Three, possibly four, Premiership clubs are in genuine danger of going under
Trapped in our homes with no other outlet, rugby social media is in overdrive. Every which way you look on your smartphone, web pages are sopping wet with nostalgia, what-ifs and fantasy XVs. If you want to know how much a fan base loves its sport, take it away from them.
And yet, despite the strength of the outpouring, the frailty of the sport cannot be disguised. Rugby is ailing; it has been for quite some time. And without the rosy-cheeked complexion of fixtures, the sport’s pallid and listless condition has become increasingly evident.
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Big Jim and Goodey are back and joined by Italy international George Biagi, who updates The Rugby Pod on how coronavirus is affecting his country
In England, the situation is critical and complex. We knew, regretfully, that this pandemic would claim lives. But could it also be about to kill off a whole sport? The balance is precarious. Clubs in the Gallagher Premiership have all cut staff and player salaries. The money from TV is not currently forthcoming and the clubs had to act promptly.
The CVC money was quickly eaten up by clubs spending in the region of a million pounds a month. The process has been understood by the players. The RPA, the union in place to support the players, has rightfully suggested they seek legal advice, but most players recognise this is about their wider existence rather than them missing out. The players know why cuts need to be made.
What makes things trickier for the clubs is that BT Sport’s new TV deal was being negotiated. When Covid struck, Premiership Rugby and BT were thrashing out an agreement for 202 which sensibly has now been shelved pending developments with the pandemic.
Unfortunately, it means there is nothing concrete about the season after next. BT Sport have been incredibly supportive of Premiership Rugby during this period but they are understandably holding back on the future. That makes planning long term a lot more tricky.
Let’s assume a broadcast deal is secured on similar terms to their most recent contract – does that solve things for the Premiership Rugby clubs? In short, no. However, a potential answer has ironically been presented to English rugby’s top tier by this global pandemic. Cutting salaries will allow clubs to operate in the short term, but the whole sport would be a great deal better off if the clubs could drop salaries forever.
I asked Ed Slater a question on the Gloucester Rugby Podcast this week. Slater, the ex-Leicester lock now in situ down at Kingsholm, has recently completed an MSc in sports directorship during which he wrote a dissertation on the financial issues facing rugby.
His findings are a closely guarded secret and it’s not difficult to work out why: his livelihood and that of his fellow professionals would be under the microscope. The question I asked Slater on The Podding Shed was relatively simple: has the Covid situation fast forwarded the collision course rugby’s finances was on?
"It’s a lot more difficult for those lower paid players to stick their heads above the parapet because they might be judged for doing so."https://t.co/w5m6CkKwYw
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 27, 2020
His answer was understandably fudged for the medium he was speaking on, yet an affirmative came in USA Rugby’s own most recent press release as they announced they were filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. “Existing financial challenges have been accelerated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” they declared. Chapter 11 gives them a chance to reorganise themselves and their debt. I wonder how many Premiership Clubs would like to do that, given the chance?
Over the last ten years, players’ salaries have steadily increased. Naturally, as the years have gone by and details of deals have been released, the next player has desired more. Good agents are a knowledgeable lot and they are aware of the going rate for every type of player, just wanting to get a smidgen more for their man. Hence things have constantly crept upwards, every club trying to keep up with the other, each trying to make their own players feel a little more special.
Of course, with hindsight, they should have resisted. Some did try and put things in place. Harlequins did a very good job of retaining the top tier of their players by making sure that no one in that bracket was paid more than another. The top tier players were allegedly paid the same salary, knew they were equal and that no one was earning more than them.
Quins were able to hold onto a huge amount of talent in that way, but even this seemingly solid nut was eventually cracked. The London club have lost perhaps their greatest asset as Kyle Sinckler, the England and British and Irish Lion prop, will join Bristol in summer. It doesn’t take much to guess that he must have been offered more than that top tier.
The fact that this approach is not unilateral is its undoing. But how can you create that unity amongst clubs competing against each other? If one club has a wealthy backer happy to meet that overspend, then there is little stopping the outbidding. But does this do our sport any good? It seems strange to talk about altruism amongst those hunting personal triumph, but the thrill of the chase is killing the horse. As we have already discussed, we love the horse more than anything else.
“I hope we all get some external help because I would hate… it would be disastrous for the game if we lost clubs" @CoventryRugby boss @njperformanceuk fears the worst – writes @heagneyl 👨💻https://t.co/W0CU4euLRu
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 29, 2020
The other issue muddying the water is marquee signings. This was brought in to ease the pressure on the salary cap, allowing each club two players whose (normally large) salaries would sit outside the cap. But the unrecognised effect of these inflated salaries is how they skew the range on which all other players sit.
Let’s stay with Bristol to explain the difficulty. It is pretty well known that one of their marquee players, Charles Piutau, signed a £1million-a-year deal. This number then becomes something of a gauge for all other personnel in that squad.
Let’s look at some of their younger, very promising players: Callum Sheedy, Harry Randall, Piers O’Conor, all playing a large part in the Bears’ campaign. Are they each worth only 20 per cen of Piutau?
It doesn’t sound much but even if they agreed that their contribution to the squad is worth only 1/5th of their beloved full-back, then they should be asking for at least £200,000-a-year next time they come to negotiate their contract (£80,000 more than the average Premiership wage). Another question for clubs: is one Piutau worth five O’Conors? Marquee signings cause more problems than they solve.
The other unusual thing that has been happening in rugby is scheduled pay increases. Even for non-playing staff, multi-year contracts are written as such (as an example): £40,000 for the first year, £45,000 for the second, £50,000 for the third. There is no reason for that increase. It is not based on hitting targets or success in the role. But this is how it has always been in rugby.
Commercially, this is crazy. No other business entity would work like that. Many players’ contracts are the same: £140,000 becomes £150,000 which then becomes £160,000. £20,000 spent for no reason. The commercial world is not adverse to bonus payments but that must be connected to financial or company success, and there is next to none financial success in rugby.
Some rugby club bosses want a lowering of the salary cap. This would be a potential solution but it comes with serious complications. What about those already on deals and those hoping for their final step up? Many players will have their lives set up on the promise of certain amounts coming in.
The dichotomy is between an individual demanding what they think they are due versus the club staying afloat. The way society has acted recently doesn’t make me hopeful that selfishness will be avoided. And in a way, why should current players foot the bill? The more questions you attempt to answer, the more queries are put forward.
How serious is this? My understanding from conversations with people within the game is that there are three, possibly four, Premiership Rugby clubs in genuine danger of going out of business in the next few months. Maybe that is what needs to happen. Maybe the best developments will only be made if everyone folds and has to start again. All I know is, nothing is off the table in these unprecedented and deadly times.
WATCH: Billy Vunipola chats to Jim Hamilton in the latest episode of The Lockdown, the new RugbyPass series
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to comments