The “spend, spend, spend” caucus on the Premiership board resent being told how much they can splash out on players, accusing the fiscal conservatives of driving the sport to the brink of a star-less abyss. Meanwhile, supporters of a tight salary cap fear the free-market fundamentalists will send the elite league clean over the edge and leave everyone kicking their legs in thin air like the cartoon character Wile E. Coyote before plummeting earthwards.
A sport that has spent the last few months with its pants around its ankles saw its divisions laid bare in the starkest terms – or rather, starkersest terms – in this paper a week ago. Paul Rees’ comprehensive account of the financial tensions at play included some revealing thoughts from the Bristol rugby director Pat Lam, who threw his reputational weight behind a steroid-enhanced version of Trussonomics.
“I think clubs should be allowed to spend what they can afford,” he said, adding: “The cap should go, or be increased towards £9m. It would be up to each financial director to set the budget and if clubs went bust, it would be their fault…Keeping everything down comes at the expense of the quality of the competition. I know the argument over what happened to Wasps and Worcester this season, but where were the financial directors?” Crikey.
Denne historien er fra April 23, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Denne historien er fra April 23, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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England show who's No.1
ENGLAND women’s head coach John Mitchell says his side will take valuable lessons from the 24-12 win over world champions New Zealand as they build towards their WXV1 title defence.
Skivington: We're going to roll dice and go for it
THE Cherry and Whites are the enigmas of the Premiership.
Looking to go one step beyond this time around
NE small step is what it will take for Bath to go one better than last season and secure the Premiership for the first time, but it would be one of the biggest taken by the club in the professional era.
Four-try England make it 17 wins on the spin
ENGLAND women opened the Allianz Stadium era at HQ with a victory over New Zealand to make it 17 wins on the bounce before their WXV title defence.
Time for Borthwick to prove his worth
HONEYMOON periods are not set in stone and in my estimation Steve Borthwick’s ends this summer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still in good shape.
Barrington ready to power up the Mob
RICHARD Barrington has signed up to the Ampthill “Mob” reassured that he’ll still have a target on his back most weeks.
Skivington keen to build identity
GLOUCESTER won their first trophy for nine years last season and reached the Challenge Cup final, but when George Skivington went on holiday the day after the campaign ended the words in his head were never again.
Roebuck targets England success
WINNING a maiden England Test cap to top the best season of his career will not be enough for Sale winger Tom Roebuck.
Booth: Tough telling players I was leaving
TOBY Booth admits telling his Ospreys players that he would be leaving at the end of the season was one of the hardest things he has had to do in his career.
Stephens' debut try sees off old rivals
DORKING had to dig deep in another tight game between two old rivals, with the lead changing hands twice and result in doubt right up to the final whistle.