By RAY FRENCH
IN rugby union the premier clubs receive a vast amount of money from Twickenham towards a salary cap the of up to £6.5m.
And the addition of two marquee players plus other clauses means that some of the Premiership clubs are spending up to £10m.
Though interestingly, Sale and Newcastle – both centred in the north – are reputedly spending on a much lower scale.
I do agree that the salary cap is hindering the advancement of ambitious clubs and is significant in the failure of any of our leading clubs to attract real star talent – and, most importantly, to retain our own home grown attractions.
Super League, I am sorry to say, is at the moment home to a lot of mediocrity, and especially from overseas.
I’m sure the fans would rather travel to watch one genuine star at a club rather than a couple who are merely average overseas players, many of whom now merely help fill the teamsheets.
All the talk of Super League being competitive this season might be true. But at what level is it competitive?
Many fans no doubt disagree with me but I must admit that I currently find the overall standards in our premier division to be well below par.
In both football and rugby union, the stars being signed from worldwide and the size of the fees paid (in soccer often obscenely) are providing excitement within the two games and attracting the crowd, media interest, and ever greater sponsorship.
I realise that we cannot match such expenditure but we never will get anywhere near such sports’ outlay if we don’t allow any of our wealthier clubs with the necessary financial backers to help move themselves and the rest of the 13-a-side code forward.
The salary cap is a headlock on our game and is now severely restricting advancement.
Action needed – fast(continued below)
AND FINALLY … might I also refer to a recent article in League Weekly written by our publisher, Danny Lockwood, on the theme of play the ball penalties killing the game. All good stuff and I agree completely with Danny.
But I would take the damage being done at the play the ball area even further and ask who are the gentlemen who, over the past four or five years, have allowed the ruck area now to operate without any rules?
The play the ball is now a total shambles with the players merely throwing the ball between their legs or just stepping over the ball. No player in the British game today plays the ball with the foot as is done by all Down Under.
The playing of the ball by the foot slows down deliberately the procedure and thus creates a formality in the line up of those set to receive the ball.
The ball receiver has more time to throw out creative passes or he can slip a pass with good ball skills close to the ruck area.
If the ball is played by the foot we do not see the number of knock-ons at the play the ball we see today, we do not see the endless and boring running away from one acting half-back after another, and we do not see the number of penalties incurred by the defenders who cannot get back onside or correctly lined quickly enough.
Drastic changes are necessary if rugby league is to move forward. Those changes might have to be a return to the rules as they were in yesteryear.
And I haven’t even mentioned the pathetic state of the modern scrum and all that the uncontested version has taken away from the game.
I think I’d better have a lie down! It might help to forget the nonsense which our so called legislators have allowed to damage a once vibrant 13-a-side code.
