played behind closed doors. Again, the solution isn’t straightforward.
You can see why Bristol might want a shorter build-up if their squad is in a good place and see an opportunity to win the Premiership and you can see why Leicester might think longer is necessary and they aren’t realistically going to make the top six this season.
Both views are understandable ones but a consensus has to be reached and player welfare must be at the forefront.
It was great to hear weeks ago that Premiership Rugby wanted to try to become the first sport back in England after Coronavirus and it’s only right that they had that aim but the level of contact in rugby means it is the most difficult sport to get back.
Nobody is saying it’s easy, far from it, and all of the conversations going on right now are difficult ones to have. It’s tough for everyone to agree but time is of the essence and we don’t want to be left behind when it comes to returning to play or the salary cap.
The faster the clubs become aligned, the better it’ll be for the whole sport. We can’t be fighting lots of individual battles right now and have pockets of clubs battling against one another when the future of the league and the sport is at stake.
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks 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.
25 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 🤐
13 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….
25 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….
13 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 💪
13 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.
13 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.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 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?
13 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?
45 Go to comments