lawynd says...

@GCP_jones - http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/1207/1224308683471.html is the link to an article I saw a while ago...it's behind a paywall though. The salient point however was,

'At present, Connacht¿s player wages budget is ¿3 million, all of which comes from the IRFU. The other provinces receive more funds from the union because they have more Irish internationals and therefore higher centrally contracted wages.

'Connacht sources stated the ¿3 million for player salaries was 40 per cent of the European champion¿s budget but Leinster chief executive Mick Dawson stated the figure of ¿7.5 million was some way over the actual amount they pay in player wages. ¿We don¿t reveal these figures,¿ said Dawson yesterday.'

You're right about the Welsh regions, but that's primarily self-imposed because they already can't generate enough revenue themselves to hit the caps, and rely on benefactors to top them up. The top three Irish provinces however have more money to spend on wages than the AP clubs, even if we accept that the EUR7.5m figure isn't realistic.

Posted 09:54 09th January 2013

cuw3100 says...

Poor guy Fourie,; not only he is booted out from England after breaking the arm playing a test for them, now he is in the cold in PR books too.

Am interested to know the Laws or Rules regarding a non - citizenship holder palying test matches for a country. It seems HF played for england though he did not have an english or British or UK citizenship. for example is it the same when NZ guys play for OZ and the Islenders play for NZ or OZ?

Posted 06:12 09th January 2013

TiggerLavros says...

That Varndell tackle was perfect - he actually showed decent restraint to ensure he put the player down gently - the decision to bin him was absurd and follows the dispiriting trend of overreacting to big tackles that the IRB set in motion at the 2011 World Cup. The contrast with how rugby league treats the tackle area is becoming more acute....genuine spear tackles, such as Toby flood's effort or the Tuquiri tackle on McCaw should be harshly dealt with, however the Warburton tackle wasn't remotely a spear and Varndell's tackle was perfect.

Posted 21:07 08th January 2013

GCP_JONES says...

@Kybone...

I was'nt including the English Clubs in the Salary Cap point, I happen to think the cap of 4 to 4.5 £ Sterling is a good thing and does create a more level playing field in the premiership.

@lawynd...& melkdave

I thought the wage bill of the Welsh clubs was 3.5 million Sterling? How much is that in Euros close to 5 million Euro's, along with the wage cap in England of 4.5 million it equates to roughly the same amount as the irish clubs.

I have read on several occasions that to run the entire game in Ireland,that's the Test Team, the 4 professional sides and finance the amateur game costs 33 million euro's, the annual budget in Toulouse is 28 million euro's.

melkdave you constantly point out the shortcomings of the pro12 with regards to automatic qualification to the Heineken(which I think is a fair point) yet more or less zip when it comes to the french clubs budgets.

Do you think its good for the game that the likes of Wales, Scotland and the Italians can't hang onto their best players because of the huge pay packets being flung at them in France. it is a situation that needs to be addressed,or, are you one of the old guard who would you rather the club game just thrived in England and France?.

Posted 20:53 08th January 2013

jontheref says...

Varndell decision was correct.

Spotted by AR, judged by TMO.

If not done, the citing guy would have flagged it, and the AR and TMO would have been talked to about it.

You may not like it, but that is how it is written.

Not a red, but a yellow, yes.

Tit for tat on Dom Day, yes, looked like it, not in the same league as varndells.

Posted 17:32 08th January 2013

melkdave says...

@GCP_Jones

Agree with you about Launchburywhat a player he could be ,potential potential ozzes from him atm.But on the subject of salary caps,you convenitly forget the huge budgets of Munster,Leinster and Ulster,compard to english clubs and the majority of french T14 clubs.Seven and a half million euros is larger than any english club by 20%,and most of the french T14 aswell .They all havent got the budgets of Toulon,Toulouse,or Racing Metro ,and to think it that it isnt giving them a huge advantage in the Pro12 and screwing results there ,you must be blind After all its more tan twice what welsh,scotish and italian clubs are getting.Then theres also the advantage they get frm the IRFU paying the biggest part of the top irsh players wages on top.Allowing them to compete for class overseas players with the likes of Toulon,Toulouse ect.on a near equal footing.Its not just the big french clubs that need a cap imposed on them so do the big irish clubs .

Posted 15:57 08th January 2013

kybone says...

GCP_jones- You may have a point with the likes of Toulon, but don't tarnish the English clubs with the same thing. The English clubs do have a salary cap, and one which is actually lower than the budgets of Leinster, Ulster, and Munster.

Posted 15:33 08th January 2013

mjc69 says...

"All in the week that a blog revealed the activities of Sale Sharks' management company in recent years" - does anyone have the link to this story?

Posted 14:50 08th January 2013

GCP_jones says...

Re; Elliot Daly performance was very impressive, but I have to say I thought Joe Launchbury was simple fantastic. what a player.

As I said in a post after the match report, Racing Metro have done rugby a great service.

Toulon are the shining example of what is wrong with professional sport, and highlight's the glaring omission of a salary cap in the discussions over the future of the Heineken Cup.

The English and French argue agianst automatic qualification of the Pro12 sides, yet the silence on the issue of the huge budgets of the likes Toulon is deafining to say the least.

When is this going to be up for discussion?.

Posted 13:51 08th January 2013