There's no smoke without fire - Andy Goode
The PR departments may have denied the stories but it’s been another bad week for the Premiership with financial headlines about two more clubs and there’s no smoke without fire.
The reported US takeover at London Irish may well materialise this week but having to insist that players and staff will be paid on time is never a good sign and the devil will be in the detail.
Mick Crossan has been looking to offload the club for ages and even said he’d give it away for free last year yet there still haven’t been any takers until now so it’ll be interesting to see what the deal looks like and it’s fair to be sceptical at this stage.
There aren’t exactly people queuing up to buy Premiership clubs at the moment, given they aren’t turning a profit and there is a lot of uncertainty around, and the Exiles have debts of over £30 million.
Of course, they aren’t on their own and it was interesting to see Bath releasing their financial information for 2022 this week with a top line about them generating £19.8 million in revenue and the all-important detail that they are “currently loss-making” buried further down.
Bath have Bruce Craig so there isn’t thought to be concern about them but you have to wonder how long owners like him are going to prepared to pump money in for and continue to lose money.
Creating a system that is financially viable and sustainable is obviously easier said than done but perhaps a model more similar to the Irish one involving central contracts, which was unthinkable not so long ago, will become a reality in the not too distant future.
Newcastle have been spending nowhere near the salary cap for a long time now but have been cutting costs even more, with front rowers George McGuigan and Trevor Davison and head coach Dave Walder all departing recently, and they have been forced to deny reports they’re preparing for voluntary relegation.
There’s no smoke without fire though and I could see it happening. To be honest, you couldn’t blame them if they did want to drop out temporarily and leave a 10-team league as long as there was a pathway for them to return.
Premiership Rugby CEO Simon Massie-Taylor is on record as saying “people have recognised that 10 is an optimal number” and someone has to drop out if that is to come to fruition. The key is for the mooted 10-team second tier to look better than it does at the moment.
London Irish and Newcastle aren’t the only clubs with concerns over them, though, and any clubs that don’t own their ground are more susceptible to difficulties than others.
Sale have been going great guns on the pitch this season but they made a loss into several millions in their latest accounts and could be looking over their shoulder, while Exeter seem to be cutting back and even Leicester needed a cash injection a couple of months ago.
When the biggest club in the country, which attracts crowds of over 20,000 for every home game, needs £13 million to be pumped in swiftly to avoid going into administration you know the lay of the land isn’t good.
CVC invested in the Premiership years ago now, and have since struck similar deals with the Six Nations, URC and other rugby products, but we’ve heard nothing at all about what they make of all this and it feels like they’re biding their time in the background.
Maybe they will raise their head above the parapet soon or maybe they’ll wait for things to get even worse before they get better but another restructuring is imminent with an 11-team league no good for anyone.
Two teams in Worcester and Wasps have already gone to the wall this season and one can only hope another doesn’t suffer the same fate and make it a quarter of the league fallen by the wayside in just one season.
We’ll have to wait and see what unfolds in the situations of London Irish and Newcastle and only time will tell but, regardless of the PR denials, it has been another sobering week and a reminder of the precipice that the game in England is on.
Comments on RugbyPass
The value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
10 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
37 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
10 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
37 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
37 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
37 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
37 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
37 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
37 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to comments