Money Matters

This weekend Jersey RFC have sealed promotion to the Championship, taking one step closer to their search for Premiership rugby. It’s been no secret that their rise to the second tier in English rugby has coincided with huge investment in the club, paying huge wages to players even when they were in National League 3 South. They are not the only example of money making the difference within the sport this season.

Jersey will play in The Championship next year

The all French Amlin Cup semi-finalists drill home the progression that these clubs have made without a salary cap. The strength in depth created as a result of French sides being able to bring in big names has been apparent, as English sides have fallen by the wayside in European competition at the end of a tough season. Saracens, a club that we consider wealthy and often wonder how they are staying below the £4million wage mark, were swept aside by Clermont almost as easily as Quins were by Toulon the night before.

I am all for the academy structure put in place, and first implemented by Stuart Lancaster at Leeds Tykes 10 years ago, and as a fan it is great to see young players coming through and making their mark. But it is hard to see how Premiership clubs will compete in Europe in years to come against RaboDirect Pro12 clubs with 10 international players playing week in week out together and French clubs with seemingly unlimited budgets.

Money has been on the agenda at Wasps as well, and excitingly for the neutrals it has come down to an end of season showdown at Adams Park with Newcastle. Wasps are still favourites but if the Falcons defy the odds it could signal the end for the Wasps and not only for their 25 year run in the top division.

It will be interesting to follow the Aviva Premiership through the next couple of years in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup in 2015, as sides have to look at ways of keeping their top players away from potential suitors as well as bringing in new big names to keep fans and sponsors alike interested.

Have Jersey proved all of our mothers wrong and show fans that money really does bring happiness?

Until next week,

Andy

Henson & Co left in the dark ages

Gavin Henson has been released, again, and is the latest in a growing list of players who are doing nothing to help their causes and are simply making it easy to be dropped and soon forgotten.

Gavin Henson has been sacked by Cardiff Blues, his fourth club in a year.

The lads on tour philosophy which has hovered over the game for some time is being phased out to a point where those that do not embrace the fact that rugby is a fully professional game at the top level will be left behind.

Enough has been said about Danny Care’s incidents over the last few months, and he will have to work on rebuilding his image if he is to be considered seriously again in the international frame.

It’s not just the post-match antics that need to catch up, I also find it hard to fathom the behaviour of some players on the pitch, and the apparent lack of awareness that they will not get away with illegal play anymore. It’s a cliché but the only people that they are hurting are themselves.

Dylan Hartley is a prime example of a player who seems to keep his head low enough off the pitch but can’t stay out of trouble on it. He has missed the opportunity to be the first choice hooker at two world cups, once through selection and once through his own transgressions. He will now have to sit and hope that his Saints side get 4^th place in the league, and win an away semi-final without their skipper if he is to get another game this season. Saints’ chances will be made slimmer as Callum Clark is also banned, and may well have blown his chance at becoming England’s next Openside. With players like Andy Saull and Luke Wallace waiting in the ranks and Clark being banned for the tour to South Africa – he may well slip down the pecking order somewhat, despite being initially given the opportunity by Stuart Lancaster.

I understand that players make mistakes, and I wouldn’t like the game of rugby without the occasional late hit or 30 man brawl, but getting a long ban for deliberately illegal play doesn’t make any sense to me.

I speak to friends who seem to think that these players are being hard done by and that rugby is becoming soft. It’s just not the case, the players are given opportunities because of their ability and if they are going to act out of line, like in any job, they have to accept the consequences. To be fair to all of the aforementioned players they have accepted their fate, they are only human and I am not trying to have a rant. It is just a big shame to see talent going to waste. The fact of the matter is that there are more and more players willing to jump on the opportunities that are given to them, and that can only be a good thing for the game.  

The days of players releasing books filled with stories of drunken nights out on southern hemisphere tours is surely over. A couple of years back I was given a copy of “Dallaglio's Rugby Tales: Legendary Stories of Blood, Sweat and Beers”, and one of my favourite rugby related videos is “Pitbull’s punch-ups” – essentially a video where Brian Moore sat in a pub with a pint narrating his favourite rugby punch ups – most of which he featured in. These reflected the stage that rugby was at during these player’s careers. But rugby has completely changed, with all players having come through rigorous structured academy programs and earning salaries which warrant them taking their careers more seriously.

The profile of the game is developing at a rate at which the players need to keep up or they will be left behind.

The ironic thing for Henson is that Jamie Roberts is out for 6 months; leaving a gaping hole in the Welsh midfield… somehow I don’t think Henson will be the answer now.

Until next week,

Andy