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What's the point of the salary cap? - Andy Goode

By Andy Goode
Players pose at Gallagher Premiership launch.(Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images for Gallagher)

The issue of the salary cap is back in the headlines again and it’s time for Premiership Rugby to finally clear up what its purpose is and whether it is enforceable.

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Is the salary cap there to stop clubs from going bust and to be considered a tool to help clubs protect themselves or is it a strict limit that is set out with the principle objective of ensuring a level playing field between all 12 teams in the league?

And, perhaps most relevant and most important of all, is it just a guideline or is it an enforceable legal requirement?

These questions have come to the fore once more because of what looks on the face of it to be a great bit of journalism by Laura Lambert and Matt Lawton for the Mail into some of Saracens’ practices and Premiership Rugby have said they will “look closely” at the information they have provided.

That’s all well and good and I understand that they will have to digest all of the information and go through the proper processes behind closed doors rather than reacting publicly in a knee-jerk fashion but it’s not the first time an issue like this has come to light and it has to be addressed.

I think Premiership Rugby have either got to be stronger and more transparent in relation to the salary cap and say publicly why it is there and that they are going to investigate any alleged breaches thoroughly and administer the stringent punishments that are listed in their terms and conditions or acknowledge that they are more of a guideline.

The salary cap was brought in originally to keep professional rugby alive and growing after the likes of Coventry and Richmond suffered financially in the early years but now it is often perceived as a way of trying to make sure everyone is on an even footing as much as is possible.

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Rugby clubs have been trying to get an advantage any way they can for as long as I can remember and back in my days at Leicester the away fans used to chant ‘same old Leicester, always cheating’, so the principle isn’t a new one.

Saracens want to be the most successful club in Europe and will look to make marginal gains wherever they can. Whether they’ve bent the rules or broken them with regard to the salary cap is a matter for those in charge to investigate, if indeed they deem there is a case to answer, but one thing is for sure…if Saracens are doing the things that the article has suggested and nobody is taking them to task about it, then they will continue to do them.

And, what’s more, other clubs might consider following suit if they know that it’s allowed or that they’re not going to be punished for doing so.

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There was an investigation into two clubs back in 2014 that lasted for almost a year and the clubs in question were never named but an out-of-court settlement was reportedly reached.

It was rumoured that one of the clubs threatened Premiership Rugby with serious legal action because the salary cap could be considered a restraint of trade. Whether that was the case or what the outcome would be in court is up for debate but Premiership Rugby obviously don’t want it to go that far.

There have been a couple of fines issued recently as well with Wasps paying £20,264 for overrunning their limit by £40,528 and Harlequins fined £6,239.50 for exceeding their limit by £12,479 but, whilst they were considered “a breach of the regulations”, there was “no suggestion it was deliberate”.

According to Premiership Rugby, Quins’ issue was “due to a systems error and that has now been addressed” and Wasps’ case was the result of “a number of adjustments” that were identified by the independent auditors and those have now been addressed too.

The article in the Mail suggests that the practice of property-sharing between Saracens owner Nigel Wray and players has been going on for 15 years so it’ll be interesting to see if that is followed up by Premiership Rugby and whether it’s allowed under their salary cap rules.

The fine print seems to indicate that “any accommodation or holiday cost” is an amount that should be considered part of a player’s salary but maybe there is a different way of looking at that and that will be something for the governing body to decide.

There just seem to be so many fairly sizeable grey areas in terms of what is and isn’t considered part of the salary cap and then even the wording in relation to those areas is very vague as well.

For example, one clause indicates that “if the player will be obliged to perform his obligations under the arrangement either wholly or partly at the direction of his club, it will be more likely to be considered salary”.
The phrase “more likely to be considered salary” crops up rather a lot so it is clearly open to interpretation and it is up to Premiership Rugby to determine what is and isn’t allowed as part of their rules but a bit more transparency would help the clubs and fans understand where everyone stands.

It’s a different kettle of fish but there has been a lot of uproar in recent years about certain big businesses not paying as much tax in the UK as people think they should be. If there are grey areas there, then people will look to use them to their advantage. That’s the reality of business.

The current level of the salary cap for 2017-18 through to 2019-20 is £7 million, plus two excluded players whose salaries sit outside the cap, enabling clubs to recruit and retain world class talent.

You have to tip your hat to Saracens for producing the huge number of players that they have for the England national team and people are bound to question how they are able to retain all of those players and acquire the services of another such as Elliot Daly.

Clubs are encouraged to develop home grown talent by accessing up to £600,000 of Home Grown Player Credits and the likes of Marcelo Bosch, David Strettle, Schalk Burger and Dom Day may all be retiring at the end of this season but you can see why people question how much their overall wage bill comes to when you look at the phenomenal amount of talent in their squad.

People would be far more annoyed if it was perceived that Saracens were spending too much money on 10 Kiwis, seven South Africans, five Australians and a handful of players from other countries, so you have to give their academy a huge amount of credit for what it’s achieved.

And, some people might feel they should be given more credit in monetary terms for bringing through so many England internationals but the rules appear to be quite clear and transparent in terms of how much clubs get for that.

In football there is no salary cap and, although there was a massive anomaly when Leicester City won the Premier League, generally where teams finish roughly corresponds to how much money they’ve spent so money clearly has a massive bearing on results.

I know some of the other owners are up in arms about the fact that other clubs may not be sticking to the rules in the same way that they believe they are, so it’s a big issue for Premiership Rugby and one that isn’t just going to go away.

Nigel Wray, who is reportedly worth around £315 million, hasn’t been part of the number of successful businesses that he has and amassed the amount of money he has by without being supremely intelligent and knowing what he’s doing.

He’ll have a team of many very good people around him as well advising him on the legalities of everything and recommending what is and isn’t possible.

None of us know the exact details of what’s allowed and what isn’t and how to interpret the grey areas but the Mail has raised questions about some of the devices being used by Saracens and provided information so I think Premiership Rugby need to come out and say whether there is a case to answer and if it’s something they are going to pursue fully or not.

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Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
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john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

34 Go to comments
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Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

34 Go to comments
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