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Saracens could potentially receive equal RFU funding as 11 other cash-strapped Championship sides
Despite the slashing of the annual RFU grant to Championship sides as of next seasons, relegated Saracens could be set to receive an equal share of the much-reduced sum.
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The RFU announced that they would be radically reducing funding to English rugby’s second league, which is nominally fully professional, but who rely heavily on the subsistence payment from the governing body.
The announcement has caused dismay across the league. This season Championship sides were able to avail of roughly £500,000 per club, which would work out at the equivalent of 20 players at £25,000 per season.
That figure has nearly been halved. According to an RFU statement, aggregate funding will amount to approximately £288,000 per club and “represents a return to the levels of funding prior to the 2016 – 2020 cycle”.
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RugbyPass asked the RFU to clarify if Saracens – as a Championship club – would receive the payment and a spokesperson for the body said it was yet to ‘confirm the specifics’ of the funding.
Not only could Saracens possibly receive this grant, but they are potentially set to avail of at least £2million in a Premiership parachute payment on their way to the second tier.
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It's been a Wednesday of mounting fury in Championship rugby circles… @chrisjonespress hears from two club coaches furious with the RFU's budget cut https://t.co/S4guDoJjDN
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 12, 2020
Despite an imminent player exodus, Saracens are expected to bounce straight back into the Premiership from the Championship. However, the job of competing with the English giants for smaller Championship clubs has just become significantly harder.
Championship clubs are furious at the cuts. A joint statement from Cornish Pirates and Coventry Rugby said: “For the RFU to then use their own failure to deliver on these as a justification for unilaterally decimating the Championship is nothing short of outrageous, not least because it has come from people – CEO Bill Sweeney and Director of Performance Rugby Conor O’Shea – who have been in post for only a short time, in Conor’s case just a matter of weeks and with Bill only having been in the sport for six months.”
Bad form by the RFU?
https://t.co/tZjMG5dId1— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 12, 2020
Elsewhere Saracens will be donating £1,000 for every try scored by Saracens Men at Allianz Park to three good causes for the remainder of the 2019/20 campaign.
The initiative will begin when Mark McCall’s side host Leicester Tigers on Saturday 7th March and money raised for each home dot down will be equally split between Saracens charity partner Duchenne UK, the Saracens Sport Foundation and the Saracens High School.
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Amid the drama of Saracens, reports that SA could soon join the #GuinnessSixNations & news that the RFU will cut Greene King IPA Championship sides’ funding in half, there is, thankfully, some actual rugby to watch this weekend – writes @alexshawsport ???https://t.co/GDaDBVOYyz
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 12, 2020
This weekend’s match against Sale Sharks (Saturday 15th February) will also be used to raise money for a separate charitable fund.
Worcester Warriors second row Michael Fatialofa’s JustGiving page will receive £1,000 for every Saracens try during the game as well as money collected via buckets around the ground, in the hospitality lounges and on the club’s match day shuttle buses.
There will also be a book where supporters of both Saracens and Sale Sharks can write messages of support for Michael.
Fatialofa sustained a life-changing spinal cord injury at Allianz Park in January and RPA’s (the official charity of the Rugby Players Association) campaign is raising funds to support the 27-year-old and his family with his needs throughout this testing time.
A statement read: “With the ongoing uncertainty over Michael’s prognosis, length of rehabilitation and future career/work prospects, donations will help cover immediate necessities as well as future finances, costs and unforeseen expenses of Michael and his family.”
For fans who would like to donate directly, they can do so via the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/michaelfatialofa
Comments on RugbyPass
This just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
16 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
16 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks 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.
26 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 🤐
16 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….
26 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….
16 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 💪
16 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
14 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.
16 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.
16 Go to comments