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16
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Premiership Rugby clubs post losses of almost ?25m for 2022-23 season
« on: March 29, 2024, 10:58:53 PM »Premiership Rugby clubs post losses of almost ?25m for 2022-23 season
Saracens posted biggest losses of over ?5 million, while Newcastle Falcons have not yet made their finances for 2022-23 period public
Ben Coles, Rugby Reporter 29 March 2024 ? 1:17pm
Nine of 10 Gallagher Premiership clubs have posted financial losses which total almost ?25 million for the 2022-23 season.
Newcastle Falcons have yet to publicly post their results for the last financial year but of the data available, nine clubs cumulatively made a loss of around ?23.5 million.
Saracens posted the biggest loss at ?5,295,310, with the club?s turnover of ?23,206,354 falling well short of their ?28,559,147 budget.
Bristol Bears, backed by the billionaire Steve Lansdown, finished with a total loss of ?4,554,814. Harlequins posted the highest turnover, ?26,813,85, but had the largest budget at ?30,392,791, resulting in a loss of ?3,648.893.
Gloucester produced the best results due to having a budget of ?18,291,675, which was marginally higher than the club?s turnover of ?18,162,660, making an eventual loss of ?393,079. Two other clubs produced losses which were below the half a million figure, with Sale making a ?439,294 loss and Northampton a ?467,836 loss.
Sale notably had the lowest turnover, ?11,735,339, but also the lowest budget of ?16,496,292. They were also one of only two clubs, along with fellow Premiership finalists Saracens, to produce a positive net financing costs figure of ?258,953.
The results also disclose the number of people employed by each club, with Exeter recording the highest figure of 354 of which 156 were coaches and players. Bristol employed the fewest number of people (155) and number of players and staff (87).
Exeter?s financial results, with a loss of ?3,994,469, included the hotel built on site at Sandy Park, which made a loss of ?2m over the course of the financial year. The hotel has since been sold off, with Exeter?s chairman and chief executive, Tony Rowe, buying an undisclosed stake in the Sandy Park Hotel back in December 2022 to help pay off the club?s Covid-19 loans.
Exeter said at the time: ?The fee paid for the shares by Mr Rowe not only provides an injection of capital to keep cashflow going, but will also help service substantial debts accrued by Exeter Rugby Club due to the impact of the Covid pandemic in 2020. Directors will use ?their best endeavours? to retain ?at least? 26 per cent shareholding in the hotel company.?
Premiership Rugby has been contacted for comment.
Analysis: Rugby still feeling Covid after effects
Perhaps the main factor to consider when analysing the latest accounts for the nine Premiership clubs, with Newcastle still to come, is that teams across the league are still feeling the financial effects of the pandemic, hit hard by that loss of matchday revenue.
Seeing that amount of red on a spreadsheet naturally leads to concern but among the numbers there are some positives, such as Northampton posting a record turnover of nearly ?22 million, up by a million on the previous year. Even a club in as strong a position as Northampton is still going to be confronted with costs, with their cash balance dropping due to the construction of the club?s new High Performance Centre.
The Premiership is still reeling from the loss of Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish during the previous season and, predominantly, clubs appear to be cautious. Take Sale?s budget, around ?16.5 million, being almost half of that of Harlequins (?30.4 million).
The same long-term concerns remain. Certain clubs relying on the large investment of owners with deep pockets, a TV deal which lags far behind the money paid for the rights to the Top 14 in France, the fact that clubs with excellent attendance figures and large capacities ? Leicester, Northampton, Gloucester ? are occasionally falling short of making a profit. Not forgetting that the salary cap ceiling is set to rise next season from ?5 million to ?6.4 million ? the timing of which seems highly questionable ? or how the Covid-19 loans from the government will be repaid.
These are all existing issues which require long-term solutions but right now, the aim across the Premiership appears to be to create stability.
At the same time, sources close to the league are optimistic about an increase in supporter numbers this season at matches, with gate numbers continuing to climb and up by around five per cent on the previous season. The more people back in grounds, the more revenue. Right now, every extra pound feels important.
17
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Nicked from the Pirates Site - Tier 2
« on: March 29, 2024, 05:07:14 PM »
This update from championship clubs chairman Simon Halliday has appeared in today's media.
It doesn't say much but it is clear that RFU CEO Bill Sweeney's franchise idea is dead in the water and the latest deadline of the end of this month is going to be missed.
Hopefully the championship clubs will remain united and we will get a well structured, properly funded, 2nd tier that the game needs and the clubs deserve.
The Championship Clubs Committee met today to hear an update from their Executive on progress made in discussions about the future of Tier 2 of English rugby.
While there was at one point in the recent history of this crucial process a deadline of March 31st for the selection of clubs for a second tier, that deadline was scrapped some time ago and there are currently a series of important and intensive discussions going on around the league, which will be launched for the 2025/26 season.
Those discussions between the CCC, the RFU and, where relevant, Premiership Rugby Ltd, cover all the basic points needed to establish a new Tier 2 for the good of the English game and for the security and planning necessary to the current Championship clubs.
There is no deadline for these discussions, although clearly it is important that agreement is reached as quickly as possible so that planning for both the new Tier 2 league and for the 2024/25 season can begin.
Solid progress has been made on the various issues being discussed. The parties involved believe that an agreement is within reach, although some very important topics still need to be brought to a satisfactory conclusion for all the parties.
These are vital discussions and are taking place in an intensive, progressive and co-operative atmosphere.
No doubt, when outstanding issues are resolved, a public statement will be made, but in the meantime, please be assured that the future of Championship clubs and the interests of those who aspire to join the second tier of our game are being given the priority they deserve by all of us involved.
It doesn't say much but it is clear that RFU CEO Bill Sweeney's franchise idea is dead in the water and the latest deadline of the end of this month is going to be missed.
Hopefully the championship clubs will remain united and we will get a well structured, properly funded, 2nd tier that the game needs and the clubs deserve.
The Championship Clubs Committee met today to hear an update from their Executive on progress made in discussions about the future of Tier 2 of English rugby.
While there was at one point in the recent history of this crucial process a deadline of March 31st for the selection of clubs for a second tier, that deadline was scrapped some time ago and there are currently a series of important and intensive discussions going on around the league, which will be launched for the 2025/26 season.
Those discussions between the CCC, the RFU and, where relevant, Premiership Rugby Ltd, cover all the basic points needed to establish a new Tier 2 for the good of the English game and for the security and planning necessary to the current Championship clubs.
There is no deadline for these discussions, although clearly it is important that agreement is reached as quickly as possible so that planning for both the new Tier 2 league and for the 2024/25 season can begin.
Solid progress has been made on the various issues being discussed. The parties involved believe that an agreement is within reach, although some very important topics still need to be brought to a satisfactory conclusion for all the parties.
These are vital discussions and are taking place in an intensive, progressive and co-operative atmosphere.
No doubt, when outstanding issues are resolved, a public statement will be made, but in the meantime, please be assured that the future of Championship clubs and the interests of those who aspire to join the second tier of our game are being given the priority they deserve by all of us involved.
18
Wasps Rugby Discussion / We all knew this but from others it hurts
« on: March 24, 2024, 08:38:36 AM »
See new posts
Conversation
RugbyInsideLine
@RugbyInsideLine
🐝 WASPS XV
1) Opoku-Fordjour 🦈
2) Oghre 🐻
3) Koch 🇿🇦🦈
4) Launchbury 🃏
5) Fisilau ❌
6) T. Willis 💫
7) J. Willis 🚽🚽
Barbeary 🛁
9) Porter 🃏
10) Atkinson 🍒
11) Feyi-Waboso ❌
12) Hartley 💫
13) Spink 🦢
14) Odogwu 🇮🇹
15) Crossdale 🟡🔴
What could have been?
Conversation
RugbyInsideLine
@RugbyInsideLine
🐝 WASPS XV
1) Opoku-Fordjour 🦈
2) Oghre 🐻
3) Koch 🇿🇦🦈
4) Launchbury 🃏
5) Fisilau ❌
6) T. Willis 💫
7) J. Willis 🚽🚽
Barbeary 🛁 9) Porter 🃏
10) Atkinson 🍒
11) Feyi-Waboso ❌
12) Hartley 💫
13) Spink 🦢
14) Odogwu 🇮🇹
15) Crossdale 🟡🔴
What could have been?
20
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Matteo Retiring at 27
« on: February 22, 2024, 11:26:15 AM »
BREAKING: Mateo Minozzi announces his retirement from rugby at the age of just 27.
Minozzi burst onto the scene at the 2018 Six Nations when he was nominated for Player of the Championship.
The hot stepper moved to Wasps a year later and then to Benetton in 2022.
Minozzi burst onto the scene at the 2018 Six Nations when he was nominated for Player of the Championship.
The hot stepper moved to Wasps a year later and then to Benetton in 2022.
22
Wasps Rugby Discussion / The human cost of brain disease hitting one of the world's most popular sports
« on: February 19, 2024, 05:19:10 PM »
Quite a startling article - many pictures so link is - https://news.sky.com/story/is-there-a-link-between-cte-brain-disease-and-violent-crime-13075134
The human cost of brain disease hitting one of the world's most popular sports
The question over whether CTE is linked to violent crime has come to the fore after numerous incidents of violent ex-football players. Most experts say it is hard to say what motivates someone to commit a crime, but the symptoms CTE causes could all contribute.
Martha Kelner
US correspondent @marthakelner
Monday 19 February 2024 12:46, UK
Is there a link to CTE and crime?
Why you can trust Sky News
When Noah Green, a 25-year-old with no known history of violence, crashed his car into a barricade at the Capitol building in Washington DC, killing one police officer, before lunging at others with a knife, his own family were grappling for answers.
"My heart just sank," his mother, Mazie Green, tells me. It was a murder, which, on the face of it, had nothing to do with American football.
But three years on and speaking publicly for the first time since that day, Mazie says she now believes it has everything to do with American football.
Green was shot dead by responding police, and in the days after the killing the FBI recommended that Mazie submit Noah's brain to be analysed.
The diagnosis came back months later, indicating Green had stage one Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, more commonly known as CTE.
It's a brain disease caused by repetitive blows to the head and it afflicts participants of contact sport, including American football. Symptoms include aggression, paranoia and problems controlling impulses.
"Noah took big hits," Mazie says. At Alleghany High School in rural Virginia, Green had played in defence and was voted most valuable player and he later played for Christopher Newport University.
Teammates recall him being dependable and good-natured but Mazie says she noticed changes after he suffered several head injuries.
"He wanted to be tough, to prove himself," Mazie says, "But there were changes. He would start wearing blankets around his head and I thought it was a teenage thing, but it was because he was so sensitive to the light. Then he would lose his keys and he forgot how to cook, prepare his meals.
"After that, he started with these really bad headaches. One day he said 'I don't know what's wrong with me, mum, I've lost 20 pounds.... I feel like I need to leave. I've got to get out of the country. They're going to kill me, the FBI, they're going to kill me.'
Officer William Evans, the police officer who Noah Green killed, left behind two young children. I ask Mazie if she has any message for his family.
"Officer Evans should not have died that day," she says, "Noah should not have died that day. Someone has to take the responsibility for telling parents what to do if something's just not quite right with those kids that are out there playing football for entertainment."
Shannon Terranova, the former spouse of Officer Evans and mother of his two young children, said: "I want to be mindful of all who are impacted by this real-life horror; but it is difficult for me to comprehend any rationalisation of what happened to Billy and the events that led up to his death. I appreciate the efforts in bringing awareness to the long-term implications of bodily trauma caused by sports injuries. However, nothing can justify what Billy's co-workers and family experienced, saw, and felt on April 2 2021, and every day since."
Christopher Newport University declined to comment on Noah Green's case. Alleghany High School did not respond to Sky News's request for comment.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The National Sports Brain Bank in Pittsburgh analyses donated brains for evidence of CTE. 1:16
How CTE is diagnosed
The question over whether CTE is linked to violent crime has come to the fore after numerous incidents of violent ex-football players.
Former San Francisco 49ers star Phillip Adams shot dead six people in an explosion of violence in 2021.
He murdered doctor Robert Lesslie, his wife, Barbara Lesslie, and two of their grandchildren, Adah, 9, and Noah, 5 at their home in South Carolina.
He also killed James Lewis and Robert Shook, who were working on an air conditioning unit at the house. Analysis of Adams' brain showed he had severe CTE.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a condition caused by repetetive head trauma. 1:56
Is CTE linked to violence?
Kellen Winslow, another former NFL player, was convicted of multiple rapes in 2021.
His lawyer argued for his sentence to be reduced because of what he says was head trauma suffered on the football field. That potential mitigating factor was rejected by a judge.
Most experts say it is hard to say definitively what motivates someone to commit a crime, but the symptoms CTE causes could all contribute. More research into the causes of CTE and what factors might make some people more susceptible is under way.
Sky News was given access to the national sports brain bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where former professional and amateur American footballers are being urged to donate their brains for study.
Inside the histology laboratory, Dr Julia Kofler slices open a brain with a knife to show me the cross-section.
It is impossible to diagnose CTE with the naked eye so she takes a tiny sample of the brain tissue and loads it onto a slide so it can be analysed under the microscope.
I ask if she thinks there is a link between CTE and violent crime. "It's really difficult to draw any conclusions about what motivates someone to commit a crime based just on their pathology," she says, "but we certainly know that neurodegenerative diseases can cause all sorts of different behavioural changes and changes in executive function and judgement, so it certainly could have contributed."
'We watched him lose himself'
Karen Kinzle Zegel is one of those fighting for more research. Her son, Patrick Risha, had CTE and died by suicide aged 32. He had played American football throughout his childhood and at university.
"We watched him over 10 years, sadly lose himself, lose his dignity," she says, "He was paranoid, he was argumentative.
"One time there was an incident with him and he said a homeless guy attacked him in Pittsburgh and he broke his hand punching this person. The rage he had was definitely scary."
Through her organisation Stop CTE, Karen is campaigning for the brains of those who commit mass violence to be analysed for traumatic injury.
"Every time we're looking at the symptoms like 'they lost a job, they, broke up with their girlfriend'.
"Everybody wants to know why, why would someone take another person's life? But if you've dealt with somebody whose brain became unwired you see the lack of empathy. They don't care about other people, sadly.
"We're not going back to the root cause, which could be a damaged brain."
Concerns about brain injuries have contributed to the growth of flag football, a lesser contact sport which means fewer big hits and not an obvious danger.
But the popularity of the NFL as a spectator sport is enduring. Last week's Super Bowl final was the most-watched TV event in American history.
But for its stars, the damage may already been done. The human cost of the richest sport league in the world is far too difficult to count.
Sky News contacted the NFL for comment about our report. In response, the NFL provided details of the funding they are giving into CTE-related research, mental health support and the physical safety measures they say they are taking in the sport.
The human cost of brain disease hitting one of the world's most popular sports
The question over whether CTE is linked to violent crime has come to the fore after numerous incidents of violent ex-football players. Most experts say it is hard to say what motivates someone to commit a crime, but the symptoms CTE causes could all contribute.
Martha Kelner
US correspondent @marthakelner
Monday 19 February 2024 12:46, UK
Is there a link to CTE and crime?
Why you can trust Sky News
When Noah Green, a 25-year-old with no known history of violence, crashed his car into a barricade at the Capitol building in Washington DC, killing one police officer, before lunging at others with a knife, his own family were grappling for answers.
"My heart just sank," his mother, Mazie Green, tells me. It was a murder, which, on the face of it, had nothing to do with American football.
But three years on and speaking publicly for the first time since that day, Mazie says she now believes it has everything to do with American football.
Green was shot dead by responding police, and in the days after the killing the FBI recommended that Mazie submit Noah's brain to be analysed.
The diagnosis came back months later, indicating Green had stage one Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, more commonly known as CTE.
It's a brain disease caused by repetitive blows to the head and it afflicts participants of contact sport, including American football. Symptoms include aggression, paranoia and problems controlling impulses.
"Noah took big hits," Mazie says. At Alleghany High School in rural Virginia, Green had played in defence and was voted most valuable player and he later played for Christopher Newport University.
Teammates recall him being dependable and good-natured but Mazie says she noticed changes after he suffered several head injuries.
"He wanted to be tough, to prove himself," Mazie says, "But there were changes. He would start wearing blankets around his head and I thought it was a teenage thing, but it was because he was so sensitive to the light. Then he would lose his keys and he forgot how to cook, prepare his meals.
"After that, he started with these really bad headaches. One day he said 'I don't know what's wrong with me, mum, I've lost 20 pounds.... I feel like I need to leave. I've got to get out of the country. They're going to kill me, the FBI, they're going to kill me.'
Officer William Evans, the police officer who Noah Green killed, left behind two young children. I ask Mazie if she has any message for his family.
"Officer Evans should not have died that day," she says, "Noah should not have died that day. Someone has to take the responsibility for telling parents what to do if something's just not quite right with those kids that are out there playing football for entertainment."
Shannon Terranova, the former spouse of Officer Evans and mother of his two young children, said: "I want to be mindful of all who are impacted by this real-life horror; but it is difficult for me to comprehend any rationalisation of what happened to Billy and the events that led up to his death. I appreciate the efforts in bringing awareness to the long-term implications of bodily trauma caused by sports injuries. However, nothing can justify what Billy's co-workers and family experienced, saw, and felt on April 2 2021, and every day since."
Christopher Newport University declined to comment on Noah Green's case. Alleghany High School did not respond to Sky News's request for comment.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The National Sports Brain Bank in Pittsburgh analyses donated brains for evidence of CTE. 1:16
How CTE is diagnosed
The question over whether CTE is linked to violent crime has come to the fore after numerous incidents of violent ex-football players.
Former San Francisco 49ers star Phillip Adams shot dead six people in an explosion of violence in 2021.
He murdered doctor Robert Lesslie, his wife, Barbara Lesslie, and two of their grandchildren, Adah, 9, and Noah, 5 at their home in South Carolina.
He also killed James Lewis and Robert Shook, who were working on an air conditioning unit at the house. Analysis of Adams' brain showed he had severe CTE.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a condition caused by repetetive head trauma. 1:56
Is CTE linked to violence?
Kellen Winslow, another former NFL player, was convicted of multiple rapes in 2021.
His lawyer argued for his sentence to be reduced because of what he says was head trauma suffered on the football field. That potential mitigating factor was rejected by a judge.
Most experts say it is hard to say definitively what motivates someone to commit a crime, but the symptoms CTE causes could all contribute. More research into the causes of CTE and what factors might make some people more susceptible is under way.
Sky News was given access to the national sports brain bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where former professional and amateur American footballers are being urged to donate their brains for study.
Inside the histology laboratory, Dr Julia Kofler slices open a brain with a knife to show me the cross-section.
It is impossible to diagnose CTE with the naked eye so she takes a tiny sample of the brain tissue and loads it onto a slide so it can be analysed under the microscope.
I ask if she thinks there is a link between CTE and violent crime. "It's really difficult to draw any conclusions about what motivates someone to commit a crime based just on their pathology," she says, "but we certainly know that neurodegenerative diseases can cause all sorts of different behavioural changes and changes in executive function and judgement, so it certainly could have contributed."
'We watched him lose himself'
Karen Kinzle Zegel is one of those fighting for more research. Her son, Patrick Risha, had CTE and died by suicide aged 32. He had played American football throughout his childhood and at university.
"We watched him over 10 years, sadly lose himself, lose his dignity," she says, "He was paranoid, he was argumentative.
"One time there was an incident with him and he said a homeless guy attacked him in Pittsburgh and he broke his hand punching this person. The rage he had was definitely scary."
Through her organisation Stop CTE, Karen is campaigning for the brains of those who commit mass violence to be analysed for traumatic injury.
"Every time we're looking at the symptoms like 'they lost a job, they, broke up with their girlfriend'.
"Everybody wants to know why, why would someone take another person's life? But if you've dealt with somebody whose brain became unwired you see the lack of empathy. They don't care about other people, sadly.
"We're not going back to the root cause, which could be a damaged brain."
Concerns about brain injuries have contributed to the growth of flag football, a lesser contact sport which means fewer big hits and not an obvious danger.
But the popularity of the NFL as a spectator sport is enduring. Last week's Super Bowl final was the most-watched TV event in American history.
But for its stars, the damage may already been done. The human cost of the richest sport league in the world is far too difficult to count.
Sky News contacted the NFL for comment about our report. In response, the NFL provided details of the funding they are giving into CTE-related research, mental health support and the physical safety measures they say they are taking in the sport.
23
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Rugby is a form of child abuse, study says
« on: February 02, 2024, 11:20:11 AM »Rugby is a form of child abuse, study says
Academics claim sporting organisations have effectively groomed children and parents into accepting brain injuries
Telegraph Reporters 1 February 2024 ? 11:57pm
Rugby being played in schools is a form of child abuse, a study has suggested.
The risk of serious injury carried by high-impact sports is contrary to child abuse laws, academics at the universities of Winchester, Nottingham Trent and Bournemouth argued.
The academics claimed that neither children nor their parents are legally able to give informed consent to take part, and that sporting organisations have effectively groomed both groups into accepting brain injuries caused by the sports.
The paper, set to be published in Sports, Ethics & Philosophy: Journal of the British Philosophy of Sport Association, and seen in advance by the Times, draws a distinction between sports that are designed to involve physical impact and those that may result in injuries by accident.
Its recommendations, which only apply to children, not adults, cite the view that ?knocks to the head? can contribute to brain damage which can in turn lead to conditions such as dementia or Parkinson?s.
?Sports for children should not intentionally harm their brains?
The paper also argues that those who begin playing rugby as children are more likely to risk brain trauma than those who start later in life.
Eric Anderson, a professor of sport at the University of Winchester who led the study, told the Times: ?Sports for children should not intentionally harm their brains. They should focus on fun, health and social development rather than conditioning them to play elite-level sport.
?These collisions cause cognitive harm and increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases and dementia; they are therefore abusive to a child?s brain. Cultural perception is that striking a child outside sport is abuse but striking a child in sport is somehow socially acceptable. We are trying to change that. It doesn?t matter what the social context is, the brain is damaged in both.?
A spokeswoman for the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said player welfare was the organisation?s ?top priority?.
?PE in school is compulsory,? she said.
?However, rugby is not. The RFU and England Rugby Football Schools? Union work closely to support teachers and coaches with guidance and resources, especially around players? safety and welfare.
?Rugby for young people at schools or clubs in England exists in different forms ? contact, reduced contact and non-contact. Rugby has established and been at the forefront of concussion and injury surveillance, education and law changes using evidence to proactively manage player welfare.
?Playing rugby provides significant physical and mental-health benefits along with life skills gained from playing a team sport which has strong values. Against a backdrop of decreased physical activity and a global obesity epidemic in children, we believe rugby has a role to play in keeping people active, healthy and engaged.?
24
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Saudis may invest in rugby clubs
« on: January 31, 2024, 07:18:35 PM »
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2024/01/31/saudi-arabia-buy-leicester-gloucester-northampton-newcastle/
Sorry not in a position to cut and paste.
Sorry not in a position to cut and paste.
25
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Eight Years Ago
« on: January 23, 2024, 09:23:13 AM »
We came top in the supposed "Pool of Death" that year.
Bloody so called smart phones reminding you all the time!
Bloody so called smart phones reminding you all the time!
26
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Good Jack Willis Interview
« on: January 21, 2024, 11:33:44 AM »Jack Willis: I felt England moved the goalposts ? but I am growing at Toulouse
Exclusive: Back rower has seen 'bit of a shift' in attitude to international eligibility, but it has not affected his commitment to Top 14
Charlie Morgan, Senior Rugby Writer 21 January 2024 ? 8:00am
Life is good for Jack Willis. He and his fianc?e, Megan, having got engaged by the sea three months ago, welcomed a daughter to the world last week. Along with Enzo, their two-year-old boy, the family are thoroughly enjoying the south of France.
Willis was relieved to return to the pitch against Toulon two days before Christmas, having recovered from neck surgery. He remains enormously grateful to Toulouse, the club he helped to the Top 14 title, and is itching to help them win a sixth European crown.
But the 27-year-old also wears his heart on his sleeve. At the mention of the World Cup, he cannot help but be honest. Willis charged over to score with the final action of England?s 71-0 win over Chile. Days later, however, his tournament was finished after that one appearance. Willis woke up with decreased strength in his left arm, yet endeavoured to push on and put himself in the frame to face Samoa. A bang in training made matters worse and scans revealed a bulging disk that was pressing on the nerve supply.
?I spoke to the surgeon on the Tuesday night, I think,? Willis remembers. ?Then I was gone at 6am the next morning back to England to see if an injection would work. I didn?t get to go back into the team environment or get to say goodbye to everyone.?
It is not unfair to suggest that the hollow experience represented another dip in a rollercoaster year, featuring the devastating low of Wasps? demise and the dizzying high of beating La Rochelle in the Top 14 decider. Willis started four Six Nations games but was starved of World Cup game time. Candidly, he wonders whether he ?truly added to the group?.
Upon signing for Toulouse last November, Willis became a pawn in a lively debate over England eligibility rules. Discussions have hardly died down since, with the predicament of Henry Arundell, who opted to stay at Racing 92 rather than return to the Premiership, only amplifying opinions on either side. Willis describes two aspects of his situation powerfully. Firstly, he felt as though eligibility goalposts were being moved during his negotiations over an extension with Toulouse. Secondly, Willis reiterates the uncertainty that he and Arundell, previously of London Irish, were thrust into.
?For me, the choice to stay here was based on being at a place where I was going to be pushed to be the best I can be,? he says. ?There has been a bit of a shift on whether the rule might change. When I was signing, it was heading towards that it was going to change. Now it has done the complete reverse.
?I wouldn?t change my decision because I feel I made the right one for me, my career and my family. I think one thing that sometimes gets swept aside is the fact that every player at Wasps, Worcester and London Irish was let down by the system of that club and let down quite significantly to the point where you couldn?t provide for your family in the months that followed.
?There are friends of mine that still haven?t found another job. And you don?t get over that quickly or regain trust immediately. Toulouse took me in when I didn?t have any other offers in England. The opportunity they?ve given me is incredible and I?ll always give everything I?ve got to the club.?
Uniquely, during last year?s Six Nations, Willis had been something of a guinea pig for the potential logistics if Rugby Football Union rules were altered and players from foreign leagues were able to represent England again. He had to hop the Channel a few times, and was overlooked for the opener against Scotland after missing the first week of training, but believes the system can work.
?I?d definitely do it again,? Willis confirms. ?That?s the first thing I?d say. The second thing is that Toulouse couldn?t be more supportive. After I wasn?t selected for the Scotland game because I hadn?t trained the week before, I was gutted. But the club said ?look, what do you need to do?? They asked if I wanted to go back for eight weeks and be there all the time. We had a really open dialogue between me, Richard Hill [the England team manager] and the guys here.
?Steve [Borthwick, the England head coach] and Hilly were brilliant and so were Toulouse. We showed that it can work, but the RFU have to make decisions on what they feel is best for the
Renowned as a crafty, disruptive defender, Willis wants to broaden his horizons as a back rower. ?If I look back at some of my early Wasps games, it would have been ?catch the ball, head down, keep hold of it?,? he laughs. ?Here, if you want to add to attack as well as defence, you have to open up your game.? He is doing plenty of post-training extras with David M?l?, an assistant coach to Ugo Mola, and admires how Toulouse encourage players to push boundaries in team training sessions.
Willis already appears to have developed a strong affinity with supporters. He rates the Top 14 final at Stade de France, a tense affair clinched by Romain Ntamack?s wonder try, as the best atmosphere he has ever experienced. Raucous celebrations followed and Willis does not mind admitting that he welled up during a victory parade when, from the team bus, he saw around 25,000 people crowding the city?s Le Capitole square.
Earlier this month, Borthwick expressed his desire for Arundell and Joe Marchant to return to Premiership clubs, from Racing 92 and Stade Francais, respectively, to become available ahead of the 2027 World Cup. Contrary to Will Carling?s claim that England duty is slipping from the ?pinnacle? of players? ambitions, Willis stresses that wearing a white shirt ?will always be a priority?. So too, though, will be playing in big club games.
With the added responsibility of a young family, Willis says that any potential move could not be rushed. ?Whatever opportunity is there to bring me back, it would have to be right in a lot of ways,? he adds. ?That is always the case when you?re moving club. Here and now, after all the turbulence I had last year, I?m enjoying having a bit of stability over the next couple of years and focusing on how good I can be for this club.
?It?s not as easy as saying ?move your life back to England now?. There have to be other factors that line up. One thing I want to be clear on is how much I will always want to play for England. I realise how competitive it is. It was clear to me, with the stage I?m at and from the little involvement I had at the World Cup, that I need to focus on my improvement so I can hopefully come back ? or [be ready] if the rule changes ? and be in a position to feature more regularly. That?s got to be me playing rugby, wherever I am, and improving each game.?
Jack Willis salutes Toulouse's fans after their rout of Ulster in the Champions Cup this month; Jack Willis: I felt England moved the goalposts ? but I am growing at Toulouse
The biggest compliment one could pay Willis is that he has truly enriched a squad decorated by stars such as Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, Emmanuel Meafou, Thomas Ramos, Ange Capuozzo and the brightest of them all in Antoine Dupont. This weekend against Bath, Willis starts in a back row that also features Anthony Jelonch and Fran?ois Cros. Blair Kinghorn, the dashing Scotland full-back, is settling nicely, too. Toulouse lost to Leinster in a Champions Cup semi-final last year, with Willis impressively combative in defeat. By beating Bath, having already thrashed Cardiff, Harlequins and Ulster, Mola?s side should be at home for the last 16 and later in the competition. Willis points out that a huge league encounter against Racing 92 precedes the Six Nations, a tournament that could be a difficult watch for him.
?I?m an England supporter as well as someone who is lucky enough to have played for them,? he says. ?I?ll always be keeping an eye on how things are going, wishing the boys in the squad and the coaches the best for the tournament. But I can?t get too bogged down with it. I can?t watch it thinking, ?I?m missing out?. I have to think, ?This is my reality.??
?I feel comfortable with the decision I?ve made. If I?m honest, things did shift around. I thought that things may still have been open and things change, but that?s the way the world works. I?m very grateful for the opportunity I have now.?
The opportunity Willis has now is to continue excelling for Toulouse and to remind those in England, and everywhere, of his rare ability to influence games. Anything else is beyond his control.
27
Wasps Rugby Discussion / An Interesting watch if you have so spare time
« on: January 17, 2024, 05:38:21 PM »28
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Wow
« on: January 16, 2024, 12:49:56 PM »
Wales' Rees-Zammit to leave rugby for NFL move - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/67995451
29
Wasps Rugby Discussion / They saved the Premiership: Behind CVCs five years in rugby - Parts 1 & 2
« on: January 15, 2024, 05:10:58 PM »
?They saved the Premiership?: Behind CVC?s five years in rugby
Special report, part one: Private equity firm reveals, for the first time, why it got involved in rugby and what it has done so far
Daniel Schofield, Deputy Rugby Union Correspondent 15 January 2024 ? 2:12pm
With stakes in Premiership Rugby, the United Rugby Championship and the Six Nations, CVC Capital Partners is one of the biggest, yet least known, power brokers in rugby.
Last month marked five years since the private equity firm announced it had taken a 27 per cent holding in Premiership Rugby for around ?200 million. Since that time, they have kept public communications to an absolute minimum, allowing themselves to become a blank canvas on to which hopes and fears are projected. Until now.
In his first interview about its rugby investments, Nick Clarry, CVC?s head of sport, media and entertainment, explains its rationale for getting involved in rugby and its vision for taking the sport forward. Telegraph Sport has also spoken to several leading executives, including both sceptics and supporters, about CVC?s impact on the sport and what comes next. In the first of a two-part special report, Telegraph Sport reveals:
Why CVC was attracted by rugby?s values as well as seeing opportunity in its fragmentation across different leagues and bodies
Premiership Rugby chair Martyn Phillips admits ?I am not sure we would still be here? without CVC?s investment
How it navigated the challenges of the last five years with Saracens? relegation, the Covid pandemic and three clubs going to wall
Former RFU chief executive Francis Baron?s warning that it sold the family silver to CVC by giving up commercial rights to the Six Nations
CVC spots opportunity in ?underappreciated? rugby
After CVC agreed to sell its controlling interest in Formula One to Liberty Media in 2016, it was on the lookout for a new project in sport. Clarry quickly alighted upon rugby union. ?We think rugby is one of the great sports in terms of teamwork and values,? Clarry said. ?It is an incredible spectacle on the field in terms of physicality ? but also tactics as Rassie [Erasmus] showed us in the last World Cup. What I also love about rugby is the anticipation of an event in the game, that feeling that builds and builds. We think rugby is one of the great games of sport and really underappreciated and undervalued.?
The product, in CVC?s view, was being let down by a combination of poor management and too little commercial focus. It was also incredibly divided. In Formula One, the sport is run by one company and one CEO. In northern hemisphere rugby alone, there are a conflation of organisations from Premiership Rugby, the United Rugby Championship, Ligue Nationale de Rugby, European Professional Rugby, Six Nations, World Rugby, Lions, Barbarians plus the individual unions. Much of their energy has historically been spent on fighting each other or protecting their own fiefdoms.
That fragmentation has meant that rugby as a sport has acted as far less than the sum of its parts from its public profile to its leverage in negotiations with broadcasters. What it needed was for someone to pull everyone in the same direction. Hence, the purchase of the stake in Premiership Rugby was only the first step in CVC?s strategy. A similar holding was taken in the United Rugby Championship in 2020 and most significantly CVC acquired a one-seventh share in the Six Nations for an estimated ?365 million in 2021.
CVC?s entry into rugby was not without controversy. In F1, Bob Fernley, the deputy team principal of Force India, accused CVC of ?raping the sport? and plenty were suspicious of its intentions within rugby. ?CVC are a very, very successful, very large and very hard-nosed financial organisation,? Baron, the former RFU chief executive, said. ?They don?t invest in anything because they love a sport, they invest because they want to deliver an above average return for their shareholders and funders. You have to have that in the back of your mind the whole time.?
According to Baron?s analysis, the RFU will receive five instalments of ?19 million for its share of the Six Nations sale while its last set of financial accounts showed it lost ?16 million in annual television and sponsorship revenues. The RFU, in Baron?s view, effectively sold the family silver.
?All the bottom line exposure remains with the RFU and clubs?
?Initially CVC are worse off, but they brought those rights in perpetuity so by year six or seven they are heavily in the black and then they have the right to sell on those rights to another third party to make a big capital gain,? Baron said. ?CVC are taking no risk on the cost side. They are buying into revenue streams and all the bottom line exposure remains with the RFU and the Premiership clubs.?
The RFU strongly disputes this analysis and says that the CVC investment will be put into a strategic growth fund ?to generate income and deliver future revenues for the game?. Still, the negative perception of private equity can be hard to shift. Even Phillips, a former CEO at the Welsh Rugby Union and B&Q, held that view before undergoing somewhat of a Damascene conversion
?When I was in corporate land, I thought private equity was the devil incarnate, asset strippers,? Phillips said. ?I worked 30 years in corporate and I just wish I had found private equity sooner. The reason I say that is if they decide to do something they resource it properly. Whereas in business, if it costs ?1 you will say: ?What do I get for 50p?? These guys say if we are going to do it, let?s resource it properly so we have the best chance to succeed. I like that mentality.
?The only way they can succeed is to grow. What I think people miss is that if we grow they get 27 per cent of the growth and the clubs get 73 per cent. We could not be more aligned because if we are not growing then we are all in trouble.?
?Rugby is relatively small globally?
Phillips also points out the ?asset-stripping? stereotype does not apply because in Premiership Rugby?s case ?there are no assets to strip?. The attraction of partnering with CVC was not just for their funds but their contacts ranging across multiple industries within its multi-billion pound empire.
?Whether we like it or not, rugby is relatively small,? Phillips said. ?For a little sport like rugby to compete globally in a market that is very challenging is a big ask. Therefore I would much rather be trying to compete in it with someone like CVC also in the tent with us. They are looking at what some of the best sporting properties in the world are doing and they are sat in those boardrooms. We get access to some of that thinking and future direction which is incredibly useful.?
As an example of their reach, six months ago CVC asked Phillips to become vice chair of World Volleyball, who are market leaders in OTT (over-the-top) broadcasting. ?I get to sit on the board and bring those learnings back to Premiership Rugby for free,? Phillips said.
If playing catch-up to volleyball makes rugby sound small scale then that is precisely the attraction to CVC. ?You don?t invest in something that?s already really good because there?s little headroom,? Phillips said. ?You have to invest in something that has the potential to be a whole lot better. Investors want to buy assets that are undervalued, not overvalued. They want to buy something that is either at the bottom or on the way up, we call it catching the wave. We are still attractive because we have potential.?
If the appeal of CVC?s funds to the financially stricken Premiership Rugby and the URC seems obvious then the Six Nations was already well established as rugby?s single most reliable cash dispenser. Why then did it accept CVC?s offer? The money is undeniably attractive but a senior Six Nations executive says that collaboration was just as important as cash.
?At a time when the future looks quite uncertain and remains uncertain in how major sport is funded going forward it makes sense to have a relationship with responsible private equity to take advantage of all the opportunities that brings forward, not least the cash injection, but it is about much more,? the source said. ?It?s the ability to think differently about your future.
?We want to build a sense of togetherness in terms of what we are trying to achieve, which is a growth profile for the game. The output to that will be unlocking the true value of what we have, which we have not been doing for the last few years. We just have not been doing it. It is undeniable to suggest that we have. We have been operating as individual silos too often in rugby, which has led to massive difficulties where the rights market is soft and the economy is going through difficult years. We have to work together.?
CVC?s remit, across all three leagues, was focused purely on the commercial, according to Clarry: ?We had a clear plan which was around pulling the commercial side of the sport out from the sporting side - leaving the clubs, the unions and World Rugby in charge of the sport, with no influence from us; and then really focusing on and doubling down on an ambitious commercial vision for the game, with world-class management, and the day to day grind of commercial execution.?
Unforeseen circumstances hinder plans
However after CVC?s stake in the Premiership was formalised in March 2019, initial plans soon went awry. Little more than eight months later, the investigation into Saracens? manipulation of the salary cap was published and a few weeks after that the first cases of Covid were reported. Premiership Rugby, in particular, has been in a state of perma-crisis ever since with three clubs in Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish falling out of the league.
There were missteps along the way. CVC?s initial management team of CEO Darren Childs and chair Andy Higginson were not suited to the firefighting and infighting common within the Premiership. With Childs? background in television, many clubs were expecting a broadcasting bonanza, however the last rights package with BT Sport, now TNT, renewed at the same value.
More problematic was how few strings were attached to how the Premiership clubs spent their windfall. This directly influenced CVC?s subsequent moves into La Liga and Ligue 1 in Spain and France, according to Francois Godard, a media analyst at Enders Media.
?The mistake they made was not to control their spending,? Godard said. ?They invested in these leagues but they did not have any commitments in contract terms on what the clubs could do with the liquidity. As a result, the clubs spend a lot on players as opposed to investing in their stadium, branding, infrastructure, digital services. As a result, the football clubs in France and Spain are committed to spending around 70 per cent of their liquidity on infrastructure.?
Some of those missteps have been rectified. The new management team of Phillips, CEO Simon Massie-Taylor and Nigel Melville, who acts as the interface between the clubs and league, are respected inside and outside the Premiership. While the broadcast income has been flat, they have massively expanded the reach of the league through free-to-air television deals with ITV as well as setting up a Premiership on-demand service. The Premiership attracted record numbers on both TNT and ITV last year while sponsorship has also increased.
As Phillips argues, Covid wiped out at least two years of progress and for Clarry this is the first stretch of calm for the Premiership after nearly five years of stormy waters. ?It has been harder work than we expected because of the financial difficulties of Covid, the situation with Worcester and Wasps, and also the fragmented nature of the game,? Clarry said. ?But the Premiership Rugby sponsorship business is up, the data business is up, and the media business is now on the way up, since our investment five years ago. We have also gone from a fraction of the games being on air to all of the games being shown across TNT Sports, ITV and Premiership Rugby TV ? which is a huge win for the fans. Sports are momentum businesses, and rugby has now turned the corner, with the prospect of much better results for everyone in the game.
This brings us to the question of whether either CVC or Premiership Rugby regrets their pact. Clarry?s answer is emphatically no. Phillips concurs: ?What I look at it is if we had our time over again would we do the same thing again? My answer would be yes, definitely. I think CVC have probably found that quite challenging but I just think rugby is really, really difficult to get change done? Exeter chairman Tony Rowe is among a handful of voices who have always opposed CVC?s involvement, questioning whether they have delivered upon their promises.
Yet Phillips, who was still with the WRU when Covid struck, believes there might not be a Premiership now without CVC?s investment. ?If you look at what is in the public domain, if that ?200 million was not in the Premiership economy when Covid came along, I don?t think we would have a club-by-club problem, I am not sure we would still be here,? Phillips said. ?If you look at how tough it is right now, even having that level of injection, then either it would not be here or it would have been seriously, seriously wounded.?
Special report, part one: Private equity firm reveals, for the first time, why it got involved in rugby and what it has done so far
Daniel Schofield, Deputy Rugby Union Correspondent 15 January 2024 ? 2:12pm
With stakes in Premiership Rugby, the United Rugby Championship and the Six Nations, CVC Capital Partners is one of the biggest, yet least known, power brokers in rugby.
Last month marked five years since the private equity firm announced it had taken a 27 per cent holding in Premiership Rugby for around ?200 million. Since that time, they have kept public communications to an absolute minimum, allowing themselves to become a blank canvas on to which hopes and fears are projected. Until now.
In his first interview about its rugby investments, Nick Clarry, CVC?s head of sport, media and entertainment, explains its rationale for getting involved in rugby and its vision for taking the sport forward. Telegraph Sport has also spoken to several leading executives, including both sceptics and supporters, about CVC?s impact on the sport and what comes next. In the first of a two-part special report, Telegraph Sport reveals:
Why CVC was attracted by rugby?s values as well as seeing opportunity in its fragmentation across different leagues and bodies
Premiership Rugby chair Martyn Phillips admits ?I am not sure we would still be here? without CVC?s investment
How it navigated the challenges of the last five years with Saracens? relegation, the Covid pandemic and three clubs going to wall
Former RFU chief executive Francis Baron?s warning that it sold the family silver to CVC by giving up commercial rights to the Six Nations
CVC spots opportunity in ?underappreciated? rugby
After CVC agreed to sell its controlling interest in Formula One to Liberty Media in 2016, it was on the lookout for a new project in sport. Clarry quickly alighted upon rugby union. ?We think rugby is one of the great sports in terms of teamwork and values,? Clarry said. ?It is an incredible spectacle on the field in terms of physicality ? but also tactics as Rassie [Erasmus] showed us in the last World Cup. What I also love about rugby is the anticipation of an event in the game, that feeling that builds and builds. We think rugby is one of the great games of sport and really underappreciated and undervalued.?
The product, in CVC?s view, was being let down by a combination of poor management and too little commercial focus. It was also incredibly divided. In Formula One, the sport is run by one company and one CEO. In northern hemisphere rugby alone, there are a conflation of organisations from Premiership Rugby, the United Rugby Championship, Ligue Nationale de Rugby, European Professional Rugby, Six Nations, World Rugby, Lions, Barbarians plus the individual unions. Much of their energy has historically been spent on fighting each other or protecting their own fiefdoms.
That fragmentation has meant that rugby as a sport has acted as far less than the sum of its parts from its public profile to its leverage in negotiations with broadcasters. What it needed was for someone to pull everyone in the same direction. Hence, the purchase of the stake in Premiership Rugby was only the first step in CVC?s strategy. A similar holding was taken in the United Rugby Championship in 2020 and most significantly CVC acquired a one-seventh share in the Six Nations for an estimated ?365 million in 2021.
CVC?s entry into rugby was not without controversy. In F1, Bob Fernley, the deputy team principal of Force India, accused CVC of ?raping the sport? and plenty were suspicious of its intentions within rugby. ?CVC are a very, very successful, very large and very hard-nosed financial organisation,? Baron, the former RFU chief executive, said. ?They don?t invest in anything because they love a sport, they invest because they want to deliver an above average return for their shareholders and funders. You have to have that in the back of your mind the whole time.?
According to Baron?s analysis, the RFU will receive five instalments of ?19 million for its share of the Six Nations sale while its last set of financial accounts showed it lost ?16 million in annual television and sponsorship revenues. The RFU, in Baron?s view, effectively sold the family silver.
?All the bottom line exposure remains with the RFU and clubs?
?Initially CVC are worse off, but they brought those rights in perpetuity so by year six or seven they are heavily in the black and then they have the right to sell on those rights to another third party to make a big capital gain,? Baron said. ?CVC are taking no risk on the cost side. They are buying into revenue streams and all the bottom line exposure remains with the RFU and the Premiership clubs.?
The RFU strongly disputes this analysis and says that the CVC investment will be put into a strategic growth fund ?to generate income and deliver future revenues for the game?. Still, the negative perception of private equity can be hard to shift. Even Phillips, a former CEO at the Welsh Rugby Union and B&Q, held that view before undergoing somewhat of a Damascene conversion
?When I was in corporate land, I thought private equity was the devil incarnate, asset strippers,? Phillips said. ?I worked 30 years in corporate and I just wish I had found private equity sooner. The reason I say that is if they decide to do something they resource it properly. Whereas in business, if it costs ?1 you will say: ?What do I get for 50p?? These guys say if we are going to do it, let?s resource it properly so we have the best chance to succeed. I like that mentality.
?The only way they can succeed is to grow. What I think people miss is that if we grow they get 27 per cent of the growth and the clubs get 73 per cent. We could not be more aligned because if we are not growing then we are all in trouble.?
?Rugby is relatively small globally?
Phillips also points out the ?asset-stripping? stereotype does not apply because in Premiership Rugby?s case ?there are no assets to strip?. The attraction of partnering with CVC was not just for their funds but their contacts ranging across multiple industries within its multi-billion pound empire.
?Whether we like it or not, rugby is relatively small,? Phillips said. ?For a little sport like rugby to compete globally in a market that is very challenging is a big ask. Therefore I would much rather be trying to compete in it with someone like CVC also in the tent with us. They are looking at what some of the best sporting properties in the world are doing and they are sat in those boardrooms. We get access to some of that thinking and future direction which is incredibly useful.?
As an example of their reach, six months ago CVC asked Phillips to become vice chair of World Volleyball, who are market leaders in OTT (over-the-top) broadcasting. ?I get to sit on the board and bring those learnings back to Premiership Rugby for free,? Phillips said.
If playing catch-up to volleyball makes rugby sound small scale then that is precisely the attraction to CVC. ?You don?t invest in something that?s already really good because there?s little headroom,? Phillips said. ?You have to invest in something that has the potential to be a whole lot better. Investors want to buy assets that are undervalued, not overvalued. They want to buy something that is either at the bottom or on the way up, we call it catching the wave. We are still attractive because we have potential.?
If the appeal of CVC?s funds to the financially stricken Premiership Rugby and the URC seems obvious then the Six Nations was already well established as rugby?s single most reliable cash dispenser. Why then did it accept CVC?s offer? The money is undeniably attractive but a senior Six Nations executive says that collaboration was just as important as cash.
?At a time when the future looks quite uncertain and remains uncertain in how major sport is funded going forward it makes sense to have a relationship with responsible private equity to take advantage of all the opportunities that brings forward, not least the cash injection, but it is about much more,? the source said. ?It?s the ability to think differently about your future.
?We want to build a sense of togetherness in terms of what we are trying to achieve, which is a growth profile for the game. The output to that will be unlocking the true value of what we have, which we have not been doing for the last few years. We just have not been doing it. It is undeniable to suggest that we have. We have been operating as individual silos too often in rugby, which has led to massive difficulties where the rights market is soft and the economy is going through difficult years. We have to work together.?
CVC?s remit, across all three leagues, was focused purely on the commercial, according to Clarry: ?We had a clear plan which was around pulling the commercial side of the sport out from the sporting side - leaving the clubs, the unions and World Rugby in charge of the sport, with no influence from us; and then really focusing on and doubling down on an ambitious commercial vision for the game, with world-class management, and the day to day grind of commercial execution.?
Unforeseen circumstances hinder plans
However after CVC?s stake in the Premiership was formalised in March 2019, initial plans soon went awry. Little more than eight months later, the investigation into Saracens? manipulation of the salary cap was published and a few weeks after that the first cases of Covid were reported. Premiership Rugby, in particular, has been in a state of perma-crisis ever since with three clubs in Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish falling out of the league.
There were missteps along the way. CVC?s initial management team of CEO Darren Childs and chair Andy Higginson were not suited to the firefighting and infighting common within the Premiership. With Childs? background in television, many clubs were expecting a broadcasting bonanza, however the last rights package with BT Sport, now TNT, renewed at the same value.
More problematic was how few strings were attached to how the Premiership clubs spent their windfall. This directly influenced CVC?s subsequent moves into La Liga and Ligue 1 in Spain and France, according to Francois Godard, a media analyst at Enders Media.
?The mistake they made was not to control their spending,? Godard said. ?They invested in these leagues but they did not have any commitments in contract terms on what the clubs could do with the liquidity. As a result, the clubs spend a lot on players as opposed to investing in their stadium, branding, infrastructure, digital services. As a result, the football clubs in France and Spain are committed to spending around 70 per cent of their liquidity on infrastructure.?
Some of those missteps have been rectified. The new management team of Phillips, CEO Simon Massie-Taylor and Nigel Melville, who acts as the interface between the clubs and league, are respected inside and outside the Premiership. While the broadcast income has been flat, they have massively expanded the reach of the league through free-to-air television deals with ITV as well as setting up a Premiership on-demand service. The Premiership attracted record numbers on both TNT and ITV last year while sponsorship has also increased.
As Phillips argues, Covid wiped out at least two years of progress and for Clarry this is the first stretch of calm for the Premiership after nearly five years of stormy waters. ?It has been harder work than we expected because of the financial difficulties of Covid, the situation with Worcester and Wasps, and also the fragmented nature of the game,? Clarry said. ?But the Premiership Rugby sponsorship business is up, the data business is up, and the media business is now on the way up, since our investment five years ago. We have also gone from a fraction of the games being on air to all of the games being shown across TNT Sports, ITV and Premiership Rugby TV ? which is a huge win for the fans. Sports are momentum businesses, and rugby has now turned the corner, with the prospect of much better results for everyone in the game.
This brings us to the question of whether either CVC or Premiership Rugby regrets their pact. Clarry?s answer is emphatically no. Phillips concurs: ?What I look at it is if we had our time over again would we do the same thing again? My answer would be yes, definitely. I think CVC have probably found that quite challenging but I just think rugby is really, really difficult to get change done? Exeter chairman Tony Rowe is among a handful of voices who have always opposed CVC?s involvement, questioning whether they have delivered upon their promises.
Yet Phillips, who was still with the WRU when Covid struck, believes there might not be a Premiership now without CVC?s investment. ?If you look at what is in the public domain, if that ?200 million was not in the Premiership economy when Covid came along, I don?t think we would have a club-by-club problem, I am not sure we would still be here,? Phillips said. ?If you look at how tough it is right now, even having that level of injection, then either it would not be here or it would have been seriously, seriously wounded.?
30