START OF A GOLDEN AGE FOR ENGLISH RUGBY
Rugby chiefs have finally agreed on a deal that will put an end to the club versus country debate, and pave the way for a new “golden era” where English rugby will flourish both on and off the field.
Representatives of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Premier Rugby Limited (PRL) were relieved to announce the new eight-year deal – which will commence from July 1 next year – at Twickenham yesterday.
The PRL had been at odds with the RFU for over a decade after losing important players due to international duties at key stages in the season without any financial compensation.
Despite this squabbling, England have reached the last two world cup finals, and Premiership teams have won six of the last 11 Heineken Cups and six of the last seven Challenge Cups. With both clubs and country pulling in the same direction, England fans can expect even more success.
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with PRL,” opened Martyn Thomas, Chairman of the RFU Management Board. “It has taken a long time to put together. We believe that we have got an agreement that is positive it will work if both parties of the agreement pull together.
“It will take England through two rugby world cups, and we hope that the stability and certainty that the agreement will provide will be vital to the development of the game, both at club and country level.”
RFU Chief Executive Francis Baron said: “Our objective is simply to make England number one and our club competitions number one. The RFU will be providing around £110m to the Guinness Premiership clubs over the course of the agreement.
“The key to implementing the agreement will be the establishment of the Professional Game Board, who will be responsible for overseeing the professional game.”
The exhaustive 150 page document – “Nobody has ever produced such a detailed document in professional rugby; we have tried to deal with every issue and deal with it comprehensively,” continued Baron – sets out plans for seasons to be played in series of ‘blocks’.
The idea is to allow players to represent their club and country as much as possible. The block system is structured to include commitments to the Premiership, European competitions as well as International games.
Though, for fear of ‘burnout’, players will only be able to play a maximum of 33 games in any one season (including a maximum of 11 for England).
Three elite player squads (EPS) – Senior, Saxons and Under-20, each of 32 players – will allow players to prepare better for upcoming internationals. Clubs will also be financially encouraged to nurture English talent, and special coaching schemes are to be introduced to develop English coaching talent.
“It is very exciting,” added Elite Rugby Director Rob Andrew. “It is an English solution for the English game – that’s the most important thing. For once and for all I hope we have put the club versus country debate behind us, and we can now really seriously talk about club and country.”
Rugby chiefs have finally agreed on a deal that will put an end to the club versus country debate, and pave the way for a new “golden era” where English rugby will flourish both on and off the field.
Representatives of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Premier Rugby Limited (PRL) were relieved to announce the new eight-year deal – which will commence from July 1 next year – at Twickenham yesterday.
The PRL had been at odds with the RFU for over a decade after losing important players due to international duties at key stages in the season without any financial compensation.
Despite this squabbling, England have reached the last two world cup finals, and Premiership teams have won six of the last 11 Heineken Cups and six of the last seven Challenge Cups. With both clubs and country pulling in the same direction, England fans can expect even more success.
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with PRL,” opened Martyn Thomas, Chairman of the RFU Management Board. “It has taken a long time to put together. We believe that we have got an agreement that is positive it will work if both parties of the agreement pull together.
“It will take England through two rugby world cups, and we hope that the stability and certainty that the agreement will provide will be vital to the development of the game, both at club and country level.”
RFU Chief Executive Francis Baron said: “Our objective is simply to make England number one and our club competitions number one. The RFU will be providing around £110m to the Guinness Premiership clubs over the course of the agreement.
“The key to implementing the agreement will be the establishment of the Professional Game Board, who will be responsible for overseeing the professional game.”
The exhaustive 150 page document – “Nobody has ever produced such a detailed document in professional rugby; we have tried to deal with every issue and deal with it comprehensively,” continued Baron – sets out plans for seasons to be played in series of ‘blocks’.
The idea is to allow players to represent their club and country as much as possible. The block system is structured to include commitments to the Premiership, European competitions as well as International games.
Though, for fear of ‘burnout’, players will only be able to play a maximum of 33 games in any one season (including a maximum of 11 for England).
Three elite player squads (EPS) – Senior, Saxons and Under-20, each of 32 players – will allow players to prepare better for upcoming internationals. Clubs will also be financially encouraged to nurture English talent, and special coaching schemes are to be introduced to develop English coaching talent.
“It is very exciting,” added Elite Rugby Director Rob Andrew. “It is an English solution for the English game – that’s the most important thing. For once and for all I hope we have put the club versus country debate behind us, and we can now really seriously talk about club and country.”
Labels: Francis Baron, Heineken Cup, Rob Andrew, Rugby Football Union, rugby union, Rugby World Cup
