The Rugby Thread

[RichC]

Wasps enter administration.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63244504

[Buzzo]

What a shame.

Quite a lot of fixing has to be done here, but looking at the debt list a few months ago, there were other teams in the Gallagher in similarly bad shape.

What a disaster, no way all of these players will find clubs. And also a shame as the actual product, the game in the Prem is amazing right now.

[RichC]

The collective debt in the Gallagher Premiership is crazy. I think we will see a few more clubs go a similar way sadly.

[Buzzo]

They have to rebuild the entire League, but who finds that???

The issue I see is that you have players now, say Jacob Umaga at Wasps who would be on a decent package. How does he find a game now given the other clubs are under severe financial restrictions? There aren’t enough ‘shirts’ to go around. Probably see a few head to France and then the RFU will have to relax it’s stance on England selection.

An absolute omni-shambles.

[RichC]

Yeah, there's not going to be enough spots to go around, you'll see more and more players looking to go abroad which with the current selection criteria will cause issues.

Absolute mess really but perhaps it all coming to a head now gives the chance to change and reform

[Buzzo]

These clubs have not been running to viable business models for years. The Golden Goose business plan just wasn’t sustainable long term.

[Cormack74]

I do think covid has had a massive effect.

Match day income as a proportion of total income is highly significant compared to top level football teams.

And whereas I always blindly assumed that all clubs spend up to the salary cap, apparently this isn't the case and some only spend about 60% of it.

So whilst the business models haven't always been viable, relying instead on rich owners, I don't think this means that all the clubs have necessarily been extravagant.

Worcester have been victims of **** owners but I don't think from everything I've read that Wasps could have done too much differently. They've suffered from trying to become sustainable ironically.

[Buzzo]

I do think covid has had a massive effect.

Match day income as a proportion of total income is highly significant compared to top level football teams.

And whereas I always blindly assumed that all clubs spend up to the salary cap, apparently this isn't the case and some only spend about 60% of it.

So whilst the business models haven't always been viable, relying instead on rich owners, I don't think this means that all the clubs have necessarily been extravagant.

Worcester have been victims of **** owners but I don't think from everything I've read that Wasps could have done too much differently. They've suffered from trying to become sustainable ironically.

Covid hasnt helped, but the business models were deeply flawed.

The Gallagher Prem had loads of investment and TV money the clubs spent it all.

This is a decent summary.

Centralaised contracts much as Scotland and Ireland (and Wales?) do must be on the cards?

[Cormack74]

I'm not too sure that the parallels he is drawing with things that happened nearly 25 years ago are necessarily all that valid TBH - the game had only turned professional 18 months earlier.

And I suspect the money from CVC may have plugged some of the gaps from Covid. There may be an argument that without that money (even if it sems wasted), more clubs could be in danger.

On the central contracts, you may be right, but I'm not sure how that would play out with Premiership Rugby being a separate entity from the RFU (albeit co-joined in many respects) and I'm pretty sure there are some club owners who would massively resent the interference, Bruce Craig, Tony Rowe etc etc.

[Buzzo]

Even the head of the RFU is saying the model is broken and that clubs have been living beyond their means for too long.

[Norbs]

Rob Burrows on BBC Breakfast, who have followed his battle with MND closely. Poor fella is totally paralysed by it now

[Buzzo]

Heartbreaking. Such a cruel illness.

[ame]https://twitter.com/bbcsport/status/1582333171563110400[/ame]

[Cormack74]

David Armstrong whose consortium looked like a good bet to take Wasps on has pulled out sadly

And the other Premiership clubs aren't helping by not supporting Wasps keeping their "P" share, which is pretty low IMO as it clearly makes the club a less attractive proposition.

[Norbs]

My brother in law's Mum died from it, back in the 1990s. It really is cruel and the last stages of it aren't something I'd wish upon my worst enemy

[RichC]

Heartbreaking. Such a cruel illness.

https://twitter.com/bbcsport/status/1582333171563110400

That was a really tough watch. Horrific disease