JEFF PROBYN
A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME

TOM Tainton, Bristol Bears’ chief operating officer, has said that the professional game is at a commercial crossroads and must think differently if it is to survive.
I don’t think anything much has changed in the game since the day the chairman of the IRB at the time,Vernon Pugh, announced the decision to go professional almost exactly 29 years ago to the day on August 26, 1995.
Although there had been many changes in the game that put more and more pressure on the players’ time, we were expected to commit to the game ...