It looks good – for the Premiership
JEFF PROBYN
A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME
ROB Baxter thinks that the PGP deal is ‘looking good for all’ whereas really he is only talking about the Premiership and what they will receive.
Given that the £260,000,000 agreement will provide all of the 10 Premiership clubs around £3,250,000 for each season over the next eight years, is it any wonder they seem happy to agree, even if it does give the RFU a bit more influence over certain players in their squads? Meanwhile, the rest of the game will hope that the RFU has enough money left and will be able to improve the deal offered to the Championship similar to the PGP, albeit at a reduced level. The rest of the clubs in the league structure, and the game beyond, will also be hoping for some help with travel and game development costs.
The recent renaming of Twickenham to the Allianz Stadium has given the RFU a windfall that we have been told will help fund the game at all levels. But experience should tell us all that if the games this autumn and the next Six Nations fail to deliver the revenue that the RFU expects, it will not be the Premiership or its players that will lose out.
With the cost of the new hybrid contracts added to match fees putting an extra strain on RFU finances, I am assuming match fees will still be paid at the same level as previously, otherwise the hybrid contracted players would be expected to take a substantial pay cut from current match fee levels which I doubt would happen.
Selection will be up to Steve Borthwick or any future team manager and whether he chooses to pick just the hybrid players or not. There is the potential for selection of some new players who may not actually be on a hybrid contract at that time.
If the figures that have been mentioned regarding the hybrid contracts are correct, it means 25 players contracted at approximately £125,000 per player per season. That could be an extra expense for the RFU of around £3,125,000 added to the match fees for the match day squad of 23 players of around £5,290,000 per season. This is assuming match fees remain stable at around £23,000 per player per game making a payment of £230,000 for each match day squad player each season (five Tests in Six Nations, two summer tour games and three autumn internationals).
If I’ve got my maths right, it means the RFU could face a financial commitment of approximately £40,915,000 each year for the next eight years just for the funding the Premiership and the international playing squad.
As Rob said: “We won’t know if it is a successful gamble for at least a couple of years but at the moment it is the only offer on the table and so it is up to both parties to make it work.”
The loss of more of England’s coaching staff will create concerns for the RFU as to whether they can find anyone suitable to fill the vacancies and continue the development of the team.
The question that must be asked is: What is it that Borthwick is doing which seems to create an unstable environment for his coaching staff, despite the RFU being one of the highest paying Unions in the game?
“The rest of the game will hope the RFU has enough money left over for them”
This will be a major concern for the RFU as it could make it increasingly difficult to get the right people at the right price. It is especially worrying given the fact that so many of them have left in such a short time: Aled Walters, Tom Tombleson (both strength and conditioning) and Felix Jones (defence) have all left this month.
Jones has a 12-month notice period to serve, but we are waiting to see if he will be forced to serve it or not. Kevin Sinfield announced his intention to leave just 18 months into a five-year contract, having been moved from his original role as defence coach to skills coach, the reasons why are not known.
Even though there appears to have been some improvements made by England over the last few games the fact that so many coaches have chosen to leave brings an air of uncertainty and the feeling of ‘rats leaving a sinking ship’. All this raises concern for the RFU, and also among England supporters.
It is also liable to create the situation where Borthwick will want to bring in somebody who already has an international reputation and experience such as Shaun Edwards, even though this will be far more expensive for the RFU.
The fact that the players have openly made public their surprise and disappointment at the loss of these coaches is unusual, as players don’t usually comment publicly about their relationship with their coaches. With so many making their feelings known shows the impact of the coaches, in particularly Jones, with a number calling to continue with his blitz style defence system.
We are about 10 months away from the start of the Lions tour, with the autumn series and the Six Nations still to be played before head coach Andy Farrell makes his selection. But his recent comment that ‘the Lions will pick the best players no matter where they are playing’ is tantamount to letting us know that he will most probably be picking his son Owen for the tour. This despite the fact it was Owen’s choice to move to France that ended his England career, but we just have to wait and see if I am right.
