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As the kid who struggled to learn growing up until a dyslexia diagnosis and as the skipper of the 2015 England team widely ridiculed for failure at their own World Cup, Chris Robshaw knows all about difficult times.
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He learned to cope, learn to roll with the punches and came out the other side. Adversity has been part of life, part of sport, and it’s why he was at a loss on Wednesday as to why Saracens didn’t bother attending the new-season Champions Cup launch in Cardiff.
There had been a swirl of negative publicity surrounding the Londoners in the wake of the revelation that they had repeatedly breached the Premiership’s salary cap and would be fined in excess of £5million and deducted 35 points if their appeal against the sanctions isn’t successful.
But that shouldn’t excuse them not turning up at a launch event where they are the defending champions. “I do think they should be here and fronting up,” he told RugbyPass.
“Then again, you are asking a player to do it, you are asking a coach to do it and are they the ones who are making those (salary cap) decisions? To put them out into this… it is going to be a tough time for them, but it is one they have brought on to themselves and they are going to have to deal with it for some time I’d imagine.”
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Robshaw doesn’t hold his tongue in condemning Saracens’ accounting shenanigans, even though Harlequins were well off the pace of their London rivals in the three seasons they were found to be in breach of the cap. Quins were 25 points and five wins behind Nigel Wray’s club in 2016/17, 41 points and nine wins behind in 17/18 and 22 points and six wins behind last term.
In the latter two of those seasons, Saracens went on to lift the trophy via the play-offs and Robshaw has no hesitation suggesting an asterisk should be placed alongside the champions’ name in the roll of honour. “Definitely,” he said.
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“That is the big thing at the moment, that is the big thing. There is talk should they lose their titles, is the points deduction enough, is the fine good enough? All those type of things are going to continue to weighed up and spoken about for some time, but it definitely it has got to be looked it.
“If this is upheld it’s pretty obvious those titles have been won unfairly,” Baxter said at the season-launch of the @ChampionsCup in Cardiff.https://t.co/RgVjsekti4
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 6, 2019
“To see they have cheated and it has come out that they were above the salary cap and what they won in that time isn’t fair on the rest of the competition.
“It’s a huge low, a huge low, one of the biggest in the sport. For us, we are a sport that pride ourselves. Often we look down our nose at other sports. We always compare us to football and we look at our ethics when they cheat and stuff, but the grass is no longer greener – we [rugby] are as bad as everyone else.
“We [rugby] have cheated and this is big. I don’t think it is something that can be brushed away quite easily. It’s going to take some time to get through and it makes the league no longer competitive.
“When you look back and say, when you look at a team who have been dominating for years and extremely dominant and they have been caught cheating, maybe that is the answer.
“Maybe that is why you can see they have been so successful when everyone else has been struggling, everyone else has been competing to be competitive to try and keep in their salary caps, to get the best quality as possible to try and be competitive.”
Robshaw insisted the salary cap is of utmost importance to the Premiership’s viability and its rules must be adhered to. “It makes our sport as competitive as possible. We don’t have the backing that football has in terms of TV money, fan engagement, in terms of burns of seats so to speak.
We’re at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff for the Heineken Champions Cup launch. @ChrisRobshaw & Adam Jones are on duty today. Who else is buzzing for our European journey? pic.twitter.com/q8UfPWCYDi
— Harlequins ? (@Harlequins) November 6, 2019
“For our league to be competitive we need to have a salary… it is supposed to make our game sustainable and also competitive so that we aren’t drumming up these big losses for owners, that we can grow the sport organically as well and have a competitive league.”
It won’t be until January 26 when Harlequins next cross swords on the pitch with Saracens. Will the salary cap bring an added edge.
“No, I don’t think it will. It’s a London derby, it’s always tough. I don’t think it will be any spicier now that have been caught cheating, so to speak. I don’t think that will change. It will be probably interesting to see how they respond. I know they are not here today and how they respond to it will be interesting.”
WATCH: Siya Kolisi and Rassie Erasmus talk to the media following South Africa’s arrival home
Comments on RugbyPass
It 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….
77 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 💪
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?
44 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 comments