Saracens salary cap scandal contributed to mess we're in - Andy Goode
The RFU and PRL have finally publicly acknowledged the need for change but action is needed quickly to transform the governance of the English top flight.
The Covid pandemic has exacerbated the situation and expedited the descent of certain clubs but the reality is that almost everybody in the league was overspending anyway and the authorities were powerless to or unable to do anything about it.
The current model basically involves the owners of all clubs having to thrash it out and agree to a course of action whenever anything significant is up for discussion, which means too often not a lot gets done, and some form of independent authority is sorely needed.
Whether it be a commissioner, like they have in American sports, or a committee is open to debate but they have to possess the power to make tough decisions in the best interests of the whole league and, crucially, be able to monitor what the clubs are up to.
In the wake of the Saracens salary cap scandal, greater transparency was promised and the powers of the salary cap manager were extended to keep closer tabs on what clubs were spending. This same approach is now required for the overall finances of clubs.
Projections for revenue and expenditure are obviously routine in business but clubs should have to submit them to be signed off and be aware that their financial activity can be monitored to ensure they’re on track.
If that had been the case in recent years, there is no way the mismanagement at Worcester would have been allowed to go on for as long. It’s amazing they were allowed to start this season given some of the stories about not being able to buy tape and bailiffs turning up at the training ground during the last campaign.
Wasps aren’t as far down the line and could yet apply for their suspension to be lifted if progress is made but if and when they do enter administration, the administrator will be doing what’s best for the creditors.
That means somebody could buy the ground or the casino or parts of the business that are potentially profitable, leaving the rugby club in an even bleaker position.
In the meantime, the players and staff are left in the middle and in limbo, as was the case with Worcester a couple of weeks ago. At least Wasps have fronted up and not sent the team down to Exeter, knowing that this was on the horizon anyway, but that will clearly feel like scant consolation at the moment.
Other clubs are reportedly readying themselves to make offers for the likes of Jack Willis and Joe Launchbury when the time comes and hopefully as many as possible will find new employment if the worst does come to pass.
Those new contracts may not be as lucrative as the ones they had before, though, and players’ wages have increased dramatically in recent times and revenues have not risen at anywhere near the same rate.
In that respect, there’s little doubt that the aforementioned Saracens salary cap scandal contributed to the troubled times we’re in today as other clubs sought to keep pace and had to spend bigger to do so.
Wasps and Worcester are suffering now but there are reportedly another couple of clubs close to finding themselves in a similar situation. That could take the number of clubs in the league down to nine, which not even Rob Baxter would want, and where do you draw the line?
A 13-team competition was always a bad idea, and the prospect of extending it to 14 sides was absolutely bonkers, but I actually think 12 teams worked quite well on the face of it and I don’t think just cutting the number to 10 solves all of the ills.
The governance of the league should be the number one priority and the sooner Premiership Rugby are able to act and bring about change on that front, the better.
Just appointing an independent commissioner or committee won’t change things overnight but giving them powers to effectively monitor, investigate and audit all the clubs is integral to creating a sustainable future for the league.
Inflation in players’ wages and clubs spending beyond their means, together with the effects of the pandemic, caused this situation and the RFU and PRL need to back up their words with prompt action if there is to be light at the end of the tunnel.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
2 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments