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December 9, 2008

Posted on 12/09/2008

Gearing up for a fall

Robert Kitson muses in The Guardian about the financial plight and lack of resources soon to face many British clubs.

"Can it [rugby] afford to end up like soccer where a wealthy elite dominate Europe and the rest scrape a living any way they can? This polarisation of resources and player movement is happening at Test level, too, with the consequent knock-on effects in terms of the competitiveness of certain nations. How can Edinburgh, or Calvisano, hope to compete with Stade Francais? And if they can't, what does that do for the Heineken Cup's collective appeal? The loyal title sponsors have just signed up for another four seasons, which will extend their backing to a remarkable 18 years. It will be interesting to see whether the existing 24-team format remains unchanged. Many more results like Ospreys 68-8 Treviso and pressure is bound to increase. My guess is that the structure will have to be amended in the not-too-distant future to reflect the harsher financial climate.
"You can also bet that talk of a franchise system in England will resurface. That way, as in the NFL or AFL, the health of the tournament or league becomes the priority. Clubs will still have to provide financial guarantees but their health will become a collective issue. A draft system? It might just suit the RFU to have young English players spread out more evenly across the country instead of kicking in their heels at the academies of the better-resourced clubs.

"It could be argued that London Irish, currently top of the Premiership table, are flying the flag for smaller teams. In some respects they are but along the way they have had to mothball their reserve team. Is that progress? I tend to agree with Eddie Jones that an age-group competition — say U-23 with six over-age players permitted in the 22 — would develop English youth more effectively than endless stints on the replacements' bench."

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