'Guys are out of jobs' - Rugby agent details the brutal decisions facing players as the market implodes
There is a World Cup thundering down the tracks and rugby has never been more box-office, yet seldom has the life of the rugby agent been so brutal.
Clubs leaking money, no longer prepared to pay what once they were. Incentives in England and regulations in France governing the selection of foreign players. More accomplished operators competing for fewer vacancies and toiling to find new clubs.
To the agents scrambling to shift their players, you might say dry your eyes. Agents have levered up the salaries and profited handsomely from the lavish riches on offer, so how dare they moan when the gravy train falters.
Though the market’s stinginess has made his job significantly harder, Tom Beattie takes a more pensive view. His company, TDB Sports, represents a small but prominent cohort of players, including Don Armand, Nick Grigg, Sione Kalamafoni and Demetri Catrakilis.
“For the long-term vision of rugby, the salaries need to have a period of stability,” he says. “That’s the main reason guys are out of jobs. Clubs are being very strict on the salary caps, and that’s meant that unfortunately some guys are left in a position where there isn’t that contract that there was a couple of years ago.
“It’s certainly a buyers’ market this year, because of the number of players without a contract. A lot of clubs can wait a bit longer and perhaps a player has to take a reduction in salary to get that contract.
“What’s happening now is that realism is coming back and I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I want rugby to grow, and have a period of sustainability and stability, so it can grow.”
In England, clubs are financially incentivised by the RFU to field more English-qualified players. Relinquishing your EQP status can mean severely hindering your chances of a Premiership contract.
France was once the land of great opportunity for foreigners, but the situation there is more labyrinthine thanks to the nuanced JIFF (Joueurs Issus des Filières de Formation) quota system. To meet the JIFF criteria, as French rugby expert James Harrington explains, “a player must have spent at least three seasons in a French club’s academy before they had turned 21, or had been licensed to play in France for five seasons before the age of 23”. Next season, Top 14 clubs must have 19 JIFF players in their 35-strong squads, and must select at least 14 on their match-day.
These numbers have gone up this summer, and so have the punishments for breaking the rules. Failure to hit the JIFF target will now result in points deductions – increasingly stringent attempts to restore the beleaguered national team to its former glory.
Ireland’s provinces and Scotland’s pro-teams are controlled by their unions, who quite sensibly prioritise the fostering of talent that can represent them on the Test stage. And “Project Reset” is supposed to deliver, among many things, financial sustainability to the Welsh regions, although the venture so far has largely brought rancour and confusion.
The rub of all this is that some players – not the real galacticos, but those with a handful of caps or a fledgling Test career beckoning – are forced to be increasingly calculating about their international prospects.
“A player can go to the World Cup this year and be absolutely fantastic, one of the stars of the show – it doesn’t mean they’ll come back and get a contract,” Beattie says.
“That is the market we’re in at the moment. There are no guarantees. You can be absolutely fantastic and have no job. What’s best for the player’s family?”
It shouldn’t be this way, but often it is. International rugby ought to be the shimmering pinnacle of the game, with the World Cup the jewel in its crown, but often it is not. In some cases, the pragmatism trumps the romance.
Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, the Scotland scrum-half and one of Beattie’s clients, wasn’t called up to Gregor Townsend’s training squad. Just as well, for if he had been, Hidalgo-Clyne would have had to decline. Not because he didn’t long to be there, but because he was hopelessly out of the picture at Scarlets and wanted to leave, because his chances of making the plane to Japan, let alone seeing any action, would be slim, and mostly because it would have meant spending the summer training with Scotland, rather than joining a new club for pre-season.
“Sammy’s a perfect example,” says Beattie. “I had so many conversations with clubs who like him. Why wouldn’t you like him? He’s a good player, but as a Scottish international, he’s non-French or English-qualified, so he doesn’t make their quotas.”
Hidalgo-Clyne has taken up a short-term contract at Racing 92, providing cover during the World Cup. His future beyond November remains murky, but in this fiendishly tough market, at least he’ll have the chance to play at a behemoth club and put himself in the shop window.
“Two or three years ago, a Top 14 or ProD2 squad make-up was generally 60:40 foreign:French, now it’s generally flipped,” says Beattie.
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“For a foreign player, even if you’re an English international, it’s that much tougher to go to France. The regulations often mean they can’t go –not because they’re not good enough, just because there isn’t space within the quota.
“Some agents are struggling because they’ve got a lot of players on their roster and they can’t get clubs for them all.”
There are horror stories emanating from the Top 14 alleging teams are pressuring their particularly vulnerable Pacific Islanders to shun the World Cup.
“A lot of the time, the French clubs want the guy that’s uncapped or basically saying, ‘I’m not going to play international rugby’,” says Beattie.
“And if you’re a foreign player, you kind of have to add something different in your contract, which could be, ‘right, I’m prepared to give up international rugby because I need this contract to look after my family’.
“I’ve had those conversations with players. They’re passionate about their countries, but they need a job. It’s a short career; if you get ten good years in rugby you’ve had a great career. You’ve got bills to pay, a roof to keep over your head, a family to feed.
“And it’s becoming a buyers’ market, because supply of players exceeds demand.”
Another of Beattie’s clients, the Canada prop Jake Ilnicki, has just helped Seattle Seawolves retain the Major League Rugby title. The competition is only in its second year, but the hope is that it can help chisel rugby into the American sporting psyche.
“For rugby to work, I absolutely believe it needs a strong America,” Beattie says. “That could make the global game a completely different landscape in terms of sponsors, TV monies, interest, and it could really benefit us over here as well.
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“If they can get a part of the core sports market, even a small part, we will see a massive effect on the whole of world rugby.”
For now, though, Beattie fears there is a danger that the prestige of international rugby will be eroded, players swayed towards forgoing caps or reluctant to tie themselves to a country because of the damage it may do to their bread-and-butter club career.
“I want my players who want to play international rugby to play international rugby, because it’s an amazing thing to achieve,” he says.
“The factors around that in terms of protecting their livelihood unfortunately need to be discussed. The sad thing is that you don’t want to have this club v country. No-one wants that, but it’s case by case, and all I can do is to give the player the options.
“I’ve had to put some offers to players before along those lines. I’ve given them the menu of different options to consider, and we’ve had to have those discussions, and not nice discussions. I really hope it can be solved.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments