ICAN'T help thinking that the new Professional Game Partnership (PGP) is nothing but a waste of time as I can't see how it is going to make any difference to how the game operates or how it will actually help clubs keep players and reduce the financial strain they are under.
The idea that it will help improve the performance of the national team seems to be a dream rather than a reality, as under the present system the England coach already has access to the players selected for his squad outside the international windows. This gives the England coach an advantage over other countries who only have access to their players during official international windows.
Admittedly, the countries that have maintained their pathway systems have a built-in advantage as they can move players from clubs to regional teams. These are controlled by the unions and so are able to spend more time with players, developing playing style, fitness and selection, based on individual performance rather than team performance within a club.
When the game went professional, England followed the French model of clubs as the main route to international team selection, but they failed to copy the French in managing how they finance and grow the game by uniting the top two leagues as one when it comes to voting on any changes in the game.
In France, both the Top 14 and the ProD2 have academies giving more access to the professional game for young players, whereas here only the Premiership are allowed academies thus restricting potential growth of the game and ability to exploit young talent who may come from outside the usual areas.
Unlike England, French rugby never had a pathway system based on provincial, regional, or county rugby simply because the best team within any department is the equivalent of a county team with all the best local players drawn to that team.
This makes the Top 14 and ProD2 like a two-league county system of matches, which make it easy for the national coach to find the best players and select his squad. England, on the other hand, have an agreement that only allows selection from the Premiership with the Premiership clubs enforcing that system under threat of not releasing any players for international matches.
Eye on the prize: It's no surprise that England captain Jamie George has agreed to sign the new hybrid contract
PICTURE: Getty Images
When Worcester, Wasps and London Irish went to the wall, all their players who were available for selection for England but unable to gain employment with any of the surviving Premiership clubs, were no longer able to be picked for the national team.
As a result, it has reduced not only the opportunity of talented players making the England squad but also impacted on their potential earnings making both France and Japan lucrative options.
The average wage for a non-international player in the Premiership is around £172,000 whereas an international player would be earning £300-400,000 per year with star names earning much more.
If however, you are approaching the end of your international career, the likelihood is that your wages will slowly start to reduce, especially as you will lose the Test match fees that amount to close to a quarter of a million pounds a year, unless you make the move abroad where you may actually earn more.
“Is it any wonder players go abroad if their chances of England selection are reduced?”
So, is it any wonder that players go abroad if their chances of international selection are reduced or removed?
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall has called for the RFU to speed up the process of putting the new hybrid contracts in place, as at least two of his players, including England captain Jamie George and lock Maro Itoje, have already agreed to sign the new hybrid deal.
Given his age it shouldn't be a surprise that George in particular is keen to sign up, as he probably has just a couple of seasons left in the international game and the hybrid contracts will net him around another £150,000 a year if stories are correct, without any additional games to play. Meanwhile Itoje, who at 29 is just coming into his prime, has signed a long term contract with Saracens that doesn't seem to have a reduced wage. It has in fact increased, despite the potential signing of the new hybrid deal which indicates the deal with the RFU will probably have no impact on the level of wages paid to players and will not help club finances.
As we don't know the full details of the deal and what the clubs will get out of it, it remains difficult to see any additional advantages over the current system it will bring to the game, or how in the long term it will reduce the numbers going abroad to finish their career.
The hybrid contract will only be paid to the chosen players while they remain in the squad, so once they are dropped they will no longer receive the contracted wage which makes the move abroad even more attractive.
All in all, it is going to be interesting to hear how the deal will work, how it will help improve the England game and how it will stop the exodus of players leaving for foreign shores.
THE Six Nations has been a fantastic advert for women's rugby and has proven that there is a big audience for their game. All that's needed now is for all the other nations to up their game and fund their teams at the same levels as England so that we can have a true contest instead of the one-sided games now on show.
