Scotland are bringing a knife to a bazooka fight in an unwinnable war to keep star players
Finn Russell is gone. Stuart Hogg is going. It will take a monumental offer to stop Huw Jones following and more will be on their way – of that there is no doubt.
In Scotland, it was ever thus. Whether for money, for trophies, for new challenges and cultures and invigoration, sooner or later, top players pack their bags and leave.
You can chart the southwards flow of talent back well over a decade, to a time where the union were debt-ravaged paupers and the national team floundering. From the turnover come opportunities for burgeoning prospects to play, especially vital in an often-congested two-team professional set-up. And those who move on gather valuable experiences in a different rugby environment.
The worry is that now, with Scotland scalping big opponents while playing delicious rugby, with Edinburgh and Glasgow on a mission to become forces in Europe, and with the union richer than ever, the tide is not slowing.
Losing Russell, Hogg and – if he goes – Jones is not disastrous for Gregor Townsend. The head coach himself was one of the most-travelled players of his generation, soaking up experiences in England, France and even South Africa. Having three of his front-line backs and key leaders in Russell, Hogg and Greig Laidlaw in exile is not ideal, but they will be playing for three of the best clubs in Europe. They will get better and bring their learning back to the camp.
Russell is in sumptuous form for Racing 92, Laidlaw is flourishing at Clermont and Hogg in an Exeter Chiefs backline is an exhilarating thought.
But for the pro-teams, this is an increasingly alarming drain.
Generally, Scottish Rugby does a decent job of keeping its players as long as is realistically possible. Hogg had opportunities to leave long before he did, and for him, it was more about a shot at trophies than a pile of money. Jonny Gray was heavily courted before signing a new deal last summer and there was plenty interest in Hamish Watson when his previous contract ran out. But there is an expiration date on all these big names and their time in Scotland.
Ultimately, the union is waging an unwinnable war and it knows it. They are stuck in a maddening position – armed with a record turnover, yet still wielding a knife when the beasts of England and France bring bazookas to the negotiating table.
The information on Jones is that although Glasgow put, by their standards, a good offer on the table, Leicester Tigers and other Premiership teams are happy to lay down a lot more. We’re talking in the region of £300,000 a year. Scottish Rugby has to be very careful about how it spends that sort of money. It won’t be held to ransom, even when a player as thrilling as Jones is on the line.
Its clubs are led by two fabulous coaches, but even with Glasgow’s lofty status in the Pro14, neither is classed as a true European heavyweight. Players fancy their chances of silverware to be greater elsewhere.
And the union can’t incentivise staying home-based by enforcing a no-exiles selection policy in the national team – not with only two clubs, the need to develop young talent, limited funds and swathes of Scottish-qualified players scattered across the globe.
Even if they tried to cram all of Scotland’s international players into two teams, the youngsters would hardly get a sniff, and they’d be cutting off a load of talent that they are currently working hard to cultivate all over the world.
When Glasgow won the Pro12 title, they did it with a core of hungry Scots supplemented by experience and cleverly-recruited foreign talent. When Edinburgh swashbuckled their way to the Heineken Cup semi-finals, they were almost exclusively Scottish, with a sprinkling of overseas nous.
There are so many competing interests in the business. You need a balance in these squads. You need to feed the national side. You need to give your home-grown crop a platform to flourish and role models to learn from without throwing them to the wolves. You need the teams to be successful in their own right and to do that you need top players.
The festive period is contracting season in rugby and this is a seismic one for Glasgow.
If you’re a Warriors fan, you’d want to be sitting down before casting an eye over the out-of-contract list, headed up by coach Dave Rennie.
Tommy Seymour is one of their most cherished campaigners, an eight-year veteran and a title-winner who loves the club. But he will be 31 in the summer and no-one would begrudge him a move should a wealthy suitor come calling.
Alex Dunbar has been there for a decade and although his injury record will count against him in negotiations, if he stays fit and gets back to his old rampaging self, there will be interest. Sam Johnson, the man who kept him out of the team at the business end of last season, is also coming to the end of his deal.
With Russell gone, Adam Hastings has come roaring on to the scene and as Glasgow’s first-choice 10, the salary he can command will have rocketed up too. Ditto George Horne and Scott Cummings, whose first professional deals are expiring.
Lee Jones, Adam Ashe, Zander Fagerson, Jamie Bhatti, Alex Allan, Rory Hughes, Chris Fusaro, Siua Halanukonuka, Greg Peterson – all internationals; all out of contract.
The picture at Edinburgh is a little rosier, although their recruitment may be affected by the search to replace Jonny Petrie, their outgoing managing director. Richard Cockerill weighed up what he had pretty early in his first season in charge, got those he rated tied down long-term and those he didn’t out the door.
Darcy Graham, Murray McCallum, Luke Hamilton, Grant Gilchrist and Mark Bennett are out-of-contract but even allowing for their plentiful back-row options, the big one is Watson. The sharks are circling again for the barnstorming open-side and Edinburgh will do very, very well to keep him.
Russell, Hogg, Jones, Watson – four of Scotland’s finest players. Four players who put backsides on seats. Four box-office talents who ought to be in the conversation when we’re picking fantasy XVs in the pub.
Scottish Rugby have proven to be good recruiters when it comes to getting bang for their buck – Leone Nakarawa is the most obvious example, and they could only keep the Fijian maestro for so long – but replacing this volume of firepower without a drop in quality would be hideously tough.
Some would argue that is fine, that the pro-teams’ primary function is to stock Townsend’s talent pool. That as long as they are competitive, if not outstanding, in their tournaments and the next wave of players is emerging, they are serving their purpose. That the rise of the national side and the interest in its big names shows the system is working. Rennie, Cockerill, the players and thousands of supporters may have other ideas.
Glasgow will never be a force in Europe and Edinburgh can only continue climbing so far while talent of this class is lost. The gap to the true giants of the continent will never be bridged. And there is scarcely a thing anyone can do about it. At a time where there is so much to admire and such positive growth across the Scottish game, this brutal reality remains as telling as ever.
Comments on RugbyPass
“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.
22 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
3 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.
2 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…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 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)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments