English Rugby Union Slipping Into a Sorry State
It’s been a dramatic rugby season as always, with recent events on and off the pitch providing all sorts of talking points. With the Saracens salary cap scandal, the English team are doing battle with the other sides in the Six Nations and club funding cuts in the second-tier Premiership leaving creating an uncertain future for its clubs there’s a lot to discuss. Just what’s going on?
Salary capping at the Saracens
A scandal at the Saracens has rocked club rugby union after the London club was found to have breached salary-capping rules for three years. Last November, the club had 35 points deducted from them and received a £5.36 million fine.
Unfortunately for the club, they face relegation from the Premiership for their refusal and if they can’t prove they’re complying with the salary cap. That’s the ultimatum and the club has reappointed Ed Griffiths as its chief executive and Neil Golding as non-executive chairman to oversee the changes.
The basic purpose of the cap is to ensure a more level playing field and keep it competitive. The cap also helps to keep the league financially sustainable and protects clubs from the hazards of overspending.
England’s performance in the Six Nations
The Six Nations championship is under way and Wales are the reigning champions. The team did it in style last season by defeating all five teams, claiming the championship with a Grand Slam victory.
Are England the team to beat them? It’s looking doubtful just now. The team didn’t get their campaign off to the best start. In their opening game, France humbled England with a 25–17 home victory at the Stade de France. Two tries either side of half time from the French captain, Charles Ollivon, plus an early score from Vincent Rattez, made the game an uphill struggle for Eddie Jones’s boys. They were already chasing the game 17–0 by half time. A kick-and-chase effort from Jonny May helped England to keep the final score respectable.
On to the second game and England faced Scotland in the Calcutta Cup. The team played in a somewhat hostile atmosphere — a bottle is believed to have been thrown at Neil Craig, the team’s high performance coach, as England arrived for the game — but came out on top with a 6–13 final score. It was a tough game in difficult weather conditions and until just 10 minutes from the end, the two sides were level. Anyone into rugby betting might be a little wary of putting their money on England just now, who haven’t looked convincing so far in the tournament, whereas France have powered through their game with England and, in the second round, demolished Italy with five tries.
The Championship club funding crisis
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has thrown its second tier into crisis and disarray with its shock announcement to cut funding by 50%. Harsh words are flying around, with some accusing the RFU of ‘handing ringfencing to the Premiership on a plate.’ The rugby body informed the Championship clubs recently of the cuts, which will be around £3 million and will come into force next season — although some clubs have voiced fears that they won’t receive the remaining funding that will be available.
The cuts could create a real divide in English rugby union. The Championship clubs are angry and there are rumours that they may leave the RFU to form a breakaway league. The 12 clubs would all have to agree on this, though, to make it happen. A salary cap would also be necessary and could see the Saracens, who are already in hot water over salary capping and are facing relegation, lose Owen Farrell and other key players in their squad.
Despite a second round win in the Six Nations, the national side is struggling to really stamp its authority on games. Meanwhile, at club level, salary caps are proving problematic at one of the biggest clubs in the Premiership while funding cuts are creating turmoil in the Championship. Let’s hope all the affected parties can pull through and get English rugby union back on track.
