PGP deal is looking good for all - Baxter

EXETER Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter remains hopeful that plans being drawn up as part of the new Professional Game Partnership between the RFU and Premiership Rugby will ultimately prove fruitful for all sides.

- MARK STEVENS

In a frank and honest assessment, Baxter explained how he envisages the new PGP deal, worth more than £260 million to England’s leading clubs over the next eight years, will pan out.

“It’s a funny one, the new agreement,” he said. “We are all in a bit of a catch-22, that is the reality. We want the game to be successful, we want the game to look from the outside like it’s aligned. If the England international team is successful that will aid the Premiership. If the Premiership is successful and thriving that will aid the RFU.”

As part of the new agreement which, it is said, is close to being rubber-stamped, it will see the introduction of hybrid contracts offered to up to 25 elite players within the squad, as well as the establishment of long-term strength of and conditioning and skill development programmes for players in conjunction with their club sides. England will also have a greater, but not necessarily final, say when it comes to medical decisions concerning a player.

"This is the scenario we are in," continued Baxter. "It's our job now to get on with it as clubs, make the relationship work, which is obviously going to be slightly different, and make sure we have a thriving product in the Premiership and there is a thriving English product across the board.