by Rufus G-B
On 17th August 2023, I was lucky enough to go to Twickenham to watch the final warm up game before the 2024 Paris world cup, an old England vs Wales rival game, coming off of a loss to them a week before. I sat in the stands and watched as we barely took the game out of the Welsh fans hands, but I noticed around the stadium the pockets of empty seats in what seemed to be mostly missing English fans. This lack of viewers is only one of the many reasons as to the decline in not only the quality of rugby itself, but the inability to fund both clubs and players.
Over the last three years, three clubs have gone into administration due to financial issues that not only arise from poor government of the club but also difficult rules and regulations set by the RFU. Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish all suffered the same fate for an inability to pay their staff. The current salary cap to cover all players, reserves and staff payments (scouts, managers, coaches, specialist coaches, physios etc.) is at a low of five million per team after dropping from six million and four hundred thousand pounds the season the first team(Worcester warriors) went into administration. Focusing on paying their international players too much while not offering enough towards the rest of the team.
A prime example of this was the English fly half Owen Farrell who made eight hundred thousand pounds per year being one of the least played players each season for the club, due to being on international leave. Like a sponge, the money’s remains focused on the internationals and the most commercialised players that bring in the entirety of the viewing figures for any companies interested in sponsoring them. Not only does Farrell take his fair share but Maro Itoji and Jamie George both make the same amount of money as Farrell but to keep them playing their rugby in England the RFU has given them an extra one hundred and sixty thousand pounds on top of their contracts. So between three of a thirty three player squad, for thirty other players Saracens has only two million and six hundred thousand pounds left to control the rest of the team. Luckily, Saracens being one of the most successful teams in the leagues history, means they can afford to manage issues like this, while teams like Wasps,London Irish and Worcester Warriors die out.
While this salary cap can also help struggling teams, the quality of rugby often worsens in correlation to the value of players that are paid evenly. This then results in even less people becoming interested enough to watch the game in person, so not enough tickets are sold and with frequent injuries as the sport has a born nature of, the game is on a steady decline. English players therefore look elsewhere to make a living, and with a salary cap of ten million euros over in France, the pay and the quality of rugby is all too enticing. The only downside is that with the RFU’s rules set in stone for ‘players must compete in England to be considered for the squad.’ so not only do England’s clubs lose some of its best players but lose international success as well. Unfortunately, it only gets worse as the projected viewing figures and people coming to watch the game live don't meet expectations, the ticket prices and food and drink and all live facilities become beyond the average person's budget, reducing the accessibility of the game for the average person.
All these factors just feed into the demise of English rugby and rule changes and restrictions determined by the RFU, need a modernised change and soon, in hope no other clubs suffer and the game in England survives.
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