Recruitment change coming for Premiership clubs and who will suffer most
While the vagaries of the Gallagher Premiership salary cap have made headlines in recent months, another driver of squad change over the next two seasons could come from a different source.
Instead of clubs just having to worry about getting their squad under the salary cap, they will also have increasingly worry about who their players qualify to play for at Test level.
The introduction of a new England Qualified Players system in 2024 – which has been recently confirmed – will see Premiership rosters altered significantly in the next two seasons. In a similar fashion to the LNR’s JIFF protocols in France, the new system will regulate how many non-England qualified players (NEQPs) can be selected in any given matchday squad.
As it stands, in the Premiership, a maximum of two foreign players can now be in the matchday 23, at all periods during the season. Given the current makeup of a number of squads, many might wonder if the legislation is being followed at all.
The answer is yes, thanks to the European Court of Justice’s Kolpak ruling, which came into being in 2003. As a result of the ruling; South African, Tongan, Fijian and Samoan players were not classified as overseas players in the context of the Premiership’s squad rules.
There was also the Bosman ruling to consider, which effectively meant any EU national has the same rights as any ‘local’ worker and therefore cannot be defined as a foreigner. Basically put, players from the likes of Ireland, Italy or France were all considered local in the context of professional rugby.
That changed in January 2021 as a result of Brexit, and now the league are amending the rules to reflect the UK’s positioning outside of the EU.
As such, the Premiership have created an interim period for clubs to get their house in order, in which players ‘who are or would have been classified as a Non-Foreign prior to 1 January 2021 will retain such Non-Foreign classification until the end of the 2023-24 season.’
While the exact details under the Professional Game Agreement (PGA) are still being ironed out, it is likely that clubs will be obliged to have a minimum of 15 EQPs in each match-day squad from August, 2024.
The ruling, which is still relatively generous in terms of how many none EQP each squad can support, will affect some sides far more than others. While one Prem side may need to make next to no adjustment, others will have to consider culling some of their none EQPs over the next 24 months or so.
For example, under the new ruling, Sale Sharks’ matchday squad for this weekend’s Gallagher Premiership game with Saracens contained 13 EQPs, two less than the new cap will allow in 2024.
One side that could be significantly affected is London Irish. As a snapshot example, London Irish’s 23 for their derby with Harlequins has just nine EQPs, well short of the 15 needed in two years’ time.
In stark contrast, Bath’s side that will face Exeter Chiefs today has 19 EQPs. Similarly, Harlequins’ side for their game with London Irish has 18 EQPs, comfortably over the minimum that will be needed.
According to Premiership Rugby Ltd, the level of EQPs in the league has been ‘fairly consistent’ since its inception and currently stands at ‘approximately 70 per cent’. That equates to about 200 English players playing every weekend in the competition.
The extent of the effect on the player market is yet to be seen, but it could theoretically lower the price of overseas players over time. Anecdotally, in France where the JIFFs rules are in place, French-qualified players fetch an increased premium with clubs eager to meet JIFF regs.
It could also stem the tide of South African players making a career for themselves in the Premiership. Currently, about 12 per cent of the league’s players hail from the Rainbow Nation.
One recruiter who spoke to RugbyPass believes the new system will give clubs an increased incentive to upscale their academy production lines, while simultaneously leading to more non-Kolpak players being recruited from the likes of New Zealand and Australia.
“It will definitely put an onus on smart domestic recruitment but it was also put a lot more pressure on academies. Not just the academies to produce homegrown players, but pathways that academies have in place to produce those players and make sure they are ready to play at Premiership level, which is something that English clubs have varied in strength at doing over the years.
“It looks like there will no longer be a foreign player, non-foreign player definition, so for recruiters, instead of thinking ‘Right, I can load my squad with Kolpak players from South Africa, or Fiji, or Samoa or Tonga, you are a little but more open in terms of what you can do recruitment wise, from New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and America, countries like that.
“At the moment, all those players would be deemed foreign, unless you can get them into that non-foreign category. A lot of Kiwi or Aussie players come over with Samoan, Tongan or Fijian passports for example.
“The fact they are removing that, and that you’ll just have EQP and none-EQP means you’ll probably have a little more flexibility in terms of your recruitment.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Jake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
9 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
9 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
35 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
35 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
9 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
35 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
9 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
9 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
11 Go to comments