Salary cap cheats cost Northampton trophies

Outgoing Northampton chief executive Allan Robson admits he will always remain bitter over instances of salary cap abuse that he claims denied Saints the chance of competing for titles on a level playing field.
Premiership Rugby have never publically admitted to salary cap breaches, but in October 2015 a nine-month investigation into alleged irregularities resulted in ‘some’ clubs entering into ‘appropriate confidential settlements’.
The whitewash remains a legal minefield, but Robson is convinced Saints were placed at a disadvantage before salary cap rules were eventually tightened.
Robson, above right, who retires after 17 years at Franklin’s Gardens, told TRP: “It still rankles. I was on Premiership Rugby’s salary cap committee for seven years and totally believed the salary cap was there and that sport was about fairness and rewards. But some clubs managed to reap rewards without paying the fairness price by keeping to the rules.
“I went to Premiership awards dinners and saw other players and coaches being feted, and I’m looking back at our guys and thinking: ‘This just isn’t right’.
“We lost semi-finals and finals to teams with unfettered finances when otherwise it might have been our coaches up for those awards. It’s not something I lose sleep about nowadays but every now and again you do remember and feel bitter about it.”
Robson believes some good has emerged from a tawdry episode, adding: “There were settlements between some clubs and Premiership Rugby, which the rest of us weren’t privy to, but it meant that as a group we could work to put it all behind us.
“We’ve since revised the salary cap regulations and my belief is all clubs are now compliant.
“If you look at the squads you can see that and the fact that Exeter have not spent over the cap and are now Premiership champions is brilliant.
“I told their chairman, Tony Rowe, that it’s a fairy tale come true and it’s because they weren’t disadvantaged.”
Robson admits he has also been disappointed by events surrounding the recent departure of French No.8 Louis Picamoles, who terminated a three-year contract after 12 months to join Montpellier.
“It does leave a bad taste. Louis is a top player, we had a contract and we didn’t want to let him go,” Robson said. “But you have to take into account all factors and we decided we had no choice but to let the player go.
“These things are not yet commonplace in rugby like in soccer, but we are in the professional game now and when you get money, emotions and aspirations mixed in, opportunities arise and these things will happen.
“The overall finances of the game will dictate how often that is, but we’ve just seen another instance with Carl Fearns and Gloucester. Fortunately, the salary cap is staying level for a couple of seasons so that should create stability.”
Northampton struggled into seventh place last season, eventually earning a Champions Cup berth after a thrilling play-off win over Stade Francais.
Some fans called for the head of long-serving rugby director Jim Mallinder, but Robson said: “You do get angry sometimes and there comes a time when decisions have to be made, but with Jim we never believed that we were there.
“You go through highs and lows; three years ago we were champions, so you don’t become a bad coach overnight. The squad will be stronger next season and we hope to get back into that top four.”
NEALE HARVEY